Asian Pride (CinemAsia)

Being the only dedicated Pride Amsterdam boat to the Asian LGBTQ communities and allies, a historically underrepresented BIPOC group within the Netherlands, our boat “Pride of Asia”, encourages us to stand out and be proud of our Asian heritage. For the design, “Pride of Asia” is a boat that proudly displays its Asian heritage through its imagery of traditional buildings throughout the continent. It embodies the theme of Pride 2023 of that no matter who you feel you are, you are included.

The boat itself includes many traditional buildings throughout Asia that represent what it feels like to be from those countries. It includes all cultures the continent has to offer. Once afloat, it will serve to remind onlookers that there is a queer community in Asia and that Asians from all over the world are included in that statement. These are all qualities that the LGBTQ+ community encounter in their daily lives.

The boat acts as a physical and metaphoric platform to raise the visibility of Asian and Asian LGBTQ presence for a more inclusive and diverse representation of Dutch society during Pride and highlights the intersectional parts of being both queer and Asian, as queer Asians are often discriminated against within queer spaces and communities too. For instance, for years, the use of the phrase ‘No Asians’ (next to ‘No blacks, no fats, no femmes’) in profile bios was a blatant sign of racism on dating apps like Grindr, the hyper sexualization of Asian women has been a historically damaging phenomenon that amongst others resulted in the mass shooting of Asian women in Atlanta in 2020, and trans women of colour are still the most vulnerable group with the highest murder, depression and suicide rates world-wide.