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Sshh! Saturday - October 31st - Halloween
03 Nov 2009
Same-sex hand holding Saturday
It's Sshh! Saturday, October 31st 2009
In an attempt to scare away the bigots at Halloween all around the world, same-sex couples took to the street to hold hands. The night before 10,000 people gathered for a very special Candle-Lit Vigil in Trafalgar Square, London, to show their support in tackling all forms of hate crime. David, Founder, of A Day In Hand spoke to the crowd about the importance of further education in schools about LGBT communities and the importance of gay couples becoming more visible by holding hands. Below are the Sshh Saturday people who are already revolutionising the world.
CEU LGBTQI Community Club cordially invited guests to the St. Istvan
Basilica's square in Budapest to join the international solidarity
action. Azra Causevic of CEU LGBTQI Community Club said "I hope your
action was successful as well. No mater how apart we are, there is a
way for solidarity and a hope for resistance." The group then moved
onto Pariliament, holding hands and walking throught the city.
St. Istvan Basilica's Square, Budapest, Hungary
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This photo is of Amy Williams and Liz Morgan taken today (31st October
2009). We have been a couple on and off for five and a half years and
we hold hands pretty much everywhere we go but there never seems to be
a camera around! The photo is taken at Chester Zoo in England. We are
third year University students and we are whole heartedly behind the
campaign to promote tolerance and understand of same sex couples not
only in the UK but around the world. A simple gesture is a postive sign
and helps make same-sex couples seem as ordinary as heterosexual
couples. I'm, (Amy) also a member of the facebook page and I'm keen to
be updated on everything to do with this great cause.
Congratulations on all the postive feedback and good luck with the
revolution! We shall be continuing our support on a daily basis!
Amy and Liz, 31st October, Chester Zoo, UK
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"Hi, My Boyfriend Yoav and me live in Tel Aviv. We love the city and are so happy that we can hold hands wherever and whenever we want and we do! I am from Germany and live here for three years already. Attached a picture from Dizengof Street in Tel Aviv. More to come!"
Greetings, Felix and Yoav
Tel Aviv, Saturday 31st October, 2009
"Our
names are Dawn and Becky, we have been together 18 years and have 3
kids. On the day the photo was taken we had been walking around the the
uphill area of Lincoln and checked out the views of our beautiful home
city from the castle walls. We love the concept of sshh. We are a very
loving family and want to be able to hold hands ! best of luck with
everything."
The Stratford Gang
"We were four gay men, a gay woman, and a borrowed straight sister," recounts Dean Ashton. "We decided that East London needed to be brought up to date and so we decided to silently stand - hands held - in the most public place we knew - slap bang outside of Stratford Underground and Train Station on a Saturday afternoon. Curious glances and polite avoidance of getting in the way of the camera was the reaction. Actively participating in the Sshh Campaign went from being Queer Terrorism to being a rather pleasant afternoon in our own home town."
Below: Anthony Townsend & Mark MacKenzie
 
Dean Ashton (left) and Jackie Francis (mauve cardigan)
Beverley Angel commented on this on Facebook,
"Since my vision went suddenly in he left eye I've HAD to do a lot more had holding with Luisa around town. I noticed that one the eye patch was on, no one gives any funny looks because they just assume it is all down to that. It felt like we were cheating somehow but it's been interesting noticing the difference. so, if anyone want to hold hands ... Read morebut is a bit self conscious, I recommend getting an eye patch or a white stick from somewhere and trying it as an intermediate step. It's a bit like walking in the closet perhaps, but at least you are making same sex hand holding a more common sight. What I really want to see is groups of 3 people holding hands with each other. lets move away from the marriage-copy model of intimacy. A relationship does not HAVE to only have 2 people in it. Take Tilda Swinton for example... :)"
Dean Ashton continues,
"Whilst
we were there the square was dominated by a 'Jesus is Real' troop of
evangelicals. The reaction? One of them joined in and gladly had her
photo taken holding hands. (see photo of woman in red t-shirt).”
Yes we need to engage straight people in religious communities. We did it here!
"Following a visit to the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, London, we decided to create of bit of wildlife photography of our own."
Dean and Daniel, October 2009.
Krista & Umi, Alabama, USA
"Hi there! It was taken at the greater gulf state fair in mobile, Alabama. she and i hold hands everywhere we go, regardless of any hateful looks we may get. [which to my surprise, is less than you would think considering that we live in a state that doesn't exactly support same-sex relationships as a whole.] i think this group is really fantastic ... Read moreand i wanted to be a part of it, since not all of us can take up arms protest for our rights. i hope we're having an effect on people to not be afraid to be themselves even if it's something as small as holding hands in public. =]"
"Dear A Day In Hand,
After the vigil in Trafalgar Square on Friday night it felt more important than ever to quietly promote visibility. This is the departure lounge of Heathrow airport, Saturday 31st October 2009."
Amy & Jo
"I am a Londoner who now lives in Linköping, Sweden with my partner. I randomly stumbled upon your website, so thought I would send you a photo of Katherine and I holding hands in our local square to support 'A Day In Hand'. (It is fine if you want to use it on your website, I am on the left and Katherine on the right.) We hold hands everywhere we go, I was surprised and amazed that we could be part of something so significant for the community. I want to say a big THANK YOU. Silent revolution YAY! Our photo was taken on 30th October... Day in Hand Halloween to support your campaign. It was taken in the main square in Linköping called Stora Torget. We find that over her in Sweden nobody hassles us for holding hands, we might get the odd look but then it passes. Unlike when we are in London we often get double takes and sometimes rude comments stating the obvious!"
Claire and Katherine, Linkoping, Sweeden
"This was taken on Granville Street in downtown Vancouver on Halloween night."
Jeannine Williams
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