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02-10-2018, 05:34 AM
South Korea is slowly moving toward LGBTQ acceptance — and the Olympics can help
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When LGBTQ Olympians traveled to Sochi (https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/02/08/olympics-have-left-sochi-dont-forget-lgbt-russians) for the 2014 Winter Games, they stepped into a battle none of them particularly wanted to fight.
A year prior, Russian President Vladimir Putin had signed the country's first anti-gay propaganda law. The government was in the middle of a brutal crackdown against the LGBTQ population, and queer Olympians were tasked with responding to it (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/17/vladimir-putin-gay-winter-olympics-children) — all while somehow trying to prepare for the world's most prestigious athletic competition.*
Fast forward four years to Pyeongchang, and LGBTQ Olympians can expect a different, albeit complicated, situation. This year's Winter Olympics (https://mashable.com/2018/02/08/winter-olympics-2018-lgbtq-athletes/) will have a record 13 out athletes (https://www.outsports.com/2018/2/6/16924846/2018-winter-olympics-pyeongchang-out-gay-lesbian-bisexual-athletes), and anti-gay paranoia has somewhat subsided. That's partly due to increased familiarity, and partially to cultural context. South Korea is not Putin's Russia, but activists stress that the country still has a long way to go. Read more... (https://mashable.com/2018/02/09/south-korea-winter-olympics-lgbtq-rights/)
More about Watercooler (https://mashable.com/category/watercooler/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial), Olympics (https://mashable.com/category/olympics/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial), South Korea (https://mashable.com/category/south-korea/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial), Social Good (https://mashable.com/social-good/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial), and Pyeongchang (https://mashable.com/category/pyeongchang/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial)http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Mashable/~4/aXr2tjDR9yw
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When LGBTQ Olympians traveled to Sochi (https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/02/08/olympics-have-left-sochi-dont-forget-lgbt-russians) for the 2014 Winter Games, they stepped into a battle none of them particularly wanted to fight.
A year prior, Russian President Vladimir Putin had signed the country's first anti-gay propaganda law. The government was in the middle of a brutal crackdown against the LGBTQ population, and queer Olympians were tasked with responding to it (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/17/vladimir-putin-gay-winter-olympics-children) — all while somehow trying to prepare for the world's most prestigious athletic competition.*
Fast forward four years to Pyeongchang, and LGBTQ Olympians can expect a different, albeit complicated, situation. This year's Winter Olympics (https://mashable.com/2018/02/08/winter-olympics-2018-lgbtq-athletes/) will have a record 13 out athletes (https://www.outsports.com/2018/2/6/16924846/2018-winter-olympics-pyeongchang-out-gay-lesbian-bisexual-athletes), and anti-gay paranoia has somewhat subsided. That's partly due to increased familiarity, and partially to cultural context. South Korea is not Putin's Russia, but activists stress that the country still has a long way to go. Read more... (https://mashable.com/2018/02/09/south-korea-winter-olympics-lgbtq-rights/)
More about Watercooler (https://mashable.com/category/watercooler/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial), Olympics (https://mashable.com/category/olympics/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial), South Korea (https://mashable.com/category/south-korea/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial), Social Good (https://mashable.com/social-good/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial), and Pyeongchang (https://mashable.com/category/pyeongchang/?utm_campaign=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial&utm_cid=Mash-Prod-RSS-Feedburner-All-Partial)http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Mashable/~4/aXr2tjDR9yw