‘We kept gettg people sayg: exce me, you don’t look gay’ – how Black people fought for a space at Pri | Pri | The Guardian

Contents:

• “BUT YOU DON’T LOOK GAY”—QUEER FASHN AND NIGHTLIFE
• ‘WE KEPT GETTG PEOPLE SAYG: EXCE ME, YOU DON’T LOOK GAY’ – HOW BLACK PEOPLE FOUGHT FOR A SPACE AT PRI
• TMP TELLS GAY SUPPORTER 'YOU DON'T LOOK GAY' AT MAR-A-LAGO FUNDRAISER
• BUT YOU DON'T LOOK GAY...
• YOU DON’T LOOK GAYRANDOLPH WT·FOLLOW27 M READ·JUL 4, 2021--LISTENSHARE[THIS IS THE CHAPTER I WROTE FOR THE BOOK “STORI FROM THE TRENCH: VOLUME 2 OM THE LET THEM FISH SERI”, PUBLISHED 2018. IT IS REPRODUCED HERE WH THE PERMISSN OF THE PUBLISHER.]CONTENT WARNG: THIS CHAPTER MIGHT MAKE SOME PEOPLE FEEL UNFORTABLE BEE DISCS SEX. I ENURAGE YOU TO READ ALL THE SAME. SEX IS NOTHG TO BE ASHAMED OF.PROGRS PRI FLAG BY DANIEL QUASARWHEN WE NTEMPLATE WHAT MEANS TO BE HUMAN, EXPRSN OF SELF IS THE MOST SACRED OF ALL THGS. HOW YOU SEE YOURSELF, AND HOW YOU WANT THE WORLD TO SEE YOU, IS THE SGLE MOST IMPORTANT DRIVG FORCE OF HUMANY TODAY.BUT FIRST A B OF BACKGROUND. THIS WILL NECSATE A LOOK AT HUMAN HISTORY AS WELL, FOR NTEXT. WHILE I N’T PROMISE TO KEEP SHORT, I’LL DO MY BT TO MAKE TERTG. I LIKE HISTORY. IT’S A SPECIAL TERT OF ME.QUEER SOUPWHEN YOU WERE BORN, YOU WERE ASSIGNED A SEX AT BIRTH BY A DOCTOR OR MIDWIFE. THIS SEX CLASSIFITN WOULD HAVE BEEN MALE OR FEMALE, BASED ON YOUR PHYSIL GENALIA. THAT’S ALL THERE IS TO . OUR ENTIRE LIV ARE DICTATED BY SOME SOFT TISSUE BETWEEN OUR LEGS WHEN WE ARE BORN WHICH WE DON’T EVEN TAKE SERLY FOR THE NEXT TEN TO FIFTEEN YEARS.BEFORE VERY LONG, WE ARE ASSIGNED TRADNAL ROL BASED ON THAT SGLE PHYSIL CHARACTERISTIC. WE ARE DRSED TRADNAL CLOTHG MA UP OM TRADNAL LOURS. WE ARE ENURAGED TO PLAY SPORTS THAT EVERYONE ELSE WH THE SAME SEX ASSIGNMENT PLAYS. IF YOU SOMEHOW FEEL LIKE YOU WANT TO GO AGAST THAT ASSIGNMENT FOR ANY REASON, SOCIETAL NORMS SAY THAT ’S WRONG. THERE’S NO REASON FOR , ’S JT WRONG.THIS IS WHAT HETERONORMATIVY IS: THE SOCIALLY PREFERRED (“NORMAL”) VIEW THAT WE N DIVI EVERYTHG TO TWO SIS, AND THAT WE ARE EXPECTED TO F NEATLY TO THAT BARY SYSTEM.UNFORTUNATELY, THIS NEAT NVENIENCE IS JT THAT: NVENIENT. HOW N A PHYSIL CHARACTERISTIC ASSIGNED AT BIRTH BY SOMEONE ELSE POSSIBLY ACUNT FOR YOUR OWN FEELGS, SIR, AND SELF-EXPRSN? THAT’S WHERE GENR INTY TO .I LEARNED MORE ABOUT GENR AND SEX INTY THREE MONTHS ON TUMBLR THAN I DID THE PREV 35 YEARS OF TRADNAL TN. AND WHAT I DISVERED IS THAT GENR IS WHATEVER YOU WANT TO MEAN. HOWEVER, BEE SEX AND GENR ARE NFLATED WTERN SOCIETY, THIS IS AS GOOD A PLACE AS ANY TO TALK ABOUT ALPHABET SOUP. EVERY JUNE NORTH AMERI SEEMS LIKE THERE ARE MORE LETTERS TO MEMORIZE FOR PRI MONTH.UNLS YOU’VE BEEN LIVG OFF THE GRID, YOU WILL HAVE SEEN SOME VARIATN OF THE LETTERS TO SCRIBE PEOPLE WHO DO NOT F TO THE HETERONORMATIVE SEX OR GENR BARY. THIS IS WHAT THOSE LETTERS MEAN. SOME ARE OVERLOAD WH TWO OR MORE MEANGS, AND SOME ARE REGN-SPECIFIC.L — LBIAN (WOMEN WHO HAVE ROMANTIC OR SEXUAL ATTRACTN TO OTHER WOMEN)G — GAY (MEN WHO HAVE ROMANTIC OR SEXUAL ATTRACTN TO OTHER MEN)B — BISEXUAL (MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE ROMANTIC OR SEXUAL ATTRACTN TO OTHER MEN AND WOMEN)T — TRANS (GENR INTY OR EXPRSN THAT IS DIFFERENT TO THEIR ASSIGNED SEX)Q — QUEER / QUTNG (THIS N ALSO CLU GENR-FLUID OR GENR-QUEER PEOPLE)I — TERSEX (PHYSIL SEX CHARACTERISTICS ARE AMBIGUO)A — ASEXUAL / AGENR / AROMANTIC (THE “A-” PREFIX MEANS “NOT”)2 — TWO-SPIR (NATIVE AMERIN ONLY: A THIRD GENR NOT FED BY INTY OR SEXUAL ATTRACTN)THE A IS NOT FOR “ALLY”.YOU MAY SEE THE LETTERS WRTEN OUT AS (FOR EXAMPLE) LGBTQ, LGBTQIA, LGBTQ2, AND SOME S FOLLOWED BY PL SIGNS (LGBTQ+), BEE HUMANS ARE BAD AT LABELS AND CLIVY. WHILE THERE HAS BEEN DISCSN OVER THE YEARS TO FD ONE WORD FOR THIS GROUP OF PEOPLE, THERE IS NO NSENS. AND ANYWAY, WHAT’S THE POT? IF WE IGNORE DIVIDUAL FNS OF INTY AND EXPRSN, WE SILENCE AND ERASE THE PEOPLE WHO E THEM. IT’S