Author: Lee,Lee, They/Them | June 9th, 2022
Strong, passionate words from a 15-year-old non-binary Sethu client, identifying as Lee with They/Them pronouns. Read on to learn about their world in a powerful essay written to help spread awareness and honour Pride Month around the world.
Pride Month is a celebration of Queer joy and a remembrance of the struggles we have overcome and are still fighting. Pride Marches and movements show the world that we exist, that we are valid and that we are deserving of respect and dignity. We pay homage to the activists and Individuals who fought for our right to existence. It shows Closeted young queer people and children that they are not alone, that people like them exist, that they are worthy of love. It is a reminder of the stark imbalance of Human Rights in the world.
Brief History Of Pride:
Pride month was created because Brenda Howard ‘The Mother Of Pride”’ a bisexual activist decided it should. She was a main coordinator of the Christopher Street Liberation Day March in honor of the one Year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. This evolved into the existence of Pride Month as we know it today.
The Stonewall Riots transformed Gay Liberation and the Fight for Queer Rights. On June 28 1969 a Police Raid took place at a Gay bar, The Stonewall Inn. At the time most Gay bars were owned by the Mafia and were illegal so Police raids happened pretty often. However the tension between Queer residents and the police had grown and a resistance was formed.
Storme DeLarverie a Black Butch Lesbian Drag King, threw the first punch at a police officer and started the fight for freedom alongside Sylvia Rivera a Trangender activist and active in the Gay Liberation Front, She Co-Founded Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) with Marsha P. Johnson a black Trangender woman and self-identified Drag Queen who was a prominent figure of the Gay Rights Movement and a Frontliner of the Stonewall Uprising.
After this historic uprising and the widespread media coverage, magazine and newspaper publications emerged with Queer Rights and Equal Rights as their focus. More protests took place in favor of Queer acceptance and within a few years Gay and LGBTQ+ Rights organizations popped up all over the US.
Modern Day Queerness:
While Cisgender (Person who identifies with their birth gender) Queerness is getting normalized in parts of the world, Anti-Trans legislation and abuse grows. Even within the LGBTQ+ community transphobia is rife. This violence places Trangender and Non-binary people at the bottom of the equality barrel. They are overlooked or snubbed for their existence in the world.
As a Non-Binary Person I am very aware of the struggles Trangender and Non-Binary people face all over the world. The constant invalidation of identities and Misgendering we face on a daily basis goes overwhelmingly undocumented. The Media has been cementing Stereotypes and Ideas of what it means to be Gay or Trans, Who is “Allowed” to be Gay or Trans and What it Should Look like. Are we really honoring our black and brown trans pioneers? when we uphold mainstream narratives of queerness and transness that value Whiteness/Fairness, Cis-Passing Privilege and Thin Able-bodied androgyny. While demonizing and stigmatizing Sex Work, Blackness, Disability and Transfemininity.
Of all the issues trans and Non-Binary people face the first one most will face when coming out and navigating society is The Pronoun Issue. Honestly I don’t see why that should even be an issue! Cisgender People Love to use Grammar as a way to invalidate those of us out there with They/Them pronouns or Neopronouns It/Its, Xe/Xem, Ze/Zir. They say it isn’t grammatically correct and frankly Who Cares! This isn’t about Grammar it’s about caring for a person and giving them the gender affirmation and dignity, they deserve. Language is constantly evolving and changing and Human Dignity should be included. It’s not a valid problem to say “I cannot use your pronouns because it isn’t grammatically correct” this is not about you this is about them and they are deserving of dignity. All trans and non-binary people are deserving of respect and Misgendering someone even if you dislike them is Transphobic.
The constant erasure of a person’s identity just because it says Female or Male on a birth certificate/other identification papers has got to stop. Even if you know their assigned gender, it does not give you the right to invalidate how they identify. It can cause a dysphoric spiral and leave that person incredibly depressed. I have had my gender invalidated by someone and in the comment sections of multiple online platforms. I was horribly depressed and contemplating un-aliving myself. Trans and Non-binary people exposed to transphobic laws, families and schools are no stranger to the dark well of depression and on average 50% of Trans and Non-binary individuals under 25 have committed suicide. This is Devastating.
Young people and Kids should be heard and accepted for their gender identity. Young people all over the world are being silenced under the assumption that they are too young to know who they are. They are not too young. They know who they are just like you know who you are. They cry alone, in silence and pray for someone to take them away. It is such a big problem that can be solved with so little, Acceptance.
Pride Month is more than just an acknowledgment of Gay people, It is about uplifting the marginalized and putting forth their struggles. It is a reminder to Do Better.
~ Lee, They/Them
15 years old