The theme for Soweto Pride 2011 was announced and then changed two days later, after its appropriateness was questioned on Facebook.
Last week, the Forum for the Empowerment of Women (FEW), which organises Soweto Pride, revealed the theme as “AFRICAN PRIDE: is queer love a crime” on the social network.
A number of people immediately commented and expressed their reservations that the theme was an open-ended question and not a statement.
“…from a policy / public point of view it sounds as if we are expecting someone to define this for us – whether it is love or not. For me I would have loved a statement and not a question,” commented Khumbu Zuma.
“…those who beat us, kill us insult us, hate us, make fun of us , belittle us are the criminals. Our love for one another and each other is no crime,” she said.
Jabu C. Pereira agreed: “It should be a more positive and affirming statement and not a question.”
On Friday, FEW acknowledged the feedback, said it had considered the comments and revised the theme to: “AFRICAN PRIDE: Queer Love is a Human Right”.
The move was well-received, with Zuma exclaiming: “Well done guys at FEW for listening to the people…”
The Joburg Pride 2011 theme, “Born this Gay”, announced last month, was also the
Joburg Pride has insisted that the word “gay” in the theme is intended to be inclusive of all segments of the LGBTI community.
Soweto Pride is set to take place on 24 September and Joburg Pride a week later on 1 October.