LIKE SOME AMERINS OF IRISH SCENT LLG THEMSELV “IRISH”. WHO AM I TO JUDGE?OTHER WORDS THAT DON’T HAVE A LETTER TO SCRIBE THEM CLU PANSEXUAL (SEXUAL ATTRACTN TO ANY GENR OR SEXUAL INTY), MISEXUAL (SEXUAL ATTRACTN ONLY AFTER YOU GET TO KNOW SOMEONE, IRRPECTIVE OF SEX OR GENR), AND ALLOSEXUAL (THE OPPOSE OF ASEXUAL).HUMANS LOVE LABELS, AND FOR SOME REASON WE LOVE THEM MORE IF THEY ARE SCIENTIFIC. HOMO SAPIENS. BRASSI OLERACEA. HETEROSEXUAL. CISGENR. THE ARE JT WORDS TO SCRIBE THGS. CISGENR SCRIB A PERSON WHOSE GENR MATCH THE SEX THEY WERE ASSIGNED AT BIRTH: AMAB STANDS FOR “ASSIGNED MALE AT BIRTH”, WHILE AFAB STANDS FOR “ASSIGNED FEMALE AT BIRTH”. MOST PEOPLE WHO READ THIS ARE CISGENR. IT’S NOT AN SULT ED BY “LIBERALS” OR “SJWS” (SOCIAL JTICE WARRRS); ’S A LERAL SCRIPTN OF MOST OF THE 100 BILLN PEOPLE WHO HAVE LIVED AND DIED ON PLA EARTH. IF YOU FEEL OFFEND BY THIS LABEL, MAYBE YOU NEED TO LOOK AT THE OTHER LETTERS AND SEE IF SOMETHG FS.I KNOW THIS IS A LOT TO TAKE , AND WHO HAS TIME FOR ? SURELY, ’S JT BETTER IF WE PICK ONE OR TWO WORDS AND STICK WH ? RIGHT? HERE’S THE THG, THOUGH. WORDS HAVE POWER. WORDS ARE ED TO OPPRS AND SUPPRS. WHAT IF I ASKED YOU TO STICK WH A LABEL YOU HAD NO SAY . IT’S LIKE INTIFYG BY THE NICKNAME YOU WERE LLED AT SCHOOL.THROUGH THE YEARS OF HUMAN CIVILIZATN, HUMANS HAVE NSIRED THEMSELV SUPERR TO OTHER SPECI, CLUDG ANIMALS, BY DIVE RIGHT. AND BEE THAT’S HOW HUMANS THK, WE’VE EXTEND FNS OF OUR SUPERRY TO MAKE “SCIENTIFIC” THAT PEOPLE THEMSELV ARE DIFFERENT SOME WAY OR ANOTHER. FOREIGNERS. WOMEN. SLAV. MELAN-RICH PEOPLE GENERAL. THERE’S A GOOD CHANCE I’LL BE ACCED OF SAYG THAT THE BIBLE MA RACIST WHE MISOGYNISTS, BUT THERE’S AN ELEMENT OF TTH TO .A LOOK BACKBY FN WE LL EVERYTHG BEFORE RERD HISTORY “PRE-HISTORY”, AND THAT JT REFERS TO A PRE-HISTORIC TIME. IT DON’T SPECIFILLY MEAN THE TIME OF VE PEOPLE, THOUGH TERMS OF HUMAN PRE-HISTORY, THE VE PEOPLE ARE SOMEWHERE RIGHT NEAR THE BEGNG OF THAT STORY.HUMANS THAT FIRST LOOKED LIKE VELOPED AROUND 200,000 YEARS AGO. HUMANS THAT BEHAVED LIKE (ABSTRACT THOUGHT, ART, AND TECHNOLOGY CLUDG HUNTG IMPLEMENTS) VELOPED AROUND 50,000 YEARS AGO. IT TOOK ANOTHER 10,000 YEARS FOR MORN HUMANS TO LEAVE SOUTHERN AI AND SPREAD ACROSS THE WORLD.THE NEOLHIC PERD (NEO MEANS “NEW”, LHIC MEANS “STONE”) STARTED AROUND 12,000 YEARS AGO (10,000 BCE). THAT’S WHEN WE FIGURED OUT AGRICULTURE, WHICH TURN ED TO CHANGE OM A NOMADIC LIFTYLE (MOVG AROUND ALL THE TIME TO FD FOOD) TO FORMG SETTLEMENTS. AND THAT IS WHEN WE STARTED RAPIDLY VELOPG AS A SPECI.RERD HUMAN HISTORY GO BACK TO AROUND 5,000 YEARS AGO. THAT’S THE TIME OF THE SUMERIANS AND ANCIENT EGYPTIANS, AND CINTALLY (BUT IMPORTANTLY), THE EARLIT FORMS OF WRG. THE SUMERIANS FIGURED OUT A WAY TO WRE ON CLAY TABLETS, WHICH MEANS A LOT OF THEIR CUNEIFORM SCRIPT HAS SURVIVED. TWO THOAND YEARS BEFORE THEY VELOPED WRG (AROUND 5000 BCE), THE SUMERIANS MOVED TO AN AGRICULTURAL LIFTYLE. THEY VELOPED MATHEMATICS A THOAND YEARS AFTER THAT.I DON’T WANT TO DOWNPLAY THE SUMERIAN FLUENCE ON MORN HUMANY. THEY WERE ONE OF THREE CIVILIZATNS THAT VENTED WHEELED VEHICL (THE WHEEL SELF WAS DISVERED EARLIER). THEY ALSO VENTED ARHMETIC, VELOPED WRG AT THE SAME TIME AS THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS, ME UP WH A LEGAL SYSTEM, VELOPED IRRIGATN, AND VENTED NEW HUNTG IMPLEMENTS AND ARY WEAPONS. AS WH ALL HUMAN CULTURE, THEY HAD A MYTHOLOGY.TO SUMMARISE, WE HAD MORE THAN 40,000 YEARS OF ABSTRACT THOUGHT UNTIL THE BRONZE AGE ME ALONG AROUND 6,000 YEARS AGO. I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT ’S MD-BOGGLG TO ME THAT WE HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF NEARLY 90% OF HUMAN HISTORY. EXCEPT THAT WE DO.THOSE 40,000 YEARS WHOUT WRG OR STAYG ONE PLACE WOULD HAVE REQUIRED THE SHARG OF LANGUAGE, IAS, NCEPTS, DANGERO PLANTS AND ANIMALS TO AVOID, BEDTIME STORI, AND HISTORY LSONS. IN OTHER WORDS, MYTHOLOGY VELOPED DIFFERENT CULTUR