Gay szene istanbul

The month of June officially marks Pride in many countries around the society. Since , Istanbul Identity has taken place in Taksim Square, where participants gather to march down İstiklal Avenue, and where over , people turned up in — making it the largest ever LGBTQ+ celebration in Muslim-majority country. The following year, however, queer people and their allies were met with police wielding fluid cannons and rubber bullets and the government has banned Pride ever since. People still gather each year, but face increasing hostility from the conservative Turkish government.

Homosexuality isn’t illegal in Turkey, but discrimination runs rampant and attacks on LGBTQ+ folks are on the rise. The sociopolitical climate has forced queer people to fend for themselves, creating their own venues, galleries and safe spaces to construct community. Though artists, especially, struggle to make a living as a finding of censorship and homophobia, amongst the underground scene there&#;s love, solidarity and resilience in the confront of all the hate. 

We spoke to ten lgbtq+ Turkish artists about their s