The Reason for the Season
I am tired. I am EXHAUSTED of listening to people use the excuse of convenience to justify their bullshit homonormativity. Using the wrong pronouns for someone because it’s, “always going to be violating basic English grammar rules”, or not wanting to go to pride on Saturday because, “you just end up standing around for hours waiting for a parade that just gets backed up from protesters.” This comment refers to the Black Lives Matter die-in held during the 2017 Minneapolis Pride Parade, in opposition to police brutality against people of color, and specifically in the wake of the acquittal of all charges for the officer who killed Philando Castile.
With June being pride month and this year as the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, I have felt especially reflective of the differences in awareness of queer histories which is reflective of the normative valued teachings of history, and the continued need for advocacy that supports communities whose voices and lives are so often pushed to the margins. Intent is not equivalent to action. Saying you “understand what they are protesting” and that “this is not the space for it” is not understanding. Pride should be a space for protest and vocal conversations which center queer people’s experiences which fall at the intersections of institutional structures of power. A queer history lesson today might teach you about radical trans women of color such as Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera who organized for “Gay Power” in the face of police brutality. 50 years later, why are we still faced with the same narrative?
The dominant narrative surrounding pride uplifts the aspect of celebration – of identities, individuals, communities, and all of the strides we have made towards equity for LGBTQIA+ people. Don’t get me wrong, having a space for this visible celebration of queerness is critically important for the support and validation of a community that is told through discriminatory legislation, by public leaders, acts of violence, systemic injustices, and interpersonal violence that their existence is something other than “normal”. However, when we commemorate history and celebrate our accomplishments we also must not let this glaze over that fact that there is still work to be done.
We must declare existence [AND] resistance. Oppose justification of police presence at pride because it disregards the threat to queer people of color who are greatest subject to police violence. Resist the ableist structures surrounding accessibility (or lack thereof) within the physical spaces and in our communication. Confront the commercialization and capitalization of pride for profit – where homeless and low-income queer people are excluded because you have to pay to celebrate. Contest people of privilege who take up too much space, instead of providing a platform for the voices of others. Call out those who show up to celebrate, but then do 0% of the work to support queer people on every other day of the year. Recognize that there is more we can do – and then put that thought into action.
As we are celebrating the histories which make up our cumulative realities, let’s continue to put energy into directing focus on how we can make our community inclusive and welcoming of everyone. In the words of Marsha P. Johnson: “No pride for some of us without liberation for all of us.”