OVER THOSE YEARS, AND WH AGRICULTURE EVENTUALLY HERG THE BRONZE AGE, WE HAD THE BEGNG OF THE STORI THAT BEME SUMERIAN AND EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY, WHICH TURN FLUENCED EUROPEAN TRADNS. IN FACT, A LOT OF THE BRONZE AGE CIVILIZATNS ARE REFERRED TO BY NAME THE HEBREW BIBLE (MONLY KNOWN AS THE OLD TTAMENT).MANY CULTUR BORROWED OM SUMERIAN MYTHOLOGY THE SAME WAY THAT WT SI STORY IS PRETTY MUCH THE SAME PLOT AS ROMEO AND JULIET. IT IS ONLY MORE RECENT YEARS, RELATIVELY SPEAKG, THAT WE NSIR ORIGAL IAS TO HAVE HIGHER VALUE THAN PYG OTHERS. YOU N THANK THE PRTG PRS FOR THAT.BEFORE WRG, THERE WAS ORAL TRADN, MEANG THAT A CULTURE’S HISTORY, MORAL , ETHICS AND KNOWLEDGE WERE PASSED DOWN THROUGH WORD OF MOUTH TO YOUNGER GENERATNS. SOME MORE ABSTRACT NCEPTS MIGHT BE TGHT THROUGH PARABL OR FABL, NOT BEE WAS LS TELLECTUAL, BUT BEE WAS EASIER TO REMEMBER. THK OF THE STORI YOUR OWN PARENTS OR REGIVERS TGHT YOU. A MYTHOLOGY NTAG STORI OF NATURAL SPIRS AND GODS MIGHT BE HAVE STARTED AS WARNGS OF DANGERO PLANTS AND ANIMALS, THAT THROUGH HUMAN CREATIVY BEME MORE LOURFUL OVER THE GENERATNS.WH THE VELOPMENT OF WRG, THE ORAL TRADNS OF MANY PRE-HISTORIC CULTUR ULD BE RERD, AND THOSE WRGS ULD BE HAND DOWN ALONGSI OR STEAD OF THE MYTHOLOGY. WE HAVE EXAMPL OF THAT TODAY. YOU WILL TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TO READ AND WRE, BUT YOU’LL ALSO TELL THEM JOK AND STORI YOU LEARNED OM FAY AND IENDS THAT HAVE NO PI WRG.BUT TO MY ORIGAL POT, WRG HASN’T BEEN AROUND ALL THAT LONG, AND BEFORE THAT WE WERE ONLY JT FIGURG OUT AGRICULTURE AND UNTG TO TEN. AS HAPPENS, TAK AROUND 10,000 YEARS FOR HUMAN SK LOUR TO CHANGE BASED ON WHERE WE LIVE RELATIVE TO THE EQUATOR. A 2015 STUDY LED BY DR IA MATHION OUT OF HARVARD UNIVERSY DISVERED THAT “WHE PEOPLE” ONLY VELOPED AROUND 8,000 YEARS AGO.IN THE HISTORY OF HUMANKD, BEG WHE IS SO SIGNIFINT AS TO BE MEANGLS. IF YOU’RE A WHE SUPREMACIST, YOU ARE NOT ONLY SCEND OM BLACK PEOPLE ANYWAY, BUT THE ANCTORS WERE BLACK BEE OF THE SUN.HOW DO THIS RELATE TO GENR? THERE IS A PREVAILG MYTH (AND AS WE’VE ALREADY TABLISHED, MYTHOLOGY IS VERY POWERFUL, HAVG BEEN AROUND TEN TIM LONGER THAN WRG) THAT THERE ARE ONLY TWO GENRS. WHAT’S HAPPENED AT SOME POT IS THAT WE NFLATED SEX AND GENR.AS I MENTNED EARLIER THIS CHAPTER, OUR PHYSIL SEX ANS ARE ED TO FE HOW WE ARE NAMED AND RAISED, WHEN FACT THE ONLY RELEVANCE THEY HAVE IS HOW WE PROCREATE. IT JT SO HAPPENS THAT WE ENJOY THE ACT OF SMHG THE SEX ANS TOGETHER SEVERAL WAYS THAT DON’T RULT PROCREATN. ADD TO THIS A BRONZE AGE MYTHOLOGY THAT GUILTS TO THKG ’S BAD TO FEEL GOOD, BEE 6,000 YEARS AGO, HUMANS NEED TO FOC ON NOT GETTG KILLED A LOT MORE THAN THEY DO NOW.I GET . OLD HABS DIE HARD. WE’VE BEEN LEARNG FOR THOANDS OF YEARS ABOUT BARY SYSTEMS. IF A CULTURE IS IMPOSG A MYTHOLOGY ON THEIR PEOPLE ORR TO GROW THEIR CIVILIZATN, IS UNRSTANDABLE WHY THE ACT OF SEX IS RTRICTED TO MAKG MORE BABI THAT N BE TGHT THE TRADNS OF THAT CIVILIZATN. BUT AT SOME POT, WE TOOK OVER THE PLA AND NQUERED NATURE WH DOOR PLUMBG AND DIEL-POWERED SUVS. WE ALSO HAVE THE INTER WHICH NNECTS BILLNS OF HUMANS ACROSS THE PLA AND ALLOWS TO SHARE OUR STORI AND CREATE NEW ON. THIS IS WHERE TUMBLR .GENR AND SEX INTYWE ARE PART OF A SPECI THAT HAS BEEN INTIFIABLY ABSTRACT AND ARTISTIC FOR 50,000 YEARS. WE ONLY REALLY STARTED TALKG ABOUT GENR BEG THE SAME AS SEX THE LAST FEW HUNDRED YEARS. THK ABOUT THAT FOR A MOMENT. WHAT WE KNOW NOW IS THAT GENR IS NOT THE SAME AS YOUR BLOGIL SEX ANS. WE’VE ONLY SPENT ONE PERCENT OF OUR TIME ON EARTH AS SMART HUMANS TALKG ABOUT GENR AS A THG, AND HOW IS A PART OF YOUR PERSONAL INTY.BUT SPEAKG OF ONE PERCENT, HERE’S SOMETHG THAT MIGHT BLOW YOUR MD. BETWEEN 1 AND 2% OF ALL (Y, ALL) HUMANS HAVE RED HAIR. THERE ARE OVER 7 BILLN PEOPLE ALIVE TODAY, SO THAT’S BETWEEN 70 AND 140 LN PEOPLE WH RED HAIR, OR AS MUCH AS ONE THIRD OF THE POPULATN OF THE UNED STAT.DID YOU KNOW THAT