What is Queer Cyprus?
Queer Cyprus is a civil society movement that started off as “Initiative Against Homophobia” in 2008 in order to change discriminatory law in the north part of Cyprus and to mold public opinion in regards to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex rights and freedom. The movement, which was renamed Queer Cyprus in 2012, fights for a world in which individuals do not face discrimination based on their language, religious belief, color, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity, sexual expression, age or ethnicity. Therefore, the Queer Cyprus movement embraces diversity, opposes all mechanisms of pressure and has a feminist, antimilitarist, ecologist and veganist nature.
Queer Cyprus, combats all forms of discrimination towards Sexual Orientation,
Gender Identity and Sexual Expression!
Similarly to most countries in the world, Cyprus has a system which only supports relationships and sexuality among individuals from opposite sex and claims that heterosexuality is the only sexual orientation. Queer Cyprus aims at transforming the heterosexist society into one that is equalitarian and accepting of diversity; and also supports the diversity of sexual orientation, gender identity and sexual expression by challenging heterosexism which ignores, degrades and oppresses all other sexual orientations.
Besides heterosexism, heteronormativity also organizes sexual orientation and the society itself in accordance with “norms” by abnormalizing and ignoring various sexual practices, orientations and identities, and by establishing the “normal” based on heterosexual relationships. Therefore, Queer Cyprus envisions a society in which individuals are not subject to any form of violence due to their sexual orientation, gender identity or sexual expression and continues their cause to achieve this objective.