As Ukraine’s LGBTQ soldiers fight on the front line, acceptance grows in the conservative country
On a riotous Instagram profile featuring pole-dancing, cross-dressing and fierce makeup, a picture of Ivan Honzyk in high heels and stockings next to an image of him in military uniform has gotten the most likes by far. The junior sergeant’s posts are a bold statement in socially conservative Ukraine, where pride parades were often attacked before the war and swaths of the country are occupied by forces loyal to Russia, one of the world’s most conspicuously homophobic states. But as more members of the LGTBQ community fight on the front lines, the greater visibility of gay and lesbian military personnel appears to be […]