THE PERCENTAGE OF INTERSEX PEOPLE ULD BE AS HIGH AS 1.7%? AS MENTNED THE EARLIER LIST, INTERSEX PEOPLE HAVE AMBIGUO PHYSIL SEX CHARACTERISTICS. IT IS PREVALENT ENOUGH THAT MEDIL PROFSNALS HAVE VELOPED VISUAL CLASSIFITNS FOR GENALIA THAT CI WHETHER A BABY IS “MALE” OR “FEMALE”. ONE OF THE IS THE QUIGLEY SLE, WHICH F SEVEN CLASS BETWEEN “FULLY MASCULE” AND “FULLY FEME” GENALIA. SEVEN DO NOT GO TO TWO, SO FOR CULTURAL AND SOCIAL REASONS, DOCTORS MAY PERFORM SURGERY TO MAKE THE AMBIGUY LS EVINT. PARENTS MIGHT BE ASHAMED AND NOT TELL THEIR CHILDREN. AND THOSE ARE JT THE SEX ANS YOU N SEE AT BIRTH. OTHER PEOPLE MAY ONLY DISVER THAT THEY ARE INTERSEX WHEN THEY H PUBERTY. THIS DON’T EVEN VER GEIC FACTORS, CLUDG PEOPLE WHO HAVE MORE X CHROMOSOM THAN THE AVERAGE (KNOWN AS KLEFELTER SYNDROME).PUT SIMPLY, THERE ARE TENS OF LNS OF PEOPLE ALIVE TODAY WHO ARE BORN WH SEX CHARACTERISTICS THAT DO NOT F THE SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE BARY OF MALE AND FEMALE. JT AS YOU KNOW SOMEONE WH RED HAIR, AND IRRPECTIVE OF HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT MALE AND FEMALE, SOMEONE YOU KNOW WAS BORN INTERSEX.GENR IS A SOCIAL NSTCT. WE ARE D TO BEHAVE CERTA WAYS, PREFER CERTA LOURS, PLAY CERTA SPORTS, AND TAKE TERT CERTA THGS BASED SOLELY ON THE GENALIA WE ARE BORN WH. ASSUMG FOR THE MOMENT THAT THE SMHY BS ARE ON THE LEFT OR RIGHT SI OF THE QUIGLEY SLE, IS NOTHG MORE THAN A CULTURAL HAB TO FE WHAT SOMEONE SHOULD LIKE OR DO BASED ON EXTERNAL CHARACTERISTICS. IT IS THE SAME AS SAYG THAT A CHILD WH RED HAIR SHOULD LEARN THE PIANO.INTERTGLY, CULTURAL HABS N CHANGE, AND THEY DO CHANGE. BEFORE 1900, PK WAS NSIRED A MASCULE LOUR AND BLUE A FEME LOUR. THIS CHANGED THE 1930S AND 1940S. AS RECENTLY AS 1953, AMERINS BEGAN ASSOCIATG PK WH BEG FEME. HOW QUICKLY WE FET.PK IS JT A LOUR, FOLKS. SK LOUR LERALLY CHANGED OM BLACK TO WHE LS THAN 10,000 YEARS AGO. IT ONLY TOOK 70 TO TURN PK TO A LOUR FOR GIRLS. CHILDREN DON’T RE WHAT GENALIA THEY HAVE. THEY DON’T RE WHAT LOUR YOU DRS THEM . THEY DON’T RE WHAT THE LOUR OF THEIR SK IS. WHY DO YOU RE SO MUCH ABOUT ?DIVERSY, THE THEME OF THIS BOOK, IS NOT JT A WORD BANDIED ABOUT BY PEOPLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. HUMANS ARE A MIX OF DIFFERENT CULTUR, LOURS, GENRS, SEXUAL ORIENTATNS, WHO HAVE LIK AND DISLIK CLUDG TV SHOWS AND FILMS, FOOD, BOOKS, AND SO ON. SOME PEOPLE LIKE THE SAME THGS, AND YOU MIGHT CHOOSE TO BE IENDS WH THEM. SOME PEOPLE MIGHT LIKE DIFFERENT THGS, EXPOSG YOU TO WAYS OF THKG THAT YOU N E TO CREATE PLETELY NEW IAS. YOU ULD E PARTS OF SUMERIAN MYTHOLOGY TO E UP WH A STORY ABOUT A SAVUR WHO TO EARTH TO CLEANSE THE SS OF YOUR ANCTORS. YOU ULD E PARTS OF JAPANE MYTHOLOGY TO E UP WH A STORY ABOUT A BOY OM A SERT PLA WHO SAV A GALAXY OM A TYRANT WH THE HELP OF A GREEN SPACE WIZARD.DIVERSY IS A HUMAN THG, WHICH MEANS ’S A MSY THG, AND LABELS CHOSEN BY OTHER PEOPLE AREN’T HELPG. IF YOU MEET SOMEONE WHO DON’T NFORM TO GENR NORMS, RPECT THEIR CHOICE. IF WE N MEMORISE THE NAME OF OUR FAVOURE STARBUCKS DRK, SO TOO N WE ACCEPT PERSONAL PRONOUNS.AND FOR GOODNS SAKE, LET PEOPLE E THE TOILETS THEY WANT TO. EVERY TOILET ON A PLANE, ON A B, OR YOUR OWN HOME, IS GENR-NTRAL. IF YOU’RE LOOKG AT OTHER PEOPLE’S SEX ANS WHILE THEY’RE ELIMATG, MAYBE YOU’RE THE PROBLEM.GAYGENR IS MANY THGS, BUT ONE THG IS NOT, IS THE BASIS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATN. HOW I INTIFY MYSELF (A CHOICE) HAS NO BEARG ON WHO I AM ROMANTILLY OR SEXUALLY ATTRACTED TO (NOT A CHOICE). WE N DRS UP TERMS LIKE “MAN CSH”, BUT ’S CREASGLY EVINT THAT SEXUAL ATTRACTN IS NOT LKED TO BODY PARTS.THIS NF PEOPLE. IT NFED ME FOR THE LONGT TIME. THE SIMPLE FACT IS THAT PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE. IF SOMEONE INTIFI AS A WOMAN, THEY ARE A WOMAN. IF THEY INTIFY AS A MAN, THEY ARE A MAN. SURGERY AND OUTWARD PHYSIL APPEARANCE DON’T FE GENR, NOR SHOULD THEY.I AM SEXUALLY