All this month I am visiting my archives to bring you messages I have shared with you before that are just as relevant today, and need the airtime now - restyling the looks I shot then, to show you that nothing has really changed when it comes to LGBT+ rights and needs! Lets jump back to June 2019…
This month offers a great chance to celebrate what it means to be part of the LGBTQ+ community in the UK. It would be completely false if I rounded out this month of celebration without of course addressing the struggles we are still facing in the community.
Pride was the starting point for the conversations that I have been having this month. Pride often as an event smoothes over some of the most problematic areas of the community. It also projects a very sanitised version of what it means to be Queer in the UK.
When it comes to representation it projects a very watered down version of being Queer. To onlookers of Pride, it would seem that to be Queer you must be thin, sexy and white. There is not enough representation of all forms of queer.
When it comes to representation, I use my own visibility to encourage others to do the same. However, I also realise that I have a lot of privilege, and so it is my responsibility to speak up for those who are being ignored, maligned and misrepresented.
We see people turning on the LGBTQIA+ community in a way that makes us feel like second class citizens. Suggesting that being educated about the existence of LGBTQIA+ people at aged 4 and 5 is inappropriate, makes it sound like the protesters think that LGBTQ+ people are unsuitable to be around children. We are being discriminated against. For reasons that I actually cannot comprehend.
In some senses, we have gained a level of progression that seems groundbreaking and exciting. Yet every day we face an erosion to the little ground we have gained. We are having to fight, not to move forwards, but just to stay where we are. Not only is this disheartening, but it is bloody unfair. It makes me angry, and it makes me never want to give up being who I am.
I refuse to live in a world where people are not accepted for who they are. I will continue to be visible and proud of who I am. I am not saying that every member of the LGBTQ+ community has to be an activist every day. However, we have to make sure we are standing up for the right things, to be vocal about all issues that affect different parts of the community. We have to be the voice of those that are not being heard. We have to unite and strive for a better future.
Comments