All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.
If you've read George Orwell's Animal Farm, you will remember that proclamation. The pigs, who controlled the government in the world depicted in the novel, made it.
No gays are equal, but some are even less equal than others.
Of course, Orwell didn't write that in his novel. But it's a pretty fair summation of the situation LGBT people face in Europe, and the rest of the world.
This map from ILGA Europe illustrates what I mean:
The percentage shown for each country indicates the degree of equality LGBT people have with everyone else. As a region, Europe probably offers the greatest degree of equality in the world. Still, there are great variations within it and some depressing (but not surprising) realities. For example, the worst country for equality--the Russian Federation--scores 7 percent, and other countries in that region have very low ratings. On the other hand, northern and western European countries fare best, with Great Britain scoring highest at 77 percent. Belgium comes in second at 67 percent (two-thirds), while Norway, Sweden, Spain, France, Portugal and the Netherlands trail closely, all coming in at over 60 percent.
It would be interesting to see a similar map for the United States. Would it reveal any surprises in comparing the states?
If you've read George Orwell's Animal Farm, you will remember that proclamation. The pigs, who controlled the government in the world depicted in the novel, made it.
No gays are equal, but some are even less equal than others.
Of course, Orwell didn't write that in his novel. But it's a pretty fair summation of the situation LGBT people face in Europe, and the rest of the world.
This map from ILGA Europe illustrates what I mean:
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| Map can also be seen here. |
The percentage shown for each country indicates the degree of equality LGBT people have with everyone else. As a region, Europe probably offers the greatest degree of equality in the world. Still, there are great variations within it and some depressing (but not surprising) realities. For example, the worst country for equality--the Russian Federation--scores 7 percent, and other countries in that region have very low ratings. On the other hand, northern and western European countries fare best, with Great Britain scoring highest at 77 percent. Belgium comes in second at 67 percent (two-thirds), while Norway, Sweden, Spain, France, Portugal and the Netherlands trail closely, all coming in at over 60 percent.
It would be interesting to see a similar map for the United States. Would it reveal any surprises in comparing the states?
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