{"id":92716,"date":"2026-03-23T15:37:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T15:37:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pulse-z.eu\/those-of-us-who-live-on-the-social-outskirts-of-our-own-country-a-collection-of-queer-stories\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T15:38:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T15:38:57","slug":"ti-z-nas-ktori-ziju-na-socialnom-okraji-vlastnej-krajiny-zbierka-queer-pribehov","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pulse-z.eu\/sk\/ti-z-nas-ktori-ziju-na-socialnom-okraji-vlastnej-krajiny-zbierka-queer-pribehov\/","title":{"rendered":"T\u00ed z n\u00e1s, ktor\u00ed \u017eij\u00fa na soci\u00e1lnom okraji vlastnej krajiny \u2013 zbierka queer pr\u00edbehov."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

 <\/p>\n

This article deals with mature themes and as such is recommended to be viewed by those over the age of 18. In some cases, aliases have been used and certain information has been redacted to protect the privacy and safety of the people being interviewed.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Over the past few years, we have seen a sweeping rise of anti LGBTQ+ laws, regulations and sentiment. <\/span>In the US support for same-sex marriage has fallen for the first time in 10 years<\/span><\/a>, across the EU we have seen the <\/span>rise of\u00a0 targeted hate-crimes<\/span><\/a>, and various countries are introducing laws that crack down on freedom of expression under the guise of protecting traditional values, children, and battling propaganda.<\/span><\/p>\n

Among those countries you will find <\/span>Russia<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Bulgaria<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Hungary<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>Kazakhstan<\/span><\/a>, and of course <\/span>Georgia<\/span><\/a>. Georgia, always having been a conservative and religious country, has had a tumultuous relationship with LGBTQ+ rights. To put it into context, while other countries were busy legalizing same-sex marriage in the 2010s, a 2013 attempt to hold a pride parade in Tbilisi nearly turned deadly. On May 17th, the international day against homophobia and transphobia, a few activists tried to hold a pride rally. In return thousands of counter-protestors showed up, resulting in <\/span>17 people being injured, 12 of whom were hospitalized.<\/span><\/a> A year later, the Orthodox Church established May 17th as the \u2018\u2018Day of Family Purity and Respect for Parents.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A few years forward, after queer people had gained some support from political parties, a similar attempt at holding a pride week resulted in <\/span>the raid of the Tbilisi Pride office<\/span><\/a> and the <\/span>death of the journalist Aleksandre Lashkarava, <\/span><\/a>following a brutal beating from anti-LGBTQ+ protesters.<\/span><\/p>\n

The government doubled down on a conservative approach, recognizing the aforementioned \u2018Day of Family Purity and Respect for Parents\u2019 as a national holiday in 2024. This was included in the legislation \u201cOn the Protection of Family Values and Minors\u201d \u2013 which banned same-sex marriage, any and all public gatherings promoting same-sex relationships or gender transition, and effectively banned any and all mentions of LGBTQ+ themes in educational spaces.<\/span><\/p>\n

To put this into context, discussing your identity with your friend at university, wearing a rainbow pride flag pig in public or holding a protest for your rights can all be viewed as promotion of LGBTQ+ content, and thus be punished. While we have not seen the use of this legislature for mass-scale arrests yet, the looming threat is felt by all.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to the external pressures, we are seeing a rise of <\/span>far-right sentiment in Europe<\/span><\/a>, which not only affects the LGBTQ+ community, but can also be the cause of infighting as people start to turn on each other.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To get a better understanding of the reality Georgian queer people experience every day, we interviewed 4 of them on the topics of community, challenges, immigration and isolation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Julee – a\u00a0young drag performer\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

she\/her in drag, he\/him out of drag<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

When asked about the first time he noticed that he was different, Julee told us how he never really got a chance to think about the fact that he wasn\u2019t like others. Since he was always expressive and a bit flamboyant, even at a young age, people would single him out and resort to name-calling – before Julee even really knew what \u2018gay\u2019 meant. Like many of us, he first came to terms with his sexuality around the age of 12 with the help of the internet.<\/span><\/p>\n

