– I will say quite honestly that I am afraid and when I say that I am afraid, I speak from my mother’s heart. Because is it in this hateful, homophobic and transphobic society that my children will grow up in?
Kim is non-binary herself and believes that acceptance is important for LGBTQ+ people, including transgender people, to feel included in society.
– 40 percent of all trans people have at some point wanted to take their own lives, but the risk of suicide, mental illness and depression is greatly reduced if there is acceptance, especially in the immediate family.
This year’s theme
The Pride Parade is the end of Eskilstuna’s Pride Week, which has included lectures, exhibitions, workshops and seminars with an LGBTQ+ theme – this year with a special focus on sports – and the message “Love me for who I am”.
On Saturday, there was also music on Fristadstorget with artists such as Magnus Carlsson, Agnes Hustler, “Queer Folk – Fredy Clue & Lovis Johansson” and Leo B.
The festival was organized for the first time in 2007 and is one of the parades that has existed the longest in Sweden. During the pandemic years 2020 and 2021, the festival had a hiatus.
See the pictures from this year’s pride parade in the clip and meet some of the participants.