This year has been a stark reminder that Pride is political. The event that started after the Stonewall riots has spread across the world allowing the LGBT+ community (for that day at least) to celebrate their existence. Pride is a political act; when regimes won’t let you exist, you exist even more defiantly than before. I was saddened to see Barclays attend Pride when the UK’s banking system was labelled not too long ago as the most corrupt. A few years ago I was horrified to see UKIP trying to get a place at the Pride march, while actual political communities like LGSM are pushed towards the back of the parade. Whilst there was an overwhelmingly anti-austerity, anti-conservative, anti-DUP sentiment at Pride this year, I couldn’t shrug off the discomfort caused by corporations attending it when they have done and continue to do fuck all for the LGBT+ community, besides share a twee quote on their Instagram once a year.
Just before the election this year I was told by a friend that gay people she knew were voting Conservative simply because equal marriage was enacted under them. Despite David Cameron‘s and Theresa May‘s incessant homophobia and disregard for human life, frankly, they still got some of the LGBT+ vote. I couldn’t believe it. How were people not seeing past that one thing and, as Amber Rudd told us to do, judging them by their record – that record being one of consistently voting against civil liberty and human rights? They have a truly disastrous record of valuing profit over human life, as exemplified by the horrors we see in the news: at Grenfell, homeless people freezing to death, children going to and from school with malnutrition from either being underfed or only fed McDonalds (the two cheapest options in today’s climate).
Pride is political and it is imperative that it stays that way. We cannot forget who it was that made sure the LGBT+ community had no rights in the first place. We cannot forget who it is that tries to make sure that we stay silent, stay subdued, stay compliant. But we can’t be pissed off about it because well, we have gay marriage now!!! We should be grateful to David Cameron!!! And then Pride rolls around and we’re told we’re not allowed to be pissed off because “it’s a celebration!!!! Take your neggy vibes elsewhere!!!”. No sir, I will not be nice to David Cameron because he did one good thing. Why? Because he did 7 billion really terrible things (well, not 7 billion. But quite a lot).
So how to Pride after Pride? Don’t vote Tory, and let yourself be pissed off about homophobia when it’s rife. Call people out when they say they support Pride, buy the t-shirt, then carry on being homophobic. Let them know it’s unacceptable to only support Pride when it’s trendy or will get them kudos. There are far too many people happy to support LGBT+ rights when it serves them, but stay silent when their queer friends are being physically and verbally mauled in the streets, imprisoned in Chechnya, and are having their funerals picketed.
But it’s hard, and exhausting to be constantly calling out straight people for their BS, especially when it’s their responsibility to not do it in the first place. So straight people: could you just not for a few minutes? Could you let us breathe? Let us celebrate when we need to, mourn when we need to? And not tell us to calm down, or that we’re taking it too seriously. Make no mistake: these are our lives we’re dealing with. Pride is a celebration, AND a political one. Let’s not forget it.
