The Bittersweet Nature of Community

Pride also signifies community, an undeniably positive aspect. It has been heartening to witness numerous Queer voices celebrating their experiences at Pride events and the sense of belonging these occasions foster.

This year, coincidentally, marks my anniversary as an editor for Prism & Pen. This role has enriched my life with a sense of Queer community that I previously lacked, especially as a neurodivergent person for whom traditional Pride events can be overwhelming.

However, my engagement with the Queer community has not been without its challenges. Some who claim to be allies still impose their conditions on our acceptance, mirroring the oppressive dynamics they have faced from broader society.

I have encountered submissions that are overtly transphobic, echoing outdated and harmful narratives about transgender individuals, treating us as mere subjects for debate rather than acknowledging our humanity. When confronted, some of these individuals have rejected our concerns, insisting on their right to speak derogatorily about us, replicating the oppressor-oppressed dynamic they themselves have experienced.

Additionally, instances of racism, classism, sexism, and misogyny have also emerged within our community.

The Need for Intersectionality

Another pressing issue within the LGBTQ+ movement is its reliance on an identity politics framework that often lacks an intersectional approach. Many activists who fought for gay rights during pivotal moments like Stonewall and the Compton Cafeteria riots were people of color or those marginalized by class, gender, and other factors.

The narrow focus of the gay rights movement has often neglected the voices and struggles of Queers of color, working-class Queers, mentally ill and neurodivergent Queers, and Queer women, among others.

One might question why the movement should broaden its focus to include other marginalized issues. However, such inquiries highlight the underlying problem: they perpetuate the notion that the LGBTQ+ community is predominantly White, affluent, and able-bodied, thereby disregarding the multifaceted oppression that exists within our ranks.

Terms like "gay rights movement" and slogans such as "love is love" inadvertently reinforce the prioritization of cisgender gay rights, while other identities are merely appended to the LGBTQ+ acronym as an afterthought.

The Influence of Neoliberalism

The current state of the LGBTQ+ rights movement has been shaped by the neoliberal context in which it has evolved. The emphasis on discrete identities as a basis for rights, rather than a collective approach centered on shared humanity and a challenge to broader oppression, has been easily co-opted by neoliberal entities.

The commercialization of Pride is well-documented, and while I won’t dwell on that, it’s clear that Pride has been exploited to such a degree that I feel compelled to contribute to a Pride article in June, the month when the world ostensibly turns its attention to our community.

In a sense, I am forced to commodify my own marginalization to navigate a corporatized holiday, driven by the need to generate income to address my own marginalization, particularly in light of inadequate support from our public healthcare system.

The Dark Side of Queer Rights

It’s essential to acknowledge the ongoing violence against marginalized groups, such as the genocide occurring in Palestine, where LGBTQ+ rights have been weaponized to justify inhumane actions against Palestinian individuals based on perceived homophobia.

In this context, homonormativity is woven into a narrative of homonationalism, where "acceptable" Queerness is assimilated into Western neocolonial projects. Alarmingly, some members of the Queer community have been complicit in the exploitation of their rights to rationalize violence.

Even in scenarios where our rights are not exploited for mass violence, how can we find joy in our own existence when others, including Palestinian Queers, are suffering?

This concern extends to the myriad forms of exploitation, environmental devastation, inequality, and violence that permeate our world.

The Constraints of Queer Joy

Queer joy can serve as a counterbalance to our oppression — I’ve argued this before, and as Ahmed points out, it’s "possible to give an account of being happily queer that does not conceal signs of struggle" (pg. 118). Yet, there comes a point when celebrating Queer joy amidst significant suffering can become problematic, as it may mask the realities of our unhappiness or that of others.

This unhappiness is what propels us toward the substantial change we desperately require, which Pride, in its current commodified and homonormative form, often fails to deliver. Discontent can signal a desire to challenge the status quo, while the pressure to maintain an appearance of happiness, particularly during Pride month, becomes a condition for acceptance — even as that acceptance continues to erode for many.

As Ahmed states, "the very pressure to be happy in order to show that you are not unhappy can create unhappiness" (pg. 95). I wholeheartedly resonate with this sentiment.

Why I Cannot Celebrate Pride This Year

Consequently, I find myself unable to celebrate Pride this year, unable to embrace the limited acceptance that paradoxically continues to oppress many within and outside the Queer community.

Instead, I will voice my profound discontent and my lack of pride in what Pride has evolved into, hoping that acknowledging this discontent can inspire broader reflection and change.

Rather than pursuing a Queer rights movement centered on acceptance within oppressive frameworks, we must redirect our efforts toward dismantling these very structures.

We should move away from an identity politics that is exclusionary, focusing solely on "us" — especially since the definition of "us" often marginalizes significant parts of our community and ignores the discrimination they endure, even from within our ranks.

This does not mean we should abandon identity altogether; rather, we must recognize that all marginalized groups face similar forms of oppression stemming from shared norms, laws, hierarchies, and institutions.

Instead of allowing identity to divide us, we can harness it as a source of strength, recognizing our shared struggles as articulated by Ahmed (pg. 101) and uniting across our diverse identities.

We collectively experience unhappiness, driven by the status quo, alongside a yearning for joy. This shared discontent, along with the motivation it generates, can pave the way for a more equitable society — a genuinely joyful society for everyone.

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