We March Because We Still Have To

For the last 2 years during Pride month, I have festooned my office with rainbows. I don’t just put up a little rainbow flag. No, no. I put rainbows EVERYWHERE. Seriously, it looks like a unicorn took a dump in my office. All month when I’m out in public, I make sure to be wearing a rainbow of some kind. I have a rainbow pin that is perpetually on my purse, and this year I added a trans flag pin next to it. Why? Why do I do this? Aren’t queer people equal now that they can get married? Aren’t most Pride parades celebrations now with little to no danger or harassment?

No. No, they are not. They are still radical acts of visibility and defiance. We still march because we. STILL. HAVE. TO.

Take a look at this map, for instance:

This map is based on data from the Human Rights Campaign in 2018. Source: https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/03/world/same-sex-laws-map-intl/index.html

There are big swaths of places all over the world where homosexuality is illegal. In some places, the government will put you to death for being gay. And don’t get it twisted, the places where there’s “no penalizing law,” such as India and China, doesn’t mean you can be openly queer. It may not be illegal, but there are no protections in place, either. You can lose your job, lose your housing, lose your benefits, be beaten, be attacked, be killed and have absolutely no recourse.

Are things changing? Sure. Some. It’s 2019 and Botswana just decriminalized homosexuality. This year Taiwan recognized same-sex marriages. But just because you can’t be arrested for being queer or because you can marry the person you choose doesn’t mean you’re safe.

We march and we fight because last week my non-binary friend bought mace because three of their trans friends were verbally and/or physically assaulted. In Philadelphia. Which has it’s own version of a Pride flag and whose city government is progressive on issues of gay and trans rights. Shit, our hockey mascot marched in our Pride parade!

Source: https://twitter.com/GrittyNHL/status/1137772810707898369

However, it’s been less than a year since Pennsylvania passed anti-discrimination laws for housing, employment, public accommodations, and education. Less than a year. And this is in a state where it is relatively safe to be out and proud, at least in the cities. Imagine what it is like in significantly less welcoming areas of the country.

We march and we shout and we wear rainbows and we support each other and we wave our flags because WE STILL HAVE TO. Because trans people still have to worry about which bathroom they use. Because some people can’t walk down the street wearing makeup and a dress. Because some people can’t hold their partner’s hand openly. Because some people can’t tell their parents about who they are or who they love without fear of being kicked out onto the streets. Because there are places that will still send children for conversion therapy because they are queer. Because of at least 26 transgender people murdered in the United States in 2018 (though the number is probably higher), most of them were trans women of color. Because the American Medical Association has declared violence against the transgender community an “epidemic.” Because people invalidate my identity as a bisexual because I married a woman. Because people invalidate my friends’ identities as bisexuals because they married a man. Because the tangerine in chief decided that trans people aren’t fit to serve in the military.

Because so, so many reasons. Because we still have to.