He continued to explore his identity and interests, eventually discovering RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race, and through it – drag as an artform. He always believed that there were queer people around him, but he hadn\u2019t found them until a summer camp in high school where he bonded with a few others about Drag Race. After that summer, he started to seek out more connections with queer people, trying to integrate into the community and eventually making his debut in drag 3 years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

Julee remembers his first reaction to the family values law being uncertainty and fear. He eventually overcame these emotions, by being even more involved in the community. If previously he would dedicate 5% of his life to gatherings, activities and meetings centered around queer people, now he dedicates 35%. As a result of similar efforts from others, the community actually grew tighter-knit, and previously taken steps into acceptance weren\u2019t necessarily lost – \u201cSocially, we advanced to a certain point, and I believe that we are still there, but now people have a bigger outlet to express their hatred.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Julee also talked about how important queer friendly third places are and the challenges they face. Some of them have been bought out, others closed, and at times it begins to feel like there aren\u2019t many spaces left for unencumbered self-expression in Georgia.<\/span><\/p>\n

Queer people from conservative countries often struggle to integrate national values and traditions into their identity, and it\u2019s the same for Julee – \u201cI am Queer first and then Georgian. For me helping my community is a bigger priority than helping my country as a whole.\u201d He believes that all queer people follow the same prototype, even on a global scale. Eventually, Julee plans to immigrate to a more queer-friendly country. He believes that it is impossible to not have your work and queer life separated in Georgia, which makes his dream of a full-time career as a drag performer unattainable.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDo not wait for someone else, do as much as you can right now. Not losing hope will sooner or later lead us to overcoming these problems.\u201d \u2013 he said, when asked about how we can overcome this drought.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Daisy – a young bisexual student from Georgia who now studies in the EU<\/b><\/h3>\n

she\/her<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

Around the time she had her first kiss with a boy, she also had a similar experience with a girl at a sleepover. Previously her best friend had come out as bisexual, and around 2020, many of her friends also started coming out, so she always had a supportive group of people to come to. However, at the same time Daisy was always aware of biphobia, whether it was coming from straight men or those at home.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy very homophobic mother telling me and my best friend, who is also pansexual, that we could tell her everything we wanted, except to not start with the bi bullshit,\u201d she said, when asked about some of the earliest instances of biphobia she experienced.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bisexual people often describe how they are on the outskirts of society, either not being \u201cgay enough\u201d for the queer community or not \u201cstraight enough\u201d to integrate into a heteronormative life. Daisy had a similar experience where during periods of time when she would have experiences with women, she\u2019d feel more connected to her identity, as compared to when she would date men. She also told us about the sexism she has noticed within the community, \u201cI think sexism has always been prevalent in the community, especially when it comes to bi people\u2026 if a guy says he\u2019s bi then he\u2019s gay, and if a girl says she\u2019s bi then she\u2019s straight. The assumption is always that men are supposed to be desired.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Since Daisy has been living in the EU for a few years now, she has noticed differences between queer life abroad as compared to Georgia. Back home, the biggest tragedy a parent can experience is their child being different in some way, whereas in western Europe it is much more likely for a person to be accepted by their family. Thus, queer people don\u2019t need to depend on each other for support or survival as much, and the community is not nearly as tight-knit. However, since she has noticed a trend of her generation becoming increasingly right-leaning, she expects this to change.<\/span><\/p>\n

Living abroad has always created a sense of patriotism in Daisy, one that is challenged any time she comes back to Georgia. \u201cA country is what its people stand for, and when you see that a lot of people don\u2019t stand for what you believe in, that patriotism that you might have felt gently flickers away and disappears.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, we discussed how we can escape the path we are on culturally. It\u2019s true that the pendulum has always swung from periods of acceptance to social conservatism, and that is what we are experiencing now, \u201cI think whenever the world becomes destabilized, the instinct of people is to go back to what is prescribed as normal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In the long-term, Daisy believes that education is our only solution. Whether it be the weaponization of identities used by politicians to target religious minorities, the rise in sexism, homophobia and transphobia, it can only be overcome by creating a society that is educated.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nymphus – a trans woman and a drag performer\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

she\/her<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

Nymphus hails from a smaller town in Georgia, where she had a difficult childhood. When she was young, she didn\u2019t identify as a woman yet, but she always stood out. She was artsy, creative, and as a result, often singled out. This led to her being treated like a spectacle – everyone was curious, but nobody was interested in standing by her side.<\/span><\/p>\n