ATTRACTED TO PEOPLE WHO INTIFY AS MEN. I AM ALSO ATTRACTED TO REALLY SMART PEOPLE, WHICH HAS MA THGS AWKWARD ONCE OR TWICE MY 20S AFTER I ME OUT AT 19 AS “NOT STRAIGHT”. AS FOR GENR INTY, MY BT LABEL SO FAR IS “RANDOLPH”, AND IF I’M QUTNED FURTHER, “GO FUCK YOURSELF”.I DRS, WALK AND TALK LIKE A MAN. FOR NVENIENCE (THERE’S THAT WORD AGA) I LL MYSELF GAY. I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE TO DO SO, AND I LIVE A UNTRY THAT ACCEPTS THIS LABEL. PEOPLE ARE FORTABLE WH THE IA OF MEN LIVG TOGETHER NOW, AND ADDG “GUILT-EE WARLOCK UNIRN” ISN’T HELPG ANYONE OUTSI OF MY SUBCULTURE.I’M THE LUCKIT PERSON I KNOW. LUCKY TO BE ALIVE. LUCKY TO HAVE ALL MY LIMBS. LUCKY TO HAVE ALMOST FULL NTROL OF MY MENTAL FACULTI. LUCKY TO GET PAID OM TIME TO TIME TO DO TERTG THGS. AS LUCKY AS I HAVE BEEN MY LIFE, THERE ARE LNS OF PEOPLE THE WORLD WHO ARE LS FORTUNATE. AS I WRE THIS JUNE 2018, THERE ARE STILL 28 STAT THE UNED STAT OF AMERI WHERE POSSIBLE TO FIRE SOMEONE FOR THE SIMPLE FACT THAT THEY ARE A PART OF THE LGBTQ MUNY.EVEN WORSE, SOME UNTRI RRY THE ATH PENALTY FOR THE WAY SOMEONE IS BORN.SO Y, I HAVE PRIVILEGE. I GREW UP WHE DURG THE TAIL END OF APARTHEID SOUTH AI. I WAS GRA 12 THE YEAR NELSON MANLA ME TO POWER, SO TOOK A WHILE FOR THE SEA CHANGE TO TAKE EFFECT, AND THE ONLY CHALLENGERS FOR JOBS I TOOK WERE OTHER WHE PEOPLE. THAT’S THE VERY FN OF WHE PRIVILEGE, WHEN YOUR PETN IS ONLY 10% OF THE POPULATN. HECK, MY SEND AND THIRD JOBS WERE OFFERED TO ME BY IENDS. SURE, I HAD TO DO TERVIEWS, BUT THEY WERE TILTED MY FAVOUR.THE CHANGE THAT ME OVER THE UNTRY OM 1994 WAS PROFOUND. HARDLERS EXPECTED, PERHAPS HOPED, FOR A BLOODY CIVIL WAR. SOMEHOW, NELSON MANLA AND F.W. KLERK MANAGED TO BROKER A MOSTLY PEACEFUL TRANSN TO FULLY MOCRATIC LE AND WERE AWARD A SHARED NOBEL PEACE PRIZE. THE UNTRY’S NUCLEAR ARSENAL WAS DISMANTLED. SOUTH AI DREW UP A NEW NSTUTN WH A BILL OF RIGHTS THAT IS STILL ONE OF THE BT THE WORLD, CLUDG PROTECTNS FOR GENR AND SEXUAL ORIENTATN. THIS MAY SEEM TRIVIAL 2018 AS I WRE THIS, BUT 1993 WHEN THE TERIM NSTUTN WAS DRAWN UP WAS A BIG AL, PECIALLY ON A NTENT KNOWN FOR S HISTORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS AB.GIVEN ALL THAT, ’S HILAR THAT A SIGNIFINT PERCENTAGE OF WHE PEOPLE ARE STILL UPSET THAT THEY ARE NO LONGER CHARGE, NO LONGER SPECIAL, HAVG TO PETE WH TEN TIM THE POPULATN THAN BEFORE FOR THE SAME WORK. AND, SPE EMPLOYMENT EQUY LEGISLATN THAT TRI TO IMPROVE OPPORTUNI FOR PREVLY DISADVANTAGED PEOPLE, WHE PEOPLE STILL NTROL A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THE UNTRY’S ENOMY. EQUALY IS A NOBLE PURSU, BUT REQUIR BUY- OM EVERYONE.I KNEW I WAS DIFFERENT GROWG UP. IT FELT LIKE I WAS OM ANOTHER PLA. I DIDN’T UNRSTAND A LOT OF WHAT WAS GOG ON AT PRIMARY SCHOOL, OR THE POT OF ALL. I JT WANTED TO READ BOOKS. WHEN I DID PARTICIPATE, I FISHED THE WORK EASILY. HOWEVER, I WAS BORED AND EASILY DISTRACTED. I ED BIG WORDS AND WAS MA FUN OF. I WAS ALSO BULLIED BEE I WAS ONE OF THE YOUNGT KIDS MY CLASS, AND SMALL FOR MY AGE. KIDS LLED ME NAM, SOME OF THEM UNPRTABLE. TEACHERS WOULD LL ME BRIGHT BUT LAZY. I WAS LABELLED AS A GIFTED CHILD AND ATTEND POTLS GIFTED CHILD CLASS AFTER SCHOOL FOR A WHILE. MY FATHER BRAGGED ABOUT MY HIGH IQ TO HIS IENDS.UP TO THEN I HAD TERPRETED “GIFTED” TO MEAN THAT I WOULD NEVER HAVE TO WORK HARD TO ACHIEVE SUCCS. AS TURNS OUT, THAT WAS FELY NOT THE SE.MY FATHER DIED A MONTH AFTER NELSON MANLA ME TO POWER AND MY WORLD IMPLOD. AFTER FISHG HIGH SCHOOL AND NOT GETTG TO THE UNIVERSI I WAS PROVISNALLY ACCEPTED AT DUE TO POOR PERFORMANCE, I TOOK A TOUR TO JOURNALISM SCHOOL, BUT MY HEART REALLY WASN’T . I SPENT MOST OF MY TIME THE STUNT RAD STATN. UNFORTUNATELY, THAT’S WHERE MY TERT MY MAJOR STARTED AND END.IT WAS AT JOURNALISM SCHOOL WHERE I FALLY REALIZED AT THE AGE OF 19 THAT I WAS ATTRACTED TO MEN, SPE KNOWG SCE I WAS TEN. UNIVERSY WAS A ROUGH EXPERIENCE WHEN THAT RMATN WAS MA AVAILABLE TO