Pride and Joy
There are a lot of horrible things happening in the world. Books are being banned. College staff are being fired from their jobs for including their pronouns in their email signatures. Lawmakers are introducing legislation in numerous states that would prohibit gender-affirming care for young people that need it. Individuals are damaging displays in retail stores and posting videos that are going viral spewing ignorance and misinformation. The livelihood and safety of drag performers is being threatened in numerous communities. Calls to ban trans athletes from competing are continuing to grow in several states. Data shows that in America, LGBTQIA+ youth are experiencing unprecedented mental health challenges. All of that is just in the United States.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed an anti-LGBTQ law that includes a penalty of up to 20 years in prison for “promoting” homosexuality and a death penalty sentence for “aggravated homosexuality.” According to the international organization Human Rights Watch, there are at least 67 countries have national laws criminalizing same-sex relations between consenting adults.
The attacks on LGBTQIA+ people, our families, and allies are all very heavy and a lot to process, so when I was asked recently, “What makes you joyful to celebrate Pride this year?” I had to reflect for a while before I could respond. The last 12 months have been challenging for our community.
Yet, after a bit of quiet, I smiled and replied: I am joyful to celebrate Pride this year because Pride reminds me that I can dance while I debate. That I can shake my hips while I shake up the world. That my movements are part of the movement.
Multiple things can be true at the same time. There is so much work to do in the movement for visibility and equity for all LGBTQIA+ people, and we must fight for that visibility and equity. We must also remember that we are people, human beings, like any other and as much as we deserve visibility and equity, we also deserve rest and joy. All those things are worthy of our pursuit and being.
Singing, dancing, laughing, building community on the dance floor, at the beach, in a park or at a festival—those cherished moments of enjoyment punctuate life, and make it sweeter, even in what sometimes feels like a bitter world. As humans we need those experiences to lift us up, keep us going, and share.
Joy is our birthright. Joy is also a form of resistance. Alice Walker famously wrote, “the world has changed: it did not change without your prayers without your faith without your determination to believe in liberation and kindness; without your dancing through the years that had no beat.” Walker went on to note, “Hard times require furious dancing. Each of us is proof.” So, dance while you debate. Have a party after you protest.
And while we need to have a good time, embrace, snatch, and steal joy wherever we can find it, we must also find rest. The work of trying to dismantle structures of oppression, playing “whack-a-mole” responding to the latest culture war issue taking over the news and social media timelines, all the while seeking to maintain your own health, job, relationships, and family commitments can be absolutely exhausting.
Tricia Hersey, founder of the Nap Ministry and author of Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto asserts that “Treating each other and ourselves with care isn’t a luxury, but an absolute necessity if we’re going to thrive. Resting isn’t an afterthought, but a basic part of being human.” Rest is essential to our mental, physical, and spiritual health. A healthy life cannot be achieved without rest. We need rest to move from surviving to thriving and Hersey reminds us that it is our divine right to do so.
During Pride season I will continue to push for visibility and equity. I will also push myself and others to intentionally make space for joy and rest. Resist! ▼
Clarence J. Fluker is a public affairs and social impact strategist. Since 2008, he’s also been a contributing writer for Swerv, a lifestyle periodical celebrating African American LGBTQ+ culture and community. Follow him on Twitter: @CJFluker or Instagram: @Mr_CJFluker.