Being from a small town meant that she didn\u2019t have any queer people who she could look up to, the only place where she could really see representation was in the media. She moved to the capital, Tbilisi, to pursue higher education, quickly realizing how hard it was to find employment. Nymphus recalls a job interview, where she was obviously qualified, the interviewer was impressed, but she got a rejection letter \u2013 most likely due to her identity.<\/span><\/p>\n

The community wasn\u2019t as accepting to a newcomer as one might have hoped for, she only felt truly integrated after her debut in drag. When talking about infighting, she told PulseZ that from her perspective, trans women and gay men will always be bonded. However, at times, trans women can see their past selves in gay men, while gay men can\u2019t forgive them for leaving behind the male identity, which breeds animosity.<\/span><\/p>\n

Outside the community, it\u2019s still hard to not feel like a novelty. Even though she leads a quiet life, people still tend to stare and gossip. Trans people are often the subject of fetishization, especially when it comes to having a love life. \u201cMen will call you male to make you feel degraded, but at the same time they\u2019ll do anything to get into your bed. You are hated and desirable at the same time.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For Nymphus, being Georgian is an inseparable part of her identity, something that can\u2019t be taken away by bigotry. Just like others, her first reaction to the family values law was fear. With time, she overcame it \u2013 especially when she saw how trans people were still fighting and existing. As for now, the law is not actively being used to prosecute people, but the threat of it and malicious prosecution still stands.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the future Nymphus plans to move abroad, to pursue a fuller life. As for now, people in Georgia need a new spark to start protesting for their rights again.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cyclonus – a non-binary individual <\/b><\/h3>\n

they\/them<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

Around the time Cyclonus was going through puberty, they started to realise that they were different. Since they didn\u2019t have any education about queer terminology, they were able to label themselves with the help of people they met online, leading to them initially identifying as bisexual. After some time and introspection, they also found the proper language to describe their relationship with gender, so in high school Cyclonus came to terms with being both non-binary and gay.<\/span><\/p>\n

In university, Cyclonus actively sought out connections with queer people. They certainly existed, but they were dispersed, so it took some time to find them. This was especially more difficult since Cyclonus was born and raised in a smaller town in western Georgia, where gay bars and exclusively queer spaces don\u2019t necessarily exist.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the community is quite small, Cyclonus hasn\u2019t experienced much infighting, but at the same time they have noticed a trend of cisgender gay men who distance themselves from other queer people. According to them these are usually the men trying to fit into a heteronormative life, ones who say \u201cI\u2019m not like other gays.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At first Cyclonus struggled to still identify as Georgian, but they learned to accommodate it after reading up on history, and realizing that Georgian queer people existed before them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSince they [the government] are pushing against queer people in Georgia, that also means that common folks are also pushing against queer people, which makes it very unsafe to exist here. One wrong turn and you might end up dead.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For Cyclonus, the family values law was a final stripping of rights. If previously police would defend queer and trans individuals in extreme scenarios, for example against physical violence, now even that seems unattainable. This is the main difference from certain eastern European EU countries in their eyes, while they are similarly conservative, it\u2019s much fairer since they have a legal framework to protect queer rights. When it comes to western countries, their queer reality becomes even more unrelatable for someone who\u2019s arguing for basic rights.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cyclonus plans to go abroad, but for now, they believe that we have to stay vigilant and seek <\/span>out community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So, where do we go?<\/b><\/h3>\n

In the end, most of us might want to immigrate, there might be infighting, but one thing remains true. Every one of us is at a unique intersection of identities, but no matter which letter you identify with, no matter your political stance or social class, for queer people it has always been \u201cus vs them\u201d. In times like these, the biggest safety net we have is our own community, so make sure to show up, because storms can only be weathered together.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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