A transgender lawyer living in Russia says her coming out is a
form of protest against Russia's anti-gay law.
Russia's recently enacted “gay propaganda” law prohibits the
public promotion of gay rights in a venue where minors might be
present, effectively outlawing Gay Pride parades and other similar
demonstrations.
Masha Bast said in a statement that she would no longer be living
her life as Yevgeny Arkhipov and invited people to follow her on
Facebook
as she transitioned.
“There are three reasons for my decision [to come out],” Bast
told The
Moscow Times. “First, it would have been very difficult
for me personally not to come out. Second, having represented people
in the Menezh Square, Primorsky partisans, and Bolotnaya cases, when
those finished up I finally had the opportunity to come out. Third,
my coming out was a protest against what is going on in Russia today.
I couldn't just sit there and do nothing.”
“The law banning gay propaganda among minors is completely
wrong.”
“According to statistics, there are thousands of people going
through what I went through. Just imagine all the kids who have no
idea what's happening to them. I never once met a homosexual in my
childhood and only learned what a homosexual was when I was 14. By
then, I had long known that I was a woman and I had been wearing
women's clothes for years.”
“So it isn't a matter of upbringing. It's nature. That's why I
think the law against 'homosexual propaganda' is a law against
children and one that targets certain social groups. It is a fascist
law and nothing else.”