Pride in Istanbul

In June of 2013, Istanbul, Turkey held its annual Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Pride parade. This year’s parade was performed in a particular historical context: in the midst of an anti-government uprising that had begun in Istanbul and spread throughout Turkey. This context loaned a particular flavor to the Pride parade, and there was a reciprocity between the recent protest movement and LGBT activism. These field notes describe the June 2013 parade and its relationship to the socio-political context, drawing from these observations some preliminary conclusions regarding human rights and gender as Turkey interacts with transnational human rights regimes such as the European Union