“I Used to Be a Homophobe” – is a new campaign launched by Tbilisi Pride. It allows people who used to hold negative attitudes and managed to put their homophobia behind them to share their changed viewpoints and attitudes.
The first participant of the campaign is a musician and a singer Tamriko Chokhonelidze. According to her, the time has come when she has finally re-evaluated everything and understood, that the main value that most people are not conscious of is the individual.
“We have heard it numerous times – allies and even LGBTQI+ community members themselves talking about how they used to be homophobic. That’s how the inspiration for this campaign was conceived. We think that it’s important to talk without any complex terminology, just sharing about our past, for the other members of the society to see that homophobia isn’t permanent: it changes, it is substituted with acceptance. This happens when, for example, we read more literature, hold friendships with queer people, appreciate and give feedback to ourselves.”
-Says Tbilisi Pride member Miko Shakhdinarian.
Anyone can share these stories with the hashtag #მევიყავიჰომოფობი (#Iusedtobeahomophobe). Meanwhile, Tbilisi Pride will keep us updated with various new videos and stories.
