[Vol. 53] About This Weekend ...
It's going to be explosively gay.
Happy Friday, my friends :)
I was just about to write about queerbaiting today. I was this close, if you can believe it.
*I guess you can’t see how close I’m holding my fingers together right now, but I’ll have you know they are almost impossibly close. Anyways –
I’ll probably write about queerbaiting* sometime in the future, but not today.
*Queerbaiting: The concept of a straight/cisgender public figure/celebrity faking or falsely implying queerness to garner interest from the LGBTQ+ community, for those that didn’t know.
Today is the Friday of Pride weekend and New York City is brimming with rainbow-fueled anticipation. I have to honor that here.
Now I know what you might be thinking – You already wrote a whole newsletter on Pride month (which you should read here), do we really need another 1,000 words on Pride?
I think yes. Here’s why.
A lot of shit goes down during Pride month – especially in a city as openly gay as New York City – but what the whole month really boils down to, in my opinion, is this one weekend.
Centered around the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, the history of which we’ve already gone over a few times (check out Volume 46, the Pride issue), Pride weekend in NYC is explosively queer.
Yes, I chose that word – explosive – carefully.
Because that’s exactly what it is. It’s aggressive; it’s in-your-face; it’s impossible to avoid; it’s everywhere.
I wish I could find a quote or tweet here from someone funnier and wiser than myself to describe what I mean, but alas my 10 minute search for “Pride weekend NYC best tweets” came up empty.
So here’s my own take, as a settlement:
That’s what I love about Pride weekend.
Just like the whole month, it’s a big, capital F “Fuck You” to anyone who’d rather we stay quietly closeted.
We see your question: “Why make your identity anyone else’s business?” and we raise you one weekend where it’s literally everyone’s business.
It’s rebellious, it’s cheeky, it’s explosive. It’s the exact opposite of being in the closet.
The aim, at least for a lot of my friends and I, is to dress as freely and as boldly as we so choose.
Whatever it is you’ve always entertained wearing but felt insecure doing so, this is the weekend to dig that shit out of your closet or right off that thrift store hanger.
To that end, this weekend’s Pride festivities have a pretty apt theme: “The Fight Continues”.
And so it fucking does.
As much as I love joy and celebration, I also love realism.
So let me remind you, me, and all of us: Queer youth – queer people – are still in danger.
Let me remind you that the Human Rights Campaign has deemed 2021 “the worst year in recent history for LGBTQ+ state legislative attacks”.
Let me remind you that trans youth are being stripped of their rights across the board – in every field, bathroom, restaurant, classrooom, and doctor’s office.
Let me remind you that 40% of respondents to the Trevor Project’s 2020 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health, “seriously considered attempting suicide” in the last 12 months. That’s 2 in every 5 LGBTQ+ youth.
And so the fight fucking continues.
I know first hand the darkness that can come from grappling with queerness in this world. I know first hand that the fight is not over.
But in its essence, I truly believe queerness is something immensely beautiful; immensely joyful. How could it not be? It’s self-acceptance; it’s love; it’s authenticity; it’s freedom.
What taints all that beauty, then, is not queerness itself, but the world in which it is forced to exist.
This is the duality of Pride and Pride weekend. Celebrating all this beauty while rioting against all that darkness.
Whew, I’m getting too emotional here for outdoor seating at my favorite café to allow.
Happy Pride weekend, everyone.
“In the religion of the insecure, I must be my self, respect my youth … Rejoice and love yourself today, because baby, you were born this way.” – Lady Gaga, Born This Way (2011)
Find me on Instagram: @till_kaeslin
Check out the newsletter’s home on Instagram: @thatsgaynewsletter
And that was That’s Gay, Volume 53.
See you in Volume 54, folks!
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