Throughout June, I saw rainbow flags tethered to lamp posts, waving uncontrollably in the air, asking to be seen and heard. I began to notice the vibrant colours smear shop windows and logos transforming to adopt this rainbow. My daily commute became engrossed in colour, even on the days where the clouds appeared muted and somber.
As the month neared an end, I became aware of the possibility that the additional colours uplifting the surroundings and the unambiguous phrase 'Love is love' were to uprise this time next year. I soon became conscious of the cycle of posters and how I had not paused to appreciate why Pride is celebrated in June.
Behind the surface of the passionate colours, my understanding of the LGBTQ+ community was scarce. My knowledge stretched as far as its initialism: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer. This realisation misaligned with my hope to appreciate my community better and swelled my eagerness to understand.
Within my reading, the first event that came to my attention was the riots beginning at Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, in New York City. Through the 1960s and previous decades, LGBT individuals were largely unwelcomed in society. Up until 1966, the New York State Liquor Authority prohibited the sale of alcohol to known or suspected LGBT individuals. Additionally, behaviours including kissing, dancing and holding hands with same-sex individuals in public were illegal. The prohibition of such behaviours and the requirement to wear a minimum of three gender-appropriate clothing created a window for police harassment against the LGBT community.
On 28th June 1969, police raided Stonewall Inn using the illegal sale of alcohol to gain a search warrant. While this became the norm for a bar such as Stonewall Inn, the resistance to arrests by patrons and the act of bystanders throwing bottles and coins at officers was rare and incomparable. The raid revolutionised into six days of outraged yet passionate protests and violence outside the bar on Christopher Street. Many clips of the riot revealed how exhausted the community had become from the rules on sexuality formed by society and demanded change.
My reading on the Stonewall riots brought me to the name Marsha P. Johnson. She was an African American transgender woman and an instigator of the protests and riots urging for LGBTQ+ rights. The 'P' in her name stands for 'Pay it no mind'. The phrase aimed to challenge those who scorned her appearance and life choices. As her bold nature seeped effortlessly through her name, my interest quickly stirred in the direction of her involvement within the LGBTQ+ community.
Much like Marsha's distinct name, her work with Sylvia Rivera - an American transgender rights activist - to provide shelter for homeless gay and transgender individuals was uncommon in a society where homosexuality was treated as an illness. Where the majority remained hostile towards the LGBT community, Marsha responded with compassion and courage.
As I took a moment to acknowledge that Marsha was a transgender woman and person of colour, images of the recent Black Lives Matter protests collected in my mind. I could easily anticipate the privileges, particularly on safety, that were not readily available to her. The fearful truth that even today many transgender women and people of colour are vulnerable to hate crimes allowed me to see Marsha’s death as terrible and foreseen.
On 6th July 1992, Marsha’s body was found floating in the Hudson River. Where the police ruled her death as suicide, many recognised Marsha’s vibrant nature to conflict with this judgement. The case turned cold and Marsha’s diligent work to gain rights for gay and transgender people snowballed through the US and stretched over the globe.
Where my curiosity about Pride month began with the rainbow flags around me and could appreciate the parallel between a spectrum and diversity in a community, I wanted to know if there was more to what I gathered.
Soon, I acknowledged that the rainbow flag was designed by Gilbert Baker in 1978. The original design includes pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for nature, turquoise for magic, blue for serenity and purple for the human spirit. The 8 colours and their individual representation allowed a soul-stirring feeling to surge through me.
Where did the pink and turquoise go? I asked myself.
I quickly learnt that the hot pink dye was onerous to obtain, at the time, for mass production and the turquoise was removed to allow for an even number of colours.
The vibrant colours and the passionate emotions attached to them differed greatly from the inverted pink triangle. The inverted triangle was a symbol forced upon gay prisoners by Nazis to allow for easy identification. The poor treatment of gay prisoners in concentration camps became anchored to the pink triangle and created feelings of shame around the symbol. Although the pink triangle was overturned by activists in the 1970s and used to identify safe spaces for queer people in the 1990s, I can understand how its origin meant that it could not be celebrated in the same way as the rainbow flag.
Since 1978, there have been several variations of the rainbow flag to heighten its inclusivity. The Black Lives Matter protests and calls from transgender individuals to be seen and considered equal allowed the colours black, brown, light blue and pink to be included in the flag design.
Even so, as a community, we must do more than fastening a flag to a post and exchange posters to incorporate the rainbow flag. Where the two creates opportunities for conversations on the LGBTQ+ community and serves as a reminder that support can be found, as individuals we can go beyond this. We hold the potential to challenge those who display disapproval of LGBTQ individuals and support those individuals where we can.
I hope this piece has taught you something or reminded you of how you can support the people around you. If you believe that I have misinterpreted information or would like to have a conversation on this subject, do get in touch - I am happy to discuss and learn from you. In my next post, I hope to delve into what Pride means to others - make sure you keep an eye out!
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