Kinto From Tbilisi, Georgia, Then Part Of Russian Empire, No Later Than 1898 on:
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A Kinto ( ka, კინტო) was a trader or an unemployed person mostly occupied in entertaining others in georgian dukhans (restaurant), popular in Shorena Gabunia - Heinrich Böll Foundation
2019: "The visual side of Tbilisi Pride is also very telling. Its main symbol is a Kinto — low-class traders and entertainers in 19th-century Tbilisi whose culture gave rise to the traditional Georgian comic kintouri dance — with the rainbow flag. Kintos gained some media and queer attention recently due to research that claimed that homosexuality was common in their community and was tolerated by society. The author of the research
Shorena Gabunia
argues that this 'tolerance' is not difficult to explain: high-class society simply didn't care about the practices of excluded and marginalised people. Kintos were also often used as prostitutes."
A Kinto ( ka, კინტო) was a trader or an unemployed person mostly occupied in entertaining others in georgian dukhans (restaurant), popular in Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...
in the 19th century and early 20th century.
The Georgian Kintouri dance in based on the character of the , and portrays them as cunning, swift, and informal. The dance is light-natured and fun to watch.
Recent research suggests that homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
was common among the kinto community and tolerated by the mainstream society, who did not care about the lives of these marginalized peoples. Kinto thus became a symbol of the Tbilisi Pride movement.2019: "The visual side of Tbilisi Pride is also very telling. Its main symbol is a Kinto — low-class traders and entertainers in 19th-century Tbilisi whose culture gave rise to the traditional Georgian comic kintouri dance — with the rainbow flag. Kintos gained some media and queer attention recently due to research that claimed that homosexuality was common in their community and was tolerated by society. The author of the research
Shorena Gabunia
argues that this 'tolerance' is not difficult to explain: high-class society simply didn't care about the practices of excluded and marginalised people. Kintos were also often used as prostitutes."
References
Culture of Georgia (country) Georgian words and phrases {{Georgia-stub