Come enjoy "a night at the Aqueerium!", suggested a large digital sign festooned with rainbow fish and the branding of a local aquarium. I was accosted by this colourful bit of corporate Pride at the subway, on my way to work this morning.
While I must confess both the visual feast of the advertisement and its playful pun caught my attention, something seemed a bit... well, queer.
I had been to said aquarium (in months other than June), and the business did not strike me as particularly LGBTQ-friendly. I don't remember being impressed with a representative presence of gay, lesbian or trans folks who work at or patronize the place. And did they have gender-inclusive washrooms? I don't recall, actually (which probably means they didn't).
So it struck me as a bit odd (or queer, if you will) that this same establishment was now promoting itself as a fun place for the gays to hang out. In fact, it made me think of any number of allegedly LGBTQ-friendly businesses that seem to crawl out of the woodwork around Pride month.
It's June, y'all, and suddenly everyone is all supportive of the homos!
While I must confess both the visual feast of the advertisement and its playful pun caught my attention, something seemed a bit... well, queer.
I had been to said aquarium (in months other than June), and the business did not strike me as particularly LGBTQ-friendly. I don't remember being impressed with a representative presence of gay, lesbian or trans folks who work at or patronize the place. And did they have gender-inclusive washrooms? I don't recall, actually (which probably means they didn't).
So it struck me as a bit odd (or queer, if you will) that this same establishment was now promoting itself as a fun place for the gays to hang out. In fact, it made me think of any number of allegedly LGBTQ-friendly businesses that seem to crawl out of the woodwork around Pride month.
It's June, y'all, and suddenly everyone is all supportive of the homos!
Don't get me wrong... in a world that for so long overwhelmingly slung derogatory comments in the general direction of anyone who did not dance to the beat of the heteronormative drummer, and that certainly never celebrated anything queer, there is something quite comforting about seeing the colours of my tribe's flag represented in the mainstream.
But the truth is, it just all feels a little, well, insincere.
A gay colleague was complaining to me recently about how it frustrated him that so many of the younger fags just think Pride month is a party. They forget, he lamented, the sacrifices that bought them the freedom to frolic freely down the street amongst friends and allies all weekend long.
They forget that the first pride marches were riots, political protests designed to raise awareness amongst a mainstream that could no longer afford to ignore a critical mass, and to demand from that mainstream the same basic human rights that they enjoyed.
But the truth is, it just all feels a little, well, insincere.
A gay colleague was complaining to me recently about how it frustrated him that so many of the younger fags just think Pride month is a party. They forget, he lamented, the sacrifices that bought them the freedom to frolic freely down the street amongst friends and allies all weekend long.
They forget that the first pride marches were riots, political protests designed to raise awareness amongst a mainstream that could no longer afford to ignore a critical mass, and to demand from that mainstream the same basic human rights that they enjoyed.
poster reblogged from redbubble
Stonewall, the AIDS crisis, Operation Soap, Harvey Milk, The Continental, Brent Hawkes... many straight people and even LGBTQ youth today have never heard of these historical events, places and figures.
And those who have have only a superficial understanding of their significance in our tribe's history.
So what I want to know is, where was TD Bank or Telus, who proclaim #lovewins and claim to be #foreverproud, when Rev Brent Hawkes was on Day 17 of his 25-day hunger strike in 1981, protesting police brutality and demanding an inquest into the bathhouse raids? (Or where were they, for that matter, 25 years later, when this same Canadian hero wore a bullet-proof vest to perform the first same sex wedding ceremonies in the world?!)
And those who have have only a superficial understanding of their significance in our tribe's history.
So what I want to know is, where was TD Bank or Telus, who proclaim #lovewins and claim to be #foreverproud, when Rev Brent Hawkes was on Day 17 of his 25-day hunger strike in 1981, protesting police brutality and demanding an inquest into the bathhouse raids? (Or where were they, for that matter, 25 years later, when this same Canadian hero wore a bullet-proof vest to perform the first same sex wedding ceremonies in the world?!)
1980s image reblogged from Twitter
While it's true, as this CBC Archives clip from the late 1970s suggests, that LGBTQ rights have come a long way, let us not forget that it was within this decade that a mayor for our city refused to acknowledge the globally lauded efforts of the city and LGBTQ allies in particular for organizing World Pride, an event that drew millions to Toronto and resulted in undisputed economic gain for this city. (And moreoever, this after he was already accused of making several previous homophobic remarks, and caught on film making misogynistic comments.)
Nationally, we're faring no better: It was only this past year that our Prime Minister finally acknowledged and apologized for decades of discrimination against LGBTQ Canadians; meanwhile, conservative leaders in our country continue to proudly promote homophobic policies.
Gay men find themselves at greater risk for violent crime, simply because they are gay, and it's no secret that LGBTQ youth are five times as likely to be homeless as those who identify as cis-gender and/or straight.
Women, POCs and members of the Indigenous community who also happen to identify as LGBTQ are hit with a double whammy.
Where, pray tell, are all the proud businesses when it comes time to take action and create practical solutions to these very real problems that face our community? Where are they when it's time to take a stand and speak up for what's right, even when it's not popular or sexy?
Nationally, we're faring no better: It was only this past year that our Prime Minister finally acknowledged and apologized for decades of discrimination against LGBTQ Canadians; meanwhile, conservative leaders in our country continue to proudly promote homophobic policies.
Gay men find themselves at greater risk for violent crime, simply because they are gay, and it's no secret that LGBTQ youth are five times as likely to be homeless as those who identify as cis-gender and/or straight.
Women, POCs and members of the Indigenous community who also happen to identify as LGBTQ are hit with a double whammy.
Where, pray tell, are all the proud businesses when it comes time to take action and create practical solutions to these very real problems that face our community? Where are they when it's time to take a stand and speak up for what's right, even when it's not popular or sexy?
Hawkes, now a recipient of the Order of Canada, leads his church at a more recent Toronto Pride march
As someone who's been around long enough to know better, I'll enjoy the rainbow of my Pride celebrations this year, but I won't forget the cost at which they've come.
Nor will I climb unassumingly into bed with any business who slaps a rainbow onto their June advertising without the faintest idea of what their previous decades-long silence has meant to us.
Nor will I climb unassumingly into bed with any business who slaps a rainbow onto their June advertising without the faintest idea of what their previous decades-long silence has meant to us.
Pride continues to be an opportunity for activism, advocacy and education, at least as much as celebration. And while I appreciate the mainstream media's more recent normalizing of LGBTQ individuals so that I can see and hear people who look and sound like me more often than ever before, the truth remains that for those of us who find ourselves in the 7-20% margin, every night is a night at the "aQUEERium"!
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