Pride Month: History and Tips on Allyship to the Queer Community
Trigger warning: mentions of anit-LGBTQ+ violence
Nowadays, the month of June is widely known and celebrated as Pride month, an entire month dedicated to the visibility and support of the LGBTQ+ community! Personally, as a transgender non-binary and queer person, I look forward to June every year, as it is a wonderful reminder of how many people out there see and love the community I am proudly a part of. I am also happy to work for an agency that is dedicated to the inclusion and protection of any LGBTQ+ people who seek our services, as well as staff like me who add a queer perspective to the work of combatting interpersonal violence. As support of this community has grown over time, we must know and acknowledge the history of Pride month and how to, in this day and age, overcome performative allyship and step into proud allyship of the entire LGBTQ+ community.
Historically, Pride has been officially celebrated and recognized since the first ever recorded organized march in 1970, taking place in New York City following the famously awakening Stonewall Riots of 1969. Before that, what was then referred to as the “Gay Liberation Movement”, the purpose was primarily resisting consistent harassment from police; many other riots took place such as the Cooper Do-Nuts riot in LA and the riot at Compton’s Cafeteria in San Francisco in years prior. To summarize, because of oppressive laws made to legally discriminate against homosexuality, drag queens, and transgender people; police were frequently raiding LGBTQ+ spaces and arresting, harassing, and beating people they deemed to be queer. LGBTQ+ people began resisting these raids by directly opposing police and organizing protests in their communities. Thus, the first ever pride parade was, in fact, a march in protest against the legal discrimination of LGBTQ+ folks.
Organized resistance movements like these and the extremely hard and often very dangerous work of our queer ancestors are the reason LGBTQ+ people have the rights we have today. I would be remiss not to mention that the catalytic leaders of these movements were primarily Black and other People of Color, transgender, and were often victims of interpersonal violence themselves. Many of them died on the front lines of this cause from police violence and/or hate crimes. We must always remember that liberation from all types of violence stems from the work of society’s most marginalized, and they must be continually recognized and honored as the founders of these necessary movements.
Now, let’s talk about performative allyship and how to become an active, proud ally to the LGBTQ+ community. Every June first, we see corporations, organizations, agencies, and individuals displaying their support for the LGBTQ+ community… but sometimes that’s as deep as it goes. Some people may change their profile picture on social media to feature a rainbow or the colors of the transgender flag, perhaps a major store puts out a statement on how they support their queer employees, and many local organizations put forth efforts to show their support of the community. These are all wonderful things to do! However, without substantial effort put toward accepting, affirming, and genuinely supportive real-life practices; these symbols and statements mean very little at the end of the day, or in this case, the end of the month of June. Usually, especially with large corporations, we see prideful images, marketing campaigns, merchandise, and messages of love and support during June only, primarily with the purpose of making more money (which, by the way, typically does not go toward helping queer people). This is commonly referred to as “rainbow capitalism”, and it is yet another way to demonstrate performative allyship.
How can we move away from performing allyship during June and step into becoming accepting, affirming, and supportive every day of the year? What practices can we add to our daily lives that actively help the LGBTQ+ community, during June and beyond? Luckily, the organization ChangeMatrix is dedicated to spreading information on how to be active and involved allies. Here are some tips:
Recognize when your allyship is performative. To begin to combat this, consider this quote from the ChangeMatrix website: “Allyship means having deep conversations about the roots of inequities, personal biases, and how to help with friends, family, and within the workplace. A voice, especially one of a privileged position, can be a powerful tool.” Ask yourself if you are using your voice and privilege to consistently support queer people or if you are only sharing a rainbow on your Facebook page and calling it a day.
Inform yourself. The work of an ally is never done. There is always more to learn, different ways to connect with the community, and growth to happen to foster continued, sustainable change. This includes evaluating and understanding your own personal biases, reading books and posts (like this one!) written by queer people, and listening to the community on how best to support them in their fight. Check out this resource from the Human Rights Campaign, it’s a good place to start the journey of meaningful allyship.
Support the existing work. Thankfully, you don’t have to start your own movement. In the Aurora community specifically, there are already existing organizations who are dedicated to the protection of queer and other marginalized people in our area, like Indivisible Aurora. Attend meetings, advocate in your community, and volunteer with and/or donate to an organization if you can.
Create change where you can. Identify ways in which your personal power and privilege can be used to the advantage of the community, whether it be in your family, workplace, religious institution, or school. Speak up when you hear homophobic, transphobic, or generally discriminatory laungage used against LGBTQ+ people. Use people’s affirming names and pronouns and correct yourself swiftly when you mess up. Love, accept, and protect the queer people in your life in any and all the ways you can.
Written by
Shae Hunt, MSW
Therapist at Mutual Ground
Sources:
What is Pride Month? The Complete History of Pride | them.
Stonewall at 50: Queer Elders Tell Us About the Stonewall Riots, and How Their Lives Changed After | them.
Crossing the Threshold From Performative Allyship to Action – Change Matrix
Performative Allyship Is Not Enough- How To Be An Authentic Ally In Your Pride Messaging – Buchanan Public Relations