THE PEOPLE AROUND ME. WHEN I ME OUT, I WAS LLED A LIAR BY OMISSN, AND THEN THREATENED TO HAVE MY HEART RIPPED OUT, THAT SORT OF THG. MASCULY IS SO AGILE.HERE’S A FUN FACT. SOUTH AI CRIMALIZED HOMOSEXUALY 1997. IT REQUIRED A CHALLENGE THE CONSTUTNAL COURT ONCE THE NSTUTN WAS SIGNED TO LAW 1996. BUT CRIMALIZG DON’T TOMATILLY STOP PEOPLE OM HATG YOU. IT DON’T PROTECT YOU OM BEG MURRED FOR WEARG A PRI T-SHIRT, WHICH HAPPENED TO THE SON OF A PERSON I KNEW. IN MANY PARTS OF SOUTH AI, AS THE RT OF AI, BEG PERCEIVED AS GAY IS AN VATN FOR VLENCE AND A POSSIBLE ATH SENTENCE.I ME HOME OM JOURNALISM SCHOOL HALFWAY THROUGH 1996, RECENTLY OUTED, AND LATER THAT MONTH MY GRANDMOTHER DIED. EIGHT DAYS LATER, MY SEND GRANDMOTHER DIED. THOSE WERE TERTG TIM.IT TURNS OUT THAT I’M ON THE AUTISM SPECTM. I WAS DIAGNOSED AS AN ADULT WH HIGH FUNCTNG AUTISM. WHEN I GOT THAT DIAGNOSIS, WAS A REVELATN. IT EXPLAS A WHOLE LOT, BUT IMPORTANTLY EXPLAS THAT I DON’T LIKE CHANGE, AND WHEN I LOST TWO OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FIGUR MY LIFE WH EIGHT DAYS, I HAD THE FIRST OF SEVERAL MELTDOWNS. MY BT IEND AT THE TIME WAS WNS TO HIS IEND LOSG TOUCH WH REALY AND BREAKG DOWN. I NTEMPLATED SUICI SEVERAL TIM THAT YEAR. EACH TIME ME BACK TO WHAT WOULD DO TO MY MOTHER, BROTHER AND SISTER.THIS IS NOT A CRY FOR SYMPATHY. THIS IS NOT A REQUT FOR SOLACE. I HAVE GRIEVED THE LOSS OF FAY MEMBERS JT AS I’M SURE YOU HAVE YOUR OWN LIFE. WE ARE NOT IMMUNE TO ATH. I’M WRG ALL OF THIS TO EXPLA WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.I’M WHE. I PRENT AS MALE. I’M TISTIC. I’M ATTRACTED TO MEN. ON THE ONE HAND, I HAVE THE WORLD AT MY DOORSTEP. ON THE OTHER, I MIGHT BE KILLED BEE I’M ATTRACTED TO MEN, AND I GUS HETEROSEXUAL MEN FEEL THREATENED. IS THAT THE BASIS FOR ALL THE HATE THE WORLD TODAY, MEN FEELG THREATENED?THROUGHOUT MY YOUNGER LIFE I TRIED TO F BETTER, WHICH WAS SOMETIM TOUGH. WHEN I CHANGED HIGH SCHOOLS, I STOPPED PERFORMG CHOIR. I BEME THE CLASS CLOWN ORR TO FLECT ATTENTN. IF SOMEONE WAS LGHG AT ME, THEY WEREN’T PUNCHG ME. I REALIZED THAT SCHOOL WAS A GAME AND FIGURED OUT HOW TO DO THE LEAST AMOUNT OF WORK FOR THE MOST REGNN.BUT AFTER THE YEAR OF ATH 1996, I GREW ANGRY. I FIGURED THE WORLD OWED ME SOMETHG. THEN AGA, IF THE MENT SECTN OF THE INTER (TWTER) IS ANY DITN, ANGER IS A THG THAT AFFECTS MANY A PRIVILEGED WHE KID, SO I WASN’T UNIQUE. I WASN’T SPECIAL. IT DIDN’T FEEL THAT WAY AT THE TIME. I VELOPED A BE TO MY HUMOUR. ONE OF MY IENDS WOULD SAY “BE REFUL YOU DON’T CUT YOURSELF ON THAT TONGUE.”THROUGH THE LENS OF 41 YEARS, I N SEE HOW PETULANT AND ENTLED I WAS. EVEN NOW I N REGRS TO THAT AME OF MD, AND ’S IGHTENGLY EASY FOR ME. IT TAK HARD WORK TO BE A CENT HUMAN BEG. IT REQUIR NSIRED THOUGHTFULNS TO BE KD TO OTHERS. MOST IMPORTANTLY, REQUIR SHEER FORCE OF WILL TO APOLOGIZE FOR SOMETHG. ENTLEMENT IS AN ILLN THAT I WAS BUYG WHOLALE.THEN THE BT THG HAPPENED. I ENUNTERED DIVERSY MY OWN LTLE MUNY. BUT FIRST, A STORY.IN 2000, I ATTEND JOHANNBURG PRI. I DIDN’T ACTUALLY MARCH THE PARA, MD YOU. EVEN SO, I WENT WH IENDS TO THE EVENT, WHICH WAS A MONTH LATER THAN UAL, AND RAED. A LOT OF ENTLED GAY WHE MAL (GWM) WERE UNHAPPY WH THE PLANNG BEE MAYBE THE BEER TENT WAS TOO BY OR THEY GOT A LTLE B WET DURG THE PARA. I DON’T REMEMBER WHY I WAS UPSET. ENTLED AS I WAS, I FIGURED I ULD DO A BETTER JOB. AFTER ALL I WAS A SOFTWARE VELOPER WH A SMALL WEB HOSTG PANY ON THE SI. HOW HARD ULD BE? (“HOW HARD ULD BE?” IS THE RALLYG CRY OF AVERAGE WHE MEN THE WORLD OVER.)IN LATE 2000 I JOED A MTEE THAT EVENTUALLY ANIZED THE 2001 JOHANNBURG PRI PARA AND MARDI GRAS, EXTENDG PRI TO A WEEK-LONG SERI OF EVENTS CLUDG A LOT OF ACTIVI THAT REGNIZED PEOPLE AND NTRIBUTNS OUTSI OF THE STANDARD GWM MENTALY OF “PARTY, DGS, PARTY, DRK, PARTY, SEX, PARTY”. I MET A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT I NORMALLY WOULD NEVER HAVE TERACTED WH. THE -CHAIRS WERE A BLACK JAMAIN LBIAN