Pride is political
Pride has historically been, and always will be, a political event.
As LGBT people are becoming increasingly accepted in society, I have noticed that the reasons for and origins of Pride events are becoming more obscured and forgotten. Without the historical context, Pride begins to lose its meaning and devolve only into big parties with glitter and rainbows. While I am not opposed to big parties with glitter and rainbows, celebrations that do not acknowledge the struggles, systematic oppression and political opposition of the past do not adequately represent progression to more open and welcoming social environments.
Pride began as LGBT people resisting oppressive legal systems and unjust police actions against the LGBT community.
One of the most cited origins of LGBT resistance is the riots that happened in 1969 at Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City. At that time, very few establishments welcomed LGBT people, and they were facing an aggressively anti-gay legal system. Many raids took place against gay bars in the city, but on June 28, 1969, the patrons of Stonewall Inn resisted arrest and fought back, then rioted. These riots were a major catalyst for more and more people to take a stand against such oppression, as gay and lesbian rights activists. This event is the reason why in 2009, then U.S. president Barack Obama declared June to be “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month” — to commemorate the Stonewall Riots.
In a more local context, on Feb. 5, 1981, four gay bathhouses in Toronto were raided by the Metropolitan Toronto Police in what was called Operation Soap. Over 300 men were arrested, which at the time was the largest mass arrest in Canada. Significant damages were suffered by the properties, and one of the establishments was damaged to the point it could no longer operate, and closed.
These raids sparked outrage in the LGBT community. The protests and rallies that followed in the aftermath of these raids eventually evolved into the modern Pride celebrations in Canada, and while many of the charges were later dropped, it was not until 35 years later, in 2016, that the Toronto police chief issued a public apology for these events.
These facts are not common knowledge among many NON-LGBT people. This history is not even common knowledge among many LGBT people. As time passes, the younger generations of queer and trans folks in society today are largely unaware of these histories and other relevant details of the historical context for Pride events. These stories are not among those told in schools, and so they are slowly forgotten — the information is delegated to Pridethemed trivia nights at pubs and occasional memorial services. Without this context, we are allowing “outsiders” to the LGBT community to look at our parties and glitter and rainbows with disdain — questioning why gay men are so flamboyant, why lesbians are so butch, and why during this one week of designated Pride, we are so loud.
We are loud because in years not long past, we were silenced. We are loud because we learn little, if anything, about our history or culture in school. We are loud because the deadliest mass public shooting in United States history was at a gay nightclub in Orlando, just last year.
Our big parties with glitter and rainbows represent our rebellion against oppression. If we quiet down our Pride celebrations, we are taking steps backwards, away from a more socially just society. If we let others, and even ourselves, forget our origins, we run the risk of letting history repeat itself.
Legal same-sex marriage is not and has never been the only goal of LGBT organizations. Until we achieve absolute acceptance and equality for all of these marginalized people, we are not finished.
We are loud because in years not long past, we were silenced. We are loud because we learn little, if anything, about our history or culture in school.
Nathan Hynes St. John’s