Stop Making Pride So Thin & White
Recently I saw a post by Tara Robertson (She/Her) asking for trans and non-binary people for Pride speaking engagements.
A post by Tara Robertson (She/Her) asking for trans and non-binary people for Pride speaking engagements.
I immediately added myself to the list.
K comments on Tara’s post for trans speakers.
As soon I was getting excited, the comments reminded me of who is always centered for Pride. The comments after mine recommended the same thin White voices I see constantly. I was reminded that when people think Pride, they think thin White people, even when asking for trans speakers.
A capture from White gay privilege exists all year, but it is particularly hurtful during Pride by George Johnson.
This reminder along with many Black speakers saying they were booked extremely less this year for Black History month really discourages me from continuing to do the work that I do. I was, however, delighted to see Yeong Cheng (They/Them) and Shannon Wong (She/They) make several comments encouraging others to take notice of who they were centering. Yeong specifically went in on how “speaker lineups and panels are homogenous monolithizations representing the most powerful people within the identity topic of the month.” They provided several comments that made sure to explain why and how “we end up with panels that are one token and a bunch of white people with limited to ignorant analysis on racial experiences and harm within their own communities.”
Screen captures of four comments by Yeong Cheng detailing why an all White panel for Pride is the harmful norm.
Shannon even provided instructions on how to find Black speakers via the Black Speakers collection.
Shannon Wong encourages people to use the Black Speakers Collection for Pride Month.
I am thankful for these speakers using their voice to point out what we feel every June and hope more people think this way when planning for Pride.
Thank you for reading through! Hi, I’m K Mataōtama Strohl (They/Them). I’d love to be able to continue to share stories like this but I need your help to be able to do so. Please visit my Ko-Fi page to tip what you can and gain access to my other work. You can learn more about me and my work at the link below.