WOMAN AND A BROWN MLIM GAY MAN. FOR THE FIRST TIME MY LIFE I MET ANT LBIANS PLETE WH SHORT BLEACH BLON HAIR AND BOOTS, AND VED THEM TO MY HOME SEVERAL TIM FOR MEETGS. IT WAS TENSE.PRR TO THAT, MY EXPERIENCE OF LBIANS WERE MULLETS WHO DRANK BEER AND PLAYED POOL AT THE LOL GAY BARS WHILE THE “BOYS” DRANK CKTAILS, TOOK ECSTASY, AND DANCED TO ELECTRONIC DANCE MIC (EDM). AND THEN I JOED THIS MTEE THKG HOW I ULD DO A BETTER JOB AND WAS GIVEN A LSON HISTORY AND HUY.I LEARNED THAT THE FIRST PRI MARCH SOUTH AI TOOK PLACE 1990 (AS LATE AS 1990!) AND WAS ANIZED BY SIMON NKOLI. THERE WERE VERY FEW ATTEN BEE HOMOSEXUALY WAS A CRIMAL OFFENCE AT THE TIME. SOUTH AI HAD A LAW THAT WAS KNOWN LLOQUIALLY AS “TWO MEN AT A PARTY”. IF YOU HAD MORE THAN TWO MEN AT A PARTY AND NOT ENOUGH WOMEN, WHEN THE POLICE RAID YOU ULD BE ARRTED FOR HOMOSEXUALY AND THROWN PRISON (OR “DISAPPEARED”).SOUTH AIN MEMBERS OF THE LGBT MUNY (AS WAS KNOWN AT THE TIME) CREATED THEIR OWN SLANG LLED GAYLE. SIAR PRCIPLE TO POLARI THE UK, WOMEN’S NAM WERE ED AS WORDS. DORA MEANT “DRK”. BLAH MEANT “BETIFUL”. PRISCILLA MEANT “POLICE”.THIS WASN’T THE BIG LSON FOR ME, THOUGH. I LEARNED THAT PEOPLE OF ALL RAC PARTICIPATED THE FIRST PRI MARCH, AND THEY WORE PAPER BAGS OVER THEIR HEADS SO THAT THEY WOULDN’T BE REGNIZED.PEOPLE OF ALL RAC. NOT JT WHE GAYS OM THE SUBURBS LOOKG FOR A DRK AND A GOOD TIME. I LEARNED ABOUT SIMON NKOLI, WHO ARGUED THAT RACE AND SEXUAL ORIENTATN WERE “EXTRIBLY LKED” AND THAT HE ULDN’T BE EE AS A BLACK MAN SOUTH AI IF HE WASN’T EE AS A GAY MAN.I LEARNED ABOUT HOW WOMEN ARGUED AND WON THE RIGHT TO HAVE THE G AND L SWAPPED AROUND SO THAT WE WERE LGBT AND NOT GLBT. MEN ALREADY HAD EVERYTHG ELSE, EVEN OUR MUNY. I MET AND SPOKE WH SOME OF THE ORIGAL MEMBERS OF THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT SOUTH AI. I GOT TO LONG ARGUMENTS (OM MY PLACE OF PRIVILEGE) WH MUNY MEMBERS WHO WERE TIRED OF ARGUG WH YOUNG WHE GAYS BUT DID SO ANYWAY.I LEARNED ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED DURG APARTHEID TO PEOPLE WHO DIDN’T LOOK AND SPEAK LIKE ME, WHO WERE MURRED OR “DISAPPEARED”.I REALIZED THAT I WAS A SMALL PART OF A BIGGER MUNY. I REMEMBER DISCSG THE NEED TO HIRE B TO BRG MEMBERS OF OUR DIVERSE MUNY TO THE PARA, MEMBERS WHO ULDN’T AFFORD TO PAY FOR TRANSPORT, MEMBERS WHO WERE NOT WHE AND PRIVILEGED. AND THROUGH ALL, WAS THE ANT LBIANS WHO SHOWED THE MOST PASSN.AS WH ALL MTE, THE UAL ATTRN TOOK PLACE. PEOPLE WHO WERE FIRED UP AT THE START WERE DROPPG OUT DUE TO STRS, TIME NSTRATS, AND POLICS. EVERY MTEE IS POLIL, AND YOU HAVE TO AL WH KEEPG THE GAYS WH MONEY HAPPY SO THAT THE PARTY (WHICH GENERAT ALL THE REVENUE TO PAY FOR PRI) GO AHEAD, WHILE STILL BEG REPRENTATIVE OF THE ENTIRE MUNY. THERE WAS A BLACK PRI NTGENT THAT WE NEGOTIATED WH TO PARTICIPATE THE PARA. THERE WAS A LONG ARGUMENT ABOUT THE ROUTE THE PARA WOULD TAKE THAT WAS SAFE TO WALK THROUGH (DOWNTOWN JOHANNBURG IS NSIRED ONE OF THE MOST DANGERO CI THE WORLD), AND NOT TOO FAR OM THE CENTRE OF THE CY WHICH WAS EASY TO GET TO.A FEW WEEKS BEFORE THE PARA WAS DUE TO GO AHEAD, THE NON-PROF THAT OWNED THE RIGHTS TO THE PRI NAME AND NSTUTN WAS DISSOLVED FOR FANCIAL REASONS. WE SPEND THE PRI NSTUTN AN EMERGENCY MEETG, AND THROUGH SHEER FORCE OF WILL MANAGED TO KEEP THE EVENT NNG. TWO WEEKS BEFOREHAND WE STILL WEREN’T SURE IF WOULD GO AHEAD, PECIALLY WH THE NEW PRI WEEK NCEPT.I SWORE AFTER THAT EXPERIENCE THAT I WOULD NEVER SERVE ON A MTEE AGA, BUT THANKFULLY THAT PROMISE DIDN’T STICK. I WAS GIVEN THE OPPORTUNY TO SERVE ON A MTEE WH A SHARED LIVG HISTORY OF THE LGBTQIA MOVEMENT SOUTH AI AND JAMAI, AND MY PAYOFF WAS LEADG THE 2001 PRI PARA THROUGH JOHANNBURG AS A FLAG BEARER (WE HAD A SECTN OF THE ORIGAL PRI RABOW FLAG).FAILG UPWARDS
• ‘WE KEPT GETTG PEOPLE SAYG: EXCE ME, YOU DON’T LOOK GAY’ – HOW BLACK PEOPLE FOUGHT FOR A SPACE AT PRI
• TMP TELLS GAY SUPPORTER 'YOU DON'T LOOK GAY' AT MAR-A-LAGO FUNDRAISER

