A photo of a young girl in Holland surrounded by grown men in bondage and sexual fetish gear has won an award from LGBT organizers for apparently showcasing what “pride” is all about and “celebrating diversity.”
“This photo from a Pride event in Holland has won an award from the organizers for being ‘iconic,’” said reporter Andy Ngo. “It shows a child in the foreground while a group of men in fetish sex gear stand in the back.”
“A woman claiming to be the girl’s mother said she opened her home for the men to change,” he reported.
The disturbing photo, taken by Jan van Breda, was the winner out of some 13,000 submitted photos in the LGBT pride competition.
“The photo competition of the Pride was won by Jan van Breda, among others. More than 13,000 photos were submitted, but three of them end up in the history books,” reported Echt Amsterdam Nieuws. “The photographers will also each receive a prize of 2500 euros.”
“The Pride organization previously called for the most iconic, meaningful and aesthetic photos for 25 years of Pride Amsterdam,” the report detailed. “In the end, a selection of fifty photos was chosen for the outdoor exhibition ‘Celebrating Diversity’ in the Vondelpark, from which three winners were chosen by a jury of experts led by Cornald Maas.”
Van Breda’s photo was the “most aesthetic,” according to the judges.
“This photo, in its composition – child in the foreground, men preparing for Canal Parade in the background, everyone busy with their own activities and fascinations – sublimely depicts what will hopefully remain self-evident: that we, unhampered by prejudices, and almost unsuspectingly, all may and can exist side by side,” the jury declared.
Moreover, Amsterdam Pride’s director Lucien Spee de Castillo Ruiz described the photo as representing “freedom,” according to the Post Millennial.
“For me, this exhibition means a lot of freedom. The entire community is represented,” he said. “Young, old, trans, colored, party, depth, struggle, it has everything. That is what Pride is. Pride is more than the faces people see on the outside.”
The photography show was reportedly opened by city alderman for education, poverty, and integration Marjolein Moorman.
“Pride Amsterdam was held from July 31 through August 8,” outlined the Post Millennial. “The events included film screenings and street parties, as well as an event called ‘The Cunnilingus Show: “Snatch Game Edition,”‘ which combined ‘elements of stand-up comedy, games, improv, and drag performance.’ An ‘international gay fetish photo competition called ‘MOREPIXX?’ was held as well, which was juried via internet voting, with photos shown online and in the Ramses Shaffy Huis in Amsterdam.”