Episode 2: Pride

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[Beth 0:01]: Hello everyone. You're listening to the queer oral history podcast based in Washington, DC. Welcome to Rainbow District. 

 

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This is a special mini episode in honor of the first day of Pride, which is today, June 1st. Pride is a month-long celebration of queer identity, with events, marches, and protests all over the world.

 

[0:41]: The first gay pride marches took place on June 28th, 1970, the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall riots. In the 1960's, police raids on gay bars in New York City were routine. It was an extremely dangerous time to be queer, and essentially illegal. Homosexual conduct between consenting adults wasn't legalized until 1980. So, queer people flocked to bars as one of the only places they could get away with socializing and expressing themselves. One of these bars was the Stonewall Inn.

 

[01:16]: The NYPD raided the Stonewall Inn on the morning of June 28th, 1969. Fed up with discrimination and police harassment, patrons resisted and fought back, resulting in five days of riots. The Stonewall riots didn't start the gay rights movement, but they were a galvanizing force for queer political activism, and have become a symbol of queer revolution and, of course, pride.

 

[1:42]: An essential part of pride is celebrating queer joy. And in all my interviews with activists, I ask them, what does queer joy look like for you? This episode is a compilation of their responses to that question. I hope you enjoy!

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[Beth 2:00]: What does queer joy look like for you?

 

[Lauren 2:04]: I don't know, it's just any time I have joy, really, these days. I didn't really feel very capable of any long-term or meaningful joy before I– you know, I kind of hate the term transitioning, but whatever– started my transition, you know, started thinking of myself as trans or feeling more like something that I actually wanted to be, I guess, and feel, like, affirmed in that. What is trans joy? I mean, it's me being happy in myself. It's me being, you know, present when I didn't feel able to be present at all before. I don't know, it's a lot of things. I mean, it's me eating ice cream, you know?

 

[Beth 2:44]: I love ice cream.

 

[Lauren 2:45]: And just looking like I do, and sounding like I do, and having the body that I have, you know?

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[Robert: 2:52]: Anything queer people do together, where they love one another, is queer joy. And it's golden joy. 'Cause it's hard fought, it's hard won. It's vulnerable, so it's gold.

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[Maddie 3:11]: Most of my joy is queer joy. I can't even summarize all of the ways that being queer brings joy to my life. Just the cultural aspect, the community aspect, the space that it gives me to just do whatever and not have to fit into boxes, and to find boxes if I want them. For me, having labels tells me I'm real; there's other people that have my experiences, at least to an extent; I'm valid; and it helps me explain me to me.

 

[3:50]: There's so many jokes that queer people make about ourselves that just are so funny to me. Basically having inside jokes like, you know, gays can't sit on chairs–which, for the listeners–we're both sitting on chairs incorrectly right now. Like, it's just, I don't know why it's true, but it's a thing. Yeah. Just, you know, gays can't do math.

 

[Beth 4:15]: Except for the math gays. 

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[Maddie 4:17]: Except for the math gays. All three of them. But, you know, obviously those are jokes. And an aspect of those jokes specifically like, gays can't blah, blah, blah, is because homophobes will say stuff like that, and so it's kind of like we're reclaiming it. We're saying, actually, queer people can do all the things you're saying. Here's what we can't do. We can't sit properly. We can't resist rolling up our sleeves. Like, having cuffed jeans. Just impossible.

 

[Beth 4:45]: That is impossible.

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[Maddie 4:46]: Yeah. Like, what are we supposed to do? Like, not show our cool, funky gay socks?

 

[Beth 4:52]: Always funky socks.

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[Maddie 4:53]: Absolutely. Like, what are we supposed– are we not supposed to have pins all over our fucking messenger bags? How else are people gonna know that we're queer?

 

[Laya 5:02]: Queer joy. Things that I do–like, is this things that I do that bring me joy as a queer person, kind of idea?

 

[Beth 5:11]: It's kind of up to interpretation.

 

[Laya 5:13]: Okay. I probably experience the most queer joy when I'm like, at a Pride. There's tons of joy there, and I've been to a lot of them because I used to work for HRC and we'd go to various Prides. But it's always so much fun. It's always a blast. It's like, it's so nice to be in a space where you can just be unapologetically queer. Like, no one's really going to bother you. It just feels–it's such a nice space. Dancing in an LGBTQ or queer bar is really, really nice.

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[5:43]: Also, if you ever work for a queer organization, it's very nice, 'cause I've worked at organizations that are not, and then I worked at many that are. And it's like, totally different worlds. Because at the queer organization everyone like doesn't, you know, it's not weird to like, ask for pronouns. It's not weird to like, think that somebody might not be a boy or girl.

 

They might be something else, or they might. They might be trans, but who cares? They might be gay, but who cares? Like, it's just such a nice place to be in. And then on top of that, they're already going to be welcoming to other things just because they're so queer-friendly. So I don't know. It's just such a nice space to be in and it feels like a sanctuary sometimes.

 

[Emma 6:26]: What does queer joy look like? It looks like this. It looks like sitting down with somebody who is very different from me. Who is from a different generation, at least. Maybe two different generations. And who is different culturally, spiritually, and religiously. And yet, our queerness enables us to connect with one another in ways that are– that are spiritual, in ways that are mystical, in ways that enable hearts to touch, enables thoughts to cross the barriers that lie between us.

 

And enable us to grow from the experience and to be nourished by it. And to talk about the hard things and to talk about the difficult things. And at the same time, want the absolute best for each other.

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[Beth 7:17]: What does queer joy look like for you?

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[Rob 7:20]: Queer joy? I think that it's just joy. Being happy. I think that happiness is the same whether you're straight or queer, and it should be able to be achieved by everyone. And I think queer joy in particular, is a little bit more difficult for us to achieve that level of joy, because of the hurdles, and the things that we have to endure to get there. And so I think that it becomes even more delicious when you have it. And when you found it. It just really feels earned and it is just very deep.

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[Beth 8:11]: For queer people, our stories typically include experiences with queerphobia that result in loss, exclusion, and injustice. It is so important to keep telling those stories, and it's just as important to highlight the aspects of our community that are silly, fun, and full of joy.

 

Stay tuned for the rest of Season 1, coming soon, in which I share some of the full interviews you heard from today. Happy Pride, everyone!

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[Lauren 8:39]: Testing, uno, dos, tres, cuatro. Is this a dagger which I see before me? The handle towards my hand. Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.

 

[Beth 8:49]: [laughing] What is that? Shakespeare?

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[Lauren 8:51]: That's Shakespeare. That's from Macbeth.

 

[Microphone shuffles]

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[Beth 8:54]: Alright. A new test. 

 

[Lauren 8:56]: A new test. A new world, really, if you think about it.

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[Beth 9:00]: [laughing] Would you like to introduce yourself? Sorry, I meant to actually tell you that–

 

[Lauren 9:03]: That's perfect. Hey. 

 

[Beth 9:06]: That was the first thing I forgot to say. Okay, we're starting over.

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[Both laugh]

 

Lauren]: Okay.

 

[Beth 9:10]: Other than that, there are no surprises.

 

[Lauren 9:12]: Of course. Um–

 

[Beth]: Wait, wait, wait.

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[Lauren]: That's quite a curveball you're throwing at me...

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[Beth 9:18]: If you're a queer activist and want to share your oral history, go to rainbowdistrictpodcast.com and schedule an interview with me. That's also where you can learn more about queer history and find community resources. Alright, bye for now!

 

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