in Chile:

When people here fight for something, it seems they fight hard, and few forms of protest are deemed off-limits. I’ve seen posters publicly doxing politicians for sexual assault and pedophilia, their names and faces unavoidable, forcing passersby to confront the problem. The fight for LGBTQ+ rights is no different. People show up to queer marches in the hundreds of thousands, and plaster busy city streets with graffiti calling for more action. In Australia and much of the English-speaking world, whether consciously or not, we tend to view ourselves above other places in the fight for moral causes. Of course, countries cannot be ranked morally against each other as the struggle for queers rights is universal and no part of the world has reached true levels of equality. However, the dominance of the English language in popular culture and academia likely influences our perception of what is socially acceptable in the mainstream. Physical affection in public isn’t the norm in Australia yet the fact that queer couples can engage in it without getting chastised is an expression of the manifestation of queer rights here. Forms of protest utilised here are less commonplace in contemporary activism in Australia, though no matter the manner or style of protest the object is universally cinema. A queer couple being able to kiss in public here is a win for us back home too: all is a step forward in the fight for

It should be acknowledged that I am living here in the big city, which typically tends to be more progressive than other places, and I can only speak from my observations and experiences. Perhaps I don’t know the hardships for queer people here now and historically because I have not had to face them. Chile is only a singular country in a vast, diverse region, and Latin America should not be referred to as a whole. But I do know here, seeing queer people openly display affection to one another without being given as much of a second look, that it is beautiful - and a world away from the one previously known to me.

Image:LGBTrights marchinSantiago,Chile June2022(https://los40. cl/2022/mes-del-orgullolgbtqi-2022-cuando-ydonde-se-realizara-lamarcha-en-chile-119242. html)