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Marginalisation of the LGBT community in Iași — a short analysis

From the archive

Illustration of a diverse group around a table, with an empty chair welcoming someone new.
Editorial illustration created for this article.

Introduction

Marginalisation is common in Romania and around the world. People who are different are often treated as a negative influence on society. Fear of change, unfamiliar people and being judged in turn can lead someone unaccustomed to diversity to exclude others. Seeking agreement from people they see as “normal” reinforces that insecurity and contributes to the exclusion of a minority.

In Romania, marginalisation appears everywhere. Formal education helps shape both positive and negative moral principles. How often have you seen a schoolmate excluded because of their weight? How often has someone been left out of a friendship group because of how they speak or because they belong to a national minority? Exclusion can begin at school and follow us afterwards. We have all been marginalised at least once, perhaps for a reason that seemed strange or unjust.

When LGBTQI+ people express their sexuality and identity openly, they may be marginalised because these differ from the norms presented at school or by family and friends. In theory, respect for others should be a fundamental value in a secular state such as Romania. Whether Romanian or Chinese, heterosexual or homosexual, each of us has unique characteristics. If nobody is being endangered or deprived of their freedoms, there should be no reason to act against a minority.

Q Society, an initiative group in Iași, wants the local community to become more relaxed, open and cosmopolitan. Ending the marginalisation of local people is a priority for a better, more educated and European city. With over six hundred years of history, the historical capital of Moldavia is a large university city and a regional economic centre. Beyond its troubled neighbourhoods and ultra-religious or ultranationalist groups, Iași is young, open and full of potential. The original essay argues that people born, educated and long resident here are more open to change than the city’s religious reputation might suggest. It identifies three factors contributing to LGBTQI+ marginalisation: education, unquestioning religiosity and disengagement from local community life.

Education, unquestioning religiosity and a disengaged community

We will briefly discuss these factors before sharing local experiences of marginalisation.

Education’s role has already been touched on, but Iași deserves a closer look. Nationally, it is a leading university and school centre. It has strong students, even if some leave after graduation. Education, however, is more than school learning. The essay connects being educated with the capacity to adapt to change and respond effectively to practical and social situations. It argues that an LGBTQI+ person does not threaten another person’s everyday existence. It points to the absence of sex education and to ignorance and inherited religious values as sources of homophobia.

The second factor is unquestioning religiosity. Many Romanians describe themselves as religious while seldom attending church, knowing little about Christianity’s basic values or never having read the Bible. Declaring yourself Orthodox does not automatically make you a good Christian. To borrow a school example: following mathematical exercises mechanically and getting a good mark is not the same as understanding the theory.

Religion promotes love, respect and compassion, among other values. Following a book or a community leader unquestioningly can cause someone to lose sight of those principles. Gay Christians may believe that God loves them for who they are, just as other believers do. The essay questions the use of ancient passages to condemn people in modern society and argues that believers sometimes select the passages they wish to follow while overlooking others, including passages about sex or divorce.

The author recalls meeting a homophobic woman who had recently divorced her alcoholic husband. The essay contrasts her views with the biblical teaching she claimed to follow, citing Matthew 5:32. It argues for a religious outlook adapted to modern society, so that faith does not become detached from empathy or inconsistent in its treatment of people.

Writing in October 2020, the author also refers to Pope Francis’s support for civil unions for same-sex couples and his visit to Iași on 2 June 2019. The essay sees these as signals that religious love should include others and that nobody should be excluded or made unhappy because of who they are.

The third factor is disengagement from community life. The essay rejects the stereotype that Moldavians are lazy, but argues that many residents do not know their city’s history or contribute to it. In large cities, people can become hurried and preoccupied with their own concerns. Drawing on the references below, the author connects community involvement with greater understanding and less readiness to exclude others. Working together and learning about other people’s needs can shift attention from how someone was born or whom they love to who they are and what they contribute. The essay argues that this can also apply within religious organisations when unquestioning prejudice is set aside.

Experiences of marginalisation

Bogdan:

I was waiting to buy something at a shop in Iași’s Exhibition Park. Nearby were four girls, two of whom were together, holding hands and kissing. The employee reacted with shock and began scolding and discriminating against them. A woman defended them, and he swore at her and at the girls, complaining about men loving men and women loving women. The girls left disappointed. I left upset that this could happen in a supposedly civilised Iași.

Tudor:

A few months ago, I went for an HIV test in the public healthcare system. That is a normal thing to do, but apparently not for gay men, according to one doctor. I was already worried that I might have made a mistake with lifelong consequences, and she did not help. She told me it was what I deserved for sleeping with men, that sex should only be between a woman and a man, and that she hoped I would not return for the same reason. That was the last thing I needed at that moment. I felt hatred towards both myself and her. I reported her to the administration and talked about it with my psychologist.

Radu:

About a month into my final year of school, I discovered that everyone in my class knew about me. Most were not particularly hostile. A few boys initially refused to shake my hand, but eventually stopped doing that. I was still the same person.

One classmate, however, kept talking about me. One day, after she called a teammate stupid, I answered back. She exploded with homophobic insults and accusations, portraying me as the villain. I cried that day. It felt like something I had only seen on YouTube. Later, my classmates spoke to her, and both they and our teacher saw her behaviour for what it was.

Erica:

I recently used the medical clinic associated with my employer. Everything was going well until I showed my identity document. I am a transgender woman, and at that time my name and gender marker had not been changed. Staff began staring and then postponed my appointment. I took the necessary steps in response. Like anyone else, I contribute money to this clinic, and it is unacceptable to experience this simply because I am a transgender woman.

Tudor:

In my first university year, my mother still did not know about my sexuality. We were watching a man on television supporting LGBT marriage rights. My mother was unmoved. As I tried to explain my feelings about friendship and relationships, I ended up telling her that I liked both boys and girls, although I could not tell her that I had already been in a relationship with a man.

We argued, and she told me I was no longer her son. That was deeply traumatic. I changed my registered address to another city and moved into a dormitory. I became distant from my family and later moved from Iași to Craiova. Much time has passed, and my mother and I are now on better terms, but we do not discuss relationships. The trauma has remained, even though it affects me less.

References listed in the original article

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