By Sreejita Das
June officially marks the beginning of Pride month, a month dedicated to celebrating the LGBTQ2S+ community. LGBTQ2S+ is a an acronym used to represent the lesbian. gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and two-spirit community and remaining identities. Recently, the word queer has been used as an umbrella term that encompasses anyone who is not heterosexual and/or cis-gender.
So why should we celebrate Pride month?
In the past (and even in the present in some areas) queer identities have been silenced, forced to conform or have been imprisoned due to internalized homophobia and transphobia. Pride month gives us a chance to reflect on the history and struggles of the queer community and honor lives lost in the pursuit of a better world. While Pride Month honors lives lost, it also celebrates the current wins of the community and their achievements. Celebrating queer individuals is an integral part of Pride Month, as it legitimizes queer accomplishments and provides representation for an already underrepresented community. So let’s celebrate some wins for the Pride community!
On December 8 2021, Canada officially banned conversion therapy. While this was a bit late on Canada’s part, it is still a win! Conversion therapy is the process in which someone’s identity (typically sexuality) is changed to a cisnormative identity (eg. heterosexual and cisgender). This process was often forced on unwilling minors and people and instilled feelings of ‘shame’ and unwantedness, leading to sentiments and feelings of depression and other mental illnesses. By protecting the youth and others from predatory and homophobic/transphobic practices, we can open up new doors of acceptance and love.
In September 2021, Switzerland legalized same-sex marriage and same-sex adoption. They held a countrywide referendum that passed with 64.1% of the population's vote. The ability for same-sex couples to adopt is a big step forward, as it allows many couples to become a family and legitimizes the idea that children don’t need parents from opposite sexes, but rather, parent(s) that love them wholeheartedly.
While I talked about laws, these are some individuals who I think deserve some recognition for their work and representation!
Hunter Schafer!
Well-known from her role in Euphoria, Hunter plays a transgender student named Jules. Much like her tv-counterpart, Hunter is a transgender woman! Typically in show-business, queer and trans roles are depicted by heteronormative individuals, often giving an unauthentic, over exaggerated experience and depiction of queerness, as they have no point of reference nor struggles associated with the role. Furthermore, by casting trans roles with trans people it opens up the world to diversity, and shows future generations that they can remain true to themselves and chase their dreams!
Aside from her role in Euphoria, in high school, Hunter protested against the North Carolina Public Facilities and Privacy act in 2016. For those unaware, this act denies access to trans individuals from using public bathrooms. For example, a trans-women would not be allowed to use a women’s washroom, but rather has to use a men’s washroom. This act is extremely transphobic, because trans-women are real women and they deserve the same access to facilities used by cis-women. Eventually, she sued the state and was able to repeal the bill.
Michelle Zauner!
Michelle Zauner is a bisexual Korean-American lead singer in the indie rock band Japanese Breakfast. In 2022, Japanese Breakfast was nominated for two Grammys: one for Best New Artist and the other for Best Alternative Music album for their album Jubilee. While they did not win, this nomination was massive as it highlighted both queer excellence and the presence of more women of colour in the music industry. The album Jubilee, “is about learning to find common ground and grow from your own experiences, both because of grief and in spite of it”, and features more upbeat and groovy songs like “Paprika” and “Be Sweet”. As of now, she currently has over 1.8 million Spotify users per month!
While this is only a sample of queer success and achievements, there is still a lot more work to be done to deconstruct institutions that look down upon queer individuals, especially in areas where many queer people don’t even have access to basic rights (eg. healthcare, and laws criminalizing homosexuality). We’ve come a long way from the beginning (which is amazing), but the journey is not over yet, we still have some work to do!
All that being said, I’m super excited to see all the events for Pride Month and can’t wait to be involved in the festivities.
1 The story behind every song on Japanese breakfast\'s new album \'jubilee\'. Stereogum. (2021, June 4). Retrieved April 26, 2022, from https://www.stereogum.com/2145608/japanese-breakfast-interview-track-by-track/interviews/footnotes-interview/