How we’re celebrating Pride at SumUp in 2020
Resources and cultural picks to guide our conversations about diversity and inclusion.
Last year, members of SumUp’s LGBTQ+ community in Berlin organised an enlightening awareness session exploring the queer spectrum and the origins of the Pride movement. SumUppers have since adapted this format to instigate company-wide discussions around topics like mental health and our code of conduct.
Given Pride’s origins as a protest movement, it would be inappropriate to begin a conversation about LGBTQ+ issues this year without first expressing solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, and asking ourselves what we can do to tackle all forms of discrimination and injustice — not just those that affect queer people.
And so, we’ve started planning a programme of internal initiatives and events to ensure that diversity and inclusion are top priorities at SumUp all year round, not just things we discuss intermittently.
To help kick-start this conversation with regards to LGBTQ+ issues, we’ve compiled a list of resources and cultural recommendations. Whether you identify as part of our community or are interested in becoming a better ally, we hope they offer some insight into why Pride matters.
5 Instagram accounts to follow — by Callum Conway
@lgbt_history
This account is a product of self-education. Leighton Brown and Matthew Riemer started off posting images from throughout LGBTQ+ history — a topic generally not taught in schools, even though it’s an integral part of human history.
It’s important to recognise those who fought and continue to fight for change. The account creators have also published a book detailing the photographic history of the queer community, from the 1900s to the present day — We Are Everywhere: Protest, Power, and Pride in the History of Queer Liberation.
@h_e_r_s_t_o_r_y
While the LGBTQ+ acronym intends to be all-inclusive, for women it often doesn’t feel that way, with historical accounts often focusing on gay men and downplyaing the significant role played by queer women in gaining visibility and fighting for the entire community’s rights.
Although everyone under the LGBTQ+ umbrella has shared or similar experiences, each has their own unique culture and differences that deserve to be highlighted. This archival account depicts queer and lesbian women throughout modern history, and thus celebrates lesbian movies, art, books, designers, celebrities, and models.
@gayglossary
Every culture develops its own slang over time–and the LGBTQ+ community is no different. It came about as a necessity, a way to communicate in secret, using words with ulterior meanings and abbreviations to avoid being discovered and persecuted.
While some LGBTQ+ slang has become part of the popular vocabulary, thanks to the rise in media representation, this account aims to demystify some of the terms and acronyms that are used in the community.
@queerbible
The Queer Bible features essays and illustrations by queer people about their favourite LGBTQ+ heroes. It’s an amazing way to find out about inspirational queer figures you might have never heard of–and hear how they made an impact on the lives of high-profile individuals. The account also gives a platform to up-and-coming queer writers and artists, who are commissioned to create the content.
@queerbooklife
There’s a wealth of LGBTQ+ literature coming out all the time, and it’s important to support underrepresented writers. Each book is posted alongside a short review, so you quickly figure out whether it’s of interest to you.
Literature has always been a great way to change people’s minds, by allowing the reader to connect with a character and see the world from another point of view. Queer books also give young queer people the valuable opportunity to see themselves reflected in stories.
5 films to watch
120 BPM
This epic French docudrama, based on the personal experiences of director Robin Campillo, shines a light on the Paris chapter of ACT UP, an inspiring grassroots movement established in 1987 to improve the lives of people with AIDS. Today, HIV is a manageable condition that needn’t have any significant impact on one’s life expectancy. Back in the early 1990s, however, the disease was frequently a death sentence, and yet governments were often reluctant to tackle the crisis — in large part due to systemic homophobia. 120 BPM celebrates the fearless activists who challenged cruel attitudes and began reducing the stigma around AIDS.
Carol
Adapted from Patricia Highsmith’s classic 1952 novel The Price of Salt, this sweeping romantic drama depicts a life-changing affair between aspiring photographer Therese and affluent housewife Carol. As depicted here, polite society in 50s America was barely tolerant of independent women, let alone those who refused to conform to rigid notions of femininity and heterosexuality. But while many in Carol’s orbit are quick to demonise her as a deviant, she bravely refuses to be told who she can and cannot love. With artful cinematography and a haunting original score, this is one of the most beautiful lesbian love stories ever committed to film.
