Sissy That Walk: The Strut to Freedom of Pride

All we have left is right now.

This is a quote said by Pray Tell from the series “Pose”, an American television series that stars New York City’s African-Americans and Latinx LGBTQIA+ in the ball culture during the 1980s. It highlights how we must appreciate what we have now, and to have no regrets.

When we look around, in popular media and in real life, the presence of the LGBTQIA+ community is the most visible it has ever been. We see hit shows such as Rupaul’s Drag Race, Queer Eye, American Horror Story, Sex Education and many more normalize the existing presence of the queer community without any criticism or negative connotations. More people are now able to feel comfortable and confident in their own skin without fear of rejection or hate.

This especially becomes apparent during the month of June, a month-long celebration for the LGBTQIA+ community to celebrate their identity and visibility. Everyone can dress and express themselves however they want, allies express their support, and companies come up with products or material that usually include the rainbow pride flag to signify their brand’s acceptance of the community. However, it wasn’t always like this.

The journey to this kind of freedom to self-expression wasn’t easy.

What we consider now as a normal and peaceful celebration was once considered a privilege. While it is important to think of the Pride celebration as a joyous occasion, it is also important to know the grimmer side of Pride, and the struggles the queer community of the past went through for everyone in the present to be able to feel visible and accepted.

The gay rights movement all points back to June 28, 1969, the night of the Stonewall Riots. Cops invaded a gay club in Greenwich village, wherein anyone that they could perceive as men that did drag and people the cops perceived women who wore any less than three pieces of feminine clothing could be legally arrested. This led to an uproar of protests and riots that ensued throughout the city. A transgender activist named Marsha P. Johnson was credited to have thrown the first brick or shot glass that sparked the riots. Johnson, alongside a transgender drag queen named Sylvia Rivera, fought for transgender rights and co-created STAR, or Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, to help homeless LGBTQIA+ youth. These protests were the reasons why Pride is celebrated in June.

These gay clubs were where these “social rejects”, dominantly POC LGBTQIA+, felt comfortable and could be as extra as they wanted, and were constantly invaded by the cops with the accusations that they were masquerading as the opposite sex, which was considered a crime then. So of course, anyone would react the same way when their home was being invaded — fight back. In these times, the queer community was spited and deeply hated, so the community tended not to broadcast their identity and orientation. However, the constant invasion of the cops spurred the gay community to a greater political activism, which was the gay rights movement. Later on in the 80s, the protests grew into blatant outcry for the AIDS movement.

The gay community’s fight to be treated as equals only grew continuously through the years, and is currently one of most celebrated events in the world. And it was not all for naught — the queer community is now widely accepted and included into society. Although many pleas are still to be granted, progress to equality and inclusivity have already made great leaps. So while we celebrate love and acceptance this June, we must also commemorate the hardships the community has gone through to achieve this.

Although bittersweet to think back on, we must remember that we must act on the now, and have no regrets. Sissy that walk, and keep going.

REFERENCES:

Gay Pride | History, Flag, & Facts | Britannica. (2021). In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gay-Pride

Miranda, G. (2021, June 3). What are the origins of Pride Month? And who should we thank for the LGBTQ celebration? Yahoo.com; Yahoo News. https://news.yahoo.com/origins-pride-month-thank-lgbtq-161342278.html

‌Polish, J. (2016, June 22). The Origins Of Pride Month: What You Should Know About Its History. Bustle; Bustle. https://www.bustle.com/articles/166925-the-origins-of-pride-month-what-you-should-know-about-its-history