Love wins

If you’re anything like me – and probably even if you’re nothing like me – your Facebook feed is currently awash with rainbow colours, as every man, woman and their dog (yes, I mean those people who make profile pages for pooches) has updated their profile picture with the Celebrate Pride app, in the name of, well, celebrating Pride. This virtual rainbow flag waving all started on the June 26, 2015 when Supreme Court of the United States of America finally legalised same-sex marriage, prompting a huge amount of support on social media (including the popular hashtag #lovewins) from people all around the globe. After all, when the White House speaks, many other governments listen (#comeonaustralia), so this can be seen as just the beginning.

Ibiza has always been known as a rainbow flag friendly destination. Spain was one of the first countries to legalise same-sex marriage in 2005, and as the wedding industry in Ibiza booms, so to does the influx of gay and lesbian weddings. Love definitely wins, when it chooses Ibiza as its wedding destination! And with a slew of specialist parties (more on that in tomorrow’s nightlife guide), dedicated gay-friendly beaches, an area full of predominantly gay bars in our bustling old town (plus everything else the island has to offer), and more stunning LGBT entertainers per square metre than on a stage with Kylie Minogue or Madonna – plus a laidback lifestyle and overall acceptance of anyone who chooses to be here, the island welcomes and loves those who love her back.

Anyway, I digress. Back to love. Over a million people used the app to put a translucent rainbow wash over their profile images within a few hours, and in the end, 26 million people in total around the world had changed their profile picture. Which – as with any social phenomenon – prompted the conspiracy theorists to declare we were all part of a social experiment by Facebook (who have always been known to support equal rights). But if it helps raise awareness of a relevant and important cause, does it matter? If you feel manipulated, don’t do it. Simple. There was even an uproar from a prominent gay journalist calling everyone who adopted the rainbow profile a ‘slacktivist’, declaring they didn’t have the right to claim gay pride if they hadn’t experienced the struggle. I see his point – and I’m the first to admit your average every day blogger like me does not understand the struggle from a personal point of view. But really? Support is support, and when 26 million rainbow coloured profile pictures are popping up in news feeds around the world daily, that’s got to contribute to making the world a brighter and better place, even if in the smallest of ways.

We’re all just people at the end of the day. Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, straight. Dog lovers, cat lovers, vegetarians, vegans, carnivores, pescatarian, yoga enthusiasts, Pilates purists, gym bunnies, sofa surfers, workers, miners, farmers, bankers, teachers, writers, artists, musicians, homemakers, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, daughters, sons, grandparents. Human beings. Equals. Our skeletons are the same. Our bodies function the same way. Our blood runs red. As the five-night Gay Pride festival kicks off in Ibiza tonight, we should all take the opportunity to paint the island rainbow. Celebrate diversity and support the LGBT community who bring so much to the island in terms of colour, spirit and open-mindedness. The colour comes home!