The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson
Marsha P. Johnson was an instigator of the Stonewall uprising and founding member of the Gay Liberation Front, and as such is widely celebrated as a patron saint of the LGBTQ+ movement. In this gripping documentary, trans activist Victoria Cruz investigates the mysterious circumstances surrounding Johnson’s death in 1992. Touching on themes of activism, social injustice and police brutality, the film offers a powerful reminder of the parallels between the fight for queer equality and the current Black Lives Matter movement, Beyond this, director David France also explores the myriad ways in which trans and gender non-conforming people struggle to be valued and accepted, even within the broader LGBTQ+ community.
A Fantastic Woman
It’s still common for great LGBTQ+ characters to be played by straight, cisgender actors. But recent films like A Fantastic Woman show just how powerful it can be when a queer performer is given the opportunity to bring their lived experience to a role. This visually striking Chilean drama stars trans actress Daniela Vega as Marina, a young trans woman whose life becomes immeasurably more complicated after her older partner dies unexpectedly. It’s upsetting to witness the prejudice and discrimination Marina faces, but her resilience and refusal to be victimised are ultimately inspiring to behold.
God’s Own Country
There are plenty of films exploring the pains and pleasures of coming out, but this bracing indie drama by first-time British director Francis Lee is one of the finest. Set in the windswept Yorkshire Dales, God’s Own Country tells the story of Johnny, a semi-closeted young farmer who struggles to control and articulate his growing feelings for Romanian migrant worker Gheorghe. Powered by a pair of nuanced lead performances, the film conveys how difficult it can be to come to terms with being LGBTQ+, but also how fulfilling it can be once you get there.
5 books to read — by Callum Conway
Boy Erased
In this memoir, Garrad Conley chronicles growing up in a fundamentalist family in small-town Arkansas, and his experiences of abuse at the Love in Action conversion therapy programme that they enrolled him in after he was outed.
Conversion therapy is a pseudoscientific treatment that aims to ‘convert’ gay, lesbian, bisexual, or trans people back to heterosexual or cisgender–curing them of what some believe to be a mental illness. It continues to be legal in most countries, even though it’s not proven to work, and often involves physical and psychological abuses that cause lasting trauma.
You can also check out the 2018 film adaption.
Don’t Call Us Dead
Don’t Call Us Dead is Danez Smith’s second collection of poems. He explores themes like police brutality against young black men, the loneliness of the gay black experience, and what it means to be HIV positive in a world that already seems built to destroy him.
It’s a painful and emotional collection–but sometimes, being made to feel uncomfortable is the best way to change our perspective. Smith’s style doesn’t leave you feeling sorry for him, but with a deeper understanding of the struggles faced by gay black men in the United States.
Girl, Woman, Other
Bernadine Evaristo begins by dedicating this Booker Prize-winning book to “the sisters & the sistas & the sistahs & the sistren & the women & the womxn & the wimmin & the womyn & our brethren & our bredrin & our brothers & our bruvs & our men & our mandem & the LGBTQI+ members of the human family.” It intends to be inclusive from the outset, reaching into a diverse group of communities.
It’s a beautiful blend of prose and poetry, intertwining the lives of 12 mainly black, British women and non-binary characters. This is an honest representation of life in contemporary Britain, tackling topics like racism, sexism, gender, sexuality, class divide–and showing how these issues intersect.
The Stonewall Reader
Released to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, this anthology brings together personal accounts, diary entries, literature, and articles from LGBTQ+ magazines and newspapers.
The Stonewall Reader is a powerful document of the most significant event in the gay liberation movement. It’s incredible to hear stories of the people who were involved in these world-changing events.
Whipping Girl
In this collection of essays, Julia Serano covers a range of trans-related topics from a feminist perspective, explaining the thought behind gender fluidity, and discussing the relationship between sexism and transphobia.
She writes not only from personal experience, but including historical and scientific points of reference to give the reader a deeper understanding of the trans experience. If you’ve ever wondered what the trans journey looks like, this book offers educational insights that will help change your mind about common misconceptions.
