Hey everyone, I'm Sam Kayden
and this channel is about queer life beyond binaries to inspire you to live a happy fulfilling life as your true self.
Pride is just around the corner.
So I think now is a great time to talk about who belongs at pride and who doesn't
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Every year as Pride rolls around there always seems to be a conversation
online at least, about who belongs at Pride and who doesn't. So I'm going to unpack that a little bit and talk about
who I think should be at Pride and who shouldn't be. The short answer is everyone belongs at Pride.
The way that we gatekeep Pride and determine who should be there and who shouldn't based on identity or physical characteristics or
Personality or looks is ridiculous
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So the way that this gatekeeping tends to work is that
Somebody will say that because of this identity characteristic,
you do not belong at Pride. And a lot of the people that tend to be pushed out of Pride protests or celebrations
tend to be those whose identities are on the margins of the queer community.
So for example, people who are asexual aromantic, transgender, bisexual
pansexual, fluid...folks that don't have
identities that are gay or lesbian
tend to be excluded from
the queer community as a whole. And I think part of that is due to how over the years we have
redefined what it means to be queer.
The acronym itself has grown and increased as we have discovered and accepted more and more identities
And I think that it's really important that we
have a new definition of queer than maybe what was used
20, 30, 40 years ago. The definition of queer today essentially includes anyone who does not fall under
cisgender heterosexual
A trans person could identify as straight and they would still be queer because they're trans. An asexual person might identify as asexual
but hetero-romantic
So that person is definitely still queer
Ultimately anyone that is not cisgender heterosexual and considers themself to be a
member of the queer community is queer and therefore they belong at Pride.
Including identities that have been historically excluded from Pride is not a threat to those identities that are already included at Pride.
It's simply not. It's just opening up the definition of queer. It's being more inclusive. It's being more accepting
It's being more aware and understanding of the different identities that exist because there are so many.
So that leaves the question,
Do cisgender heterosexual people belong at Pride. Yeah, absolutely
Anyone and everyone belongs at Pride. Of course, I can only speak for myself
But I don't think it's effective that if we as a queer community use the tactics that have been used
against us to exclude us and push us to the margins
against the people that were using these tactics in the first place
The better question is how much space are you taking up at Pride?
So for example, if you are a cisgender heterosexual person who does not consider yourself queer maybe instead of marching in the parade itself
You're standing on the sidelines and cheering us on. Maybe you're waving a supportive sign
But that question is actually one that all of us can ask ourselves whether or not we're queer when we're attending Pride.
The question of
how much space you're taking up is really a question of
What privileges do you experience based on your identity, based on who you are?
And what are you doing to level the playing field
so those that don't experience those privileges
are not left in the dust and are given just the same amount of space as you are
So for example, I'm somebody who doesn't require mobility aids to get around.
So when I'm attending Pride it's important for me to pay attention to how Pride is set up and how
accessible the area is and if I
notice anything that is inaccessible or that needs to be improved on I should say something about it
I should find a volunteer. I should find somebody who's working at Pride and let them know and try to get it fixed
That's a way that I can use my privilege as someone who
moves through this world without requiring mobility aids to make sure that things are set up in a way that people with varying needs
will have an accessible Pride. So if you're attending Pride this year, just ask yourself: how much space am I taking up?
Do I have some privilege that maybe others don't have and what can I do about that?
how can I make this a more inclusive Pride for everyone and not just people that fall under my
definition of what queer means. If you know someone who would benefit from this video
please share it with them and don't forget to subscribe for weekly videos on queer life beyond binaries
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