Kiss-ins are one of the easiest, cheapest, and most fun actions that are still effective. You can organise them for IDAHOT or other LGBTQI solidarity actions to show love and solidarity while capturing people’s attention. They can be organized on relatively short notice, too!
IDAHO 2010 Great Global Kiss-in
For IDAHO 2010, activists in dozens of countries across Asia, Latin America, Europe, and North America came together for the “Great Global Kiss-in” on May 17. Together with gays.com, the IDAHO Committee produced a video compilation of the different kiss-ins, which they released on the day, and was shared by tens of thousands of people on social media.
Going viral
Even with just a few participants and a smart location, the footage can easily go viral, especially since participants often work with organisers to spread the word online. You just need to record the action and spread the word!
To help get your message heard, you could ask community organisations in your local town, city, or country to share your video and encourage participants and their friends to spread the word, too. You can also create a short text or blog post (or even write a short article) to accompany the video and explain the significance of the action.
Choosing a strong location is also key – somewhere recognisable is great, such as a famous landmark or city square. Government buildings, town halls, and embassies/consulates could also be interesting choices.
Location, location, location! Activists in Paraguay hold a kiss-in outside the national Congress on May 17, 2013.
Another idea is to hold a kiss-in at or outside a restaurant, bar, or company in your city that has discriminated against LGBTI people, for example, by not letting them show affection for each other, or by failing to take action against violence or discrimination.
Different ideas
Another cool idea is to ask people to attend dressed in their favourite colour of the Pride flag—creating an assortment of bright rainbow colours on the day. This would be great for videos and photos. If you like, you could also choreograph the act so that couples come together in the same colour and line themselves up to form the six colours of the flag from left to right (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet)—or in the form of a rainbow arc.
Another idea is to turn the act into a flashmob-style kiss-in, where one couple starts kissing, and then a few more, and then—as if naturally from amongst the crowds—suddenly tens and then hundreds of people come “out” of the crowds to kiss each other, as if a wave of love has suddenly swept people up!
If it is difficult to organize offline, another option is an online kiss-in, inviting people to send pictures of themselves and their partner of choice kissing via a particular hashtag. The pictures could then be made into a collage of kisses for release online on IDAHO day or as part of a community exhibition.
Kiss-in alternative? How about Rainbow Lips?
Banner printed with people’s “rainbow lip” contributions for IDAHOT 2014 in Mainz, Germany. Accompanied by a Rainbow Flashmob balloon release
One project, from Mainz in Germany, put a slightly different twist on the classic kiss-in for IDAHOT in 2013 and 2014.
They provided different-coloured lipsticks for people to paint their very own “rainbow lips”—first in the street (and as part of an exhibition) and then in 2014 as part of an online campaign.
Rainbow Lips can be achieved through different lipsticks or even just basic photo editing. They make for great campaigning visuals—like the banner in this photo!
Organised under the banner of “Kiss the Pride,” you can find out more about the campaign on their website (in German).
For something extra, maybe you could merge these ideas! You can, for example, start a rainbow lip kiss-in (or a rainbow lip kiss-in flashmob)!
If kissing isn’t your thing, how about a free hugs event or a hand-holding flashmob? These are similar choices, with love, expression, visibility, and community well-being at their heart.
