The article presents the urban space use of the LGBTQI+ community in a post‐socialist
and illiberal country, Hungary, by focusing on the historical development of Pride
marches within the capital. Examining these events’ routes, current regulations, and
resistance related to Pride, the article observes acts of silencing and the disruption
of silencing concerning the LGBTQI+ community. First, we rely on sexual and intimate
citizenship studies (e.g., Plummer, 2003; Richardson, 2017) to highlight the public/private
divide and related (in)visibility and human rights issues associated with the LGBTQI+
community within a cis‐ and heteronormative environment. Second, queer geography and
the geography of sexualities are used to better understand the cis‐ and heteronormative
environment within which sexual and gender minorities exist and operate. Regarding
the Hungarian context, we assume that “a gradual extension of public space use” is
present concerning the public events of the LGBTQI+ community in Hungary (Takács,
2014, p. 202). The article analyzes three aspects concerning the Pride parades held
in Budapest through the 3R analytical lens and connected silencing and the disruption
of silencing: the spatial routes of the Budapest Pride, related regulations, and the
resistance to and of LGBTQI+ visibility in an urban setting. First, through maps,
we visualize the routes of the Budapest Pride parades from 1997 to 2022 to understand
how the visibility of LGBTQI+ and allies is constricted and regulated in the spatial
dimension. Second, following the regulatory approach of the Budapest Pride organization,
we focus on how the police ensure these events’ and attendees’ safety and whether
cordons—physical symbols of division between participants, police, and bystanders
or protesters—are necessary. The third aspect elucidates the resistance against and
toward the visibility of LGBTQI+ people in the urban setting.