“BUT YOU DON’T LOOK GAY”—QUEER FASHN AND NIGHTLIFE

The tentn of this book is to provi a holistic approach to dog bs wh the lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) muny. The stori, advice and guidance this book stem om my own personal experience workg wh the lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr muny.

Cara Sullivan lv to the problematic relatnship between queerns and appearance, the expectatns and prejudic that e wh our ias of (homo)sexualy. In this article, she explor how this affects gay nightlife.

‘WE KEPT GETTG PEOPLE SAYG: EXCE ME, YOU DON’T LOOK GAY’ – HOW BLACK PEOPLE FOUGHT FOR A SPACE AT PRI

They shed their gay exterr, removg piercgs, scbbg off layers of bold makp and dchg their thrifted wardrobe as a voiceover says: “This is what I thk I would look like if I was straight. What do gay look like? “In a non-queer space, I wouldn’t feel fortable approachg any girl, no matter how ‘queer’ she looked, ” says Ey, a neteen-year-old gay woman om Manchter.

TMP TELLS GAY SUPPORTER 'YOU DON'T LOOK GAY' AT MAR-A-LAGO FUNDRAISER

“A lot of gay clubs Manchter don’t allow certa people if they don’t “look” gay, ” Ey go on to say. “It’s maly men, bee there’s a lot of gay-bashg that go on the club ‘G. Y’, a lot of stanc where straight men will go and beat up gay men.

But drsg “gay” isn’t jt necsary to get through the club doors. Once si, queer people want to attract the right kd of sexual attentn, and spe bouncers’ bt efforts, not everybody the gay club will be gay. Manchter’s gay village seems to be a favoure for hen parti and straight people who don’t fd the ual clubs, (the on where gay men would be btalised for holdg hands wh their boyiend, ) risqué enough.

BUT YOU DON'T LOOK GAY...

To some straight people, the gay village is still wrapped taboo, and be a kd of safari where drag queens and dg culture abound. “When I’m queer spac I want to look queer bee I don’t want people to assume that I’m another straight girl the gay club.

Charlotte, a twenty-year-old lbian om Liverpool says: “at first, when I was g to terms wh myself and my sexualy, I told myself: “I need to look gay” orr to be accepted.

The events were also signifintly more policised, wh notable monstratns agast Sectn 28, ernment negligence addrsg the HIV/Aids crisis, and discrimatn agast LGBT+ what is often overlooked the history of Pri the UK is the signifint Black prence, and the spac Black LGBT+ people sought to rve out for themselv among the “mastream” gay and lbian muny. A curated space for Black LGBT+ people at Pri me about 1991, led by an surgency of Black gay men ristg the persistent hostily and margalisatn felt by their muny at Pri. This is the story of how Black self-anisatn the early 90s paved the way for today’s UK Black Thompson and Lloyd Young at Pri Kenngton, Young In the late 80s, early 90s, there was an emergg work of Black gay men.

YOU DON’T LOOK GAYRANDOLPH WT·FOLLOW27 M READ·JUL 4, 2021--LISTENSHARE[THIS IS THE CHAPTER I WROTE FOR THE BOOK “STORI FROM THE TRENCH: VOLUME 2 OM THE LET THEM FISH SERI”, PUBLISHED 2018. IT IS REPRODUCED HERE WH THE PERMISSN OF THE PUBLISHER.]CONTENT WARNG: THIS CHAPTER MIGHT MAKE SOME PEOPLE FEEL UNFORTABLE BEE DISCS SEX. I ENURAGE YOU TO READ ALL THE SAME. SEX IS NOTHG TO BE ASHAMED OF.PROGRS PRI FLAG BY DANIEL QUASARWHEN WE NTEMPLATE WHAT MEANS TO BE HUMAN, EXPRSN OF SELF IS THE MOST SACRED OF ALL THGS. HOW YOU SEE YOURSELF, AND HOW YOU WANT THE WORLD TO SEE YOU, IS THE SGLE MOST IMPORTANT DRIVG FORCE OF HUMANY TODAY.BUT FIRST A B OF BACKGROUND. THIS WILL NECSATE A LOOK AT HUMAN HISTORY AS WELL, FOR NTEXT. WHILE I N’T PROMISE TO KEEP SHORT, I’LL DO MY BT TO MAKE TERTG. I LIKE HISTORY. IT’S A SPECIAL TERT OF ME.QUEER SOUPWHEN YOU WERE BORN, YOU WERE ASSIGNED A SEX AT BIRTH BY A DOCTOR OR MIDWIFE. THIS SEX CLASSIFITN WOULD HAVE BEEN MALE OR FEMALE, BASED ON YOUR PHYSIL GENALIA. THAT’S ALL THERE IS TO . OUR ENTIRE LIV ARE DICTATED BY SOME SOFT TISSUE BETWEEN OUR LEGS WHEN WE ARE BORN WHICH WE DON’T EVEN TAKE SERLY FOR THE NEXT TEN TO FIFTEEN YEARS.BEFORE VERY LONG, WE ARE ASSIGNED TRADNAL ROL BASED ON THAT SGLE PHYSIL CHARACTERISTIC. WE ARE DRSED TRADNAL CLOTHG MA UP OM TRADNAL LOURS. WE ARE ENURAGED TO PLAY SPORTS THAT EVERYONE ELSE WH THE SAME SEX ASSIGNMENT PLAYS. IF YOU SOMEHOW FEEL LIKE YOU WANT TO GO AGAST THAT ASSIGNMENT FOR ANY REASON, SOCIETAL NORMS SAY THAT ’S WRONG. THERE’S NO REASON FOR , ’S JT WRONG.THIS IS WHAT HETERONORMATIVY IS: THE SOCIALLY PREFERRED (“NORMAL”) VIEW THAT WE N DIVI EVERYTHG TO TWO SIS, AND THAT WE ARE EXPECTED TO F NEATLY TO THAT BARY SYSTEM.UNFORTUNATELY, THIS NEAT NVENIENCE IS JT THAT: NVENIENT. HOW N A PHYSIL CHARACTERISTIC ASSIGