{"id":151330,"date":"2023-03-02T13:28:25","date_gmt":"2023-03-02T12:28:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=151330"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:40","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:40","slug":"everyone-is-welcome-at-erasmus-prides-pink-pillow-princess-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2023\/03\/02\/everyone-is-welcome-at-erasmus-prides-pink-pillow-princess-party\/","title":{"rendered":"Everyone is welcome at Erasmus Pride’s pink pillow princess party"},"content":{"rendered":"

At Erasmus Pride’s pink party with a \u2018Pillow Princesses and Princes\u2019 theme, people are chatting away happily, praising the openness of the association and wearing some truly fantastic outfits. \u201cPeople here are very accepting. That’s why we also have a large group of straight girls and a few straight boys as members.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Erasmus Pride members hang garlands themselves.<\/span><\/p>

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Officially, the party has already started, but the garlands still need to be hung. The monthly drinks party of Erasmus Pride, the university\u2019s LGBTQI+ student association, has a pink touch today. The official name is the \u2018Pink Pretty Pillow Princess and Prince Party\u2019. So what is a Pillow Princess exactly? Louka (21, International Bachelor\u2019s in Communication and Media) giggles. \u201cIt\u2019s a term from lesbian culture and refers to women who just want to lie back during sex and make little effort themselves. Is that me? Absolutely not!\u201d<\/p>\n

Pink Garlands <\/h2>
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Louka (left) hopes there will be dancing tonight.<\/span><\/p>

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Last year, she just happened to end up at one of the association\u2019s drinks parties while she was on a gap year. \u201cI never left. Once, I met someone who was taking the IBCoM programme, and that seemed doable to me. It\u2019s a broad, creative study programme that you can do a lot of different things with, so I ended up enrolling.\u201d She enjoys coming to the drinks parties to chat and, if possible, to dance. \u201cAt the end of the evening, the tables get moved aside. Until Thank you for the music<\/span> is played at top volume at about 1 in the morning, then we have to head home.\u201d She adds, \u201cThe drinks parties give you a good excuse to get all dressed up.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pink garlands are now also adorning the glass facade of VINN, which is located at the bottom of the Groot Handelsgebouw and is the regular location for the Pride drinks parties. Dewi (18, on a gap year) is knocking back a pink beer for the occasion. \u201cI don\u2019t like beer, but this is nice and sweet.\u201d She is there with her friend Sam (19, International Bachelor\u2019s in Arts and Culture Studies), who she knows from secondary school. \u201cI\u2019m his plus one. This is the second time I\u2019ve come to one of these events with him. The people are very sociable and open. It\u2019s easy to talk to people here.\u201d She usually does not go out that much. \u201cIt also feels a bit more intimate than going to a club.\u201d She is expecting an evening with \u2018plenty of pink\u2019. \u201cAnd I might meet some new people too. After all, an outfit can always spark a new conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Sam (left) knows Erasmus Pride from Eureka Week and brought Dewi (right) as an introductee.<\/span><\/p>

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Hip and happening<\/h2>

Sam got to know the association during the Eurekaweek and then ended up at one of the drinks parties. \u201cI liked it so much that I became a member right away. It\u2019s an open group, they\u2019re a lot of fun and I\u2019m having a great time drinking and talking.\u201d He does not expect there will be any dancing. \u201cPerhaps if the music gets a bit more hip and happening.\u201d At this point, the music is varying between hits by Abba and Lady Gaga.<\/p>\n

According to Jelle (20, History), we\u2019re hearing their own playlist. \u201cBut I can\u2019t be sure about that.\u201d Tonight, he feels like catching up with friends. \u201cDepending on how busy it is and how much I\u2019ve had to drank, I might dance too.\u201d<\/p>\n

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According to Jelle (left), you won't easily find the open and alternative atmosphere at any other club.<\/span><\/p>

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The association has about 50 members who regularly come to events, says Jelle. \u201cLast year, I was on the board as vice-chair, and we went from 100 to 200 members.\u201d He also got to know the association during the Eurekaweek. \u201cI\u2019ve also been to a few of the bigger clubs, like RSG, but they don\u2019t suit me as well. If it hadn\u2019t been for Erasmus Pride, I wouldn\u2019t have joined anything. The people here are very accepting. That\u2019s why we also have a large group of straight girls and a few straight boys as members. They love the atmosphere and the openness \u2013 it\u2019s a bit more alternative. It\u2019s harder to find that with other associations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Free to be yourself<\/h2>
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There are many pink outfits featured at the Pink Pretty Pillow Princesses and Princes Party.<\/span><\/p>

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Eli (30, Business Economics) feels it is a missed opportunity that he didn\u2019t discover Erasmus Pride in his younger years as a student. \u201cIt\u2019s great that you can really be yourself here. We did have a study association, but it was white, arrogant and cliquey. I think it\u2019s great that this exists, since it\u2019s helping to bring Erasmus a step closer to becoming an inclusive university, which it really isn\u2019t yet.\u201d He joined last week. \u201cThey were handing out flyers, and I was given a condom outside the L building.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s currently quite busy inside, with about 20 members and their guests. Some people have gone all out and put together some fantastic outfits, from three-piece prince suits to pink princess dresses.<\/p>\n

Legacy<\/h2>
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Erasmus Pride is more than a social club, stresses president Zofia Staszewska (left)<\/span><\/p>

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Zofia Staszewska (20, Management of International Social Challenges), chair of the association, kept it simple with a lilac top. \u201cI expected to have more pink items in my wardrobe, but no\u2026.\u201d Erasmus Pride is more than just a social club, she emphasises. \u201cWe\u2019re working closely with the university to make the campus more inclusive and diverse. Such as gender-neutral toilets, for example.\u201d She is happy to see new faces here tonight. \u201cI\u2019ll do my best to involve them in our community. We are the only LGBTQI+ student association in Rotterdam and have been around for 10 years already. That gives us a special history and legacy.\u201d For example, the association has members from all over the Netherlands. \u201cWe are not only here for Erasmus students, but for anyone who wants to be a member of our queer community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grace (23, creative business) is studying in Breda, for example. \u201cAn ex introduced me, and I\u2019m still a member. I like the social contacts, and I\u2019d love to go bowling together soon.\u201d She\u2019s not looking for someone to flirt with. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t that long ago that I split up with my ex; I\u2019m taking things slowly. But I know that other people are definitely here to date.\u201d Around 11 pm, it\u2019s quite busy inside, but for the time being, nobody is dancing. Instead, people are having a great time chatting away and laughing.<\/p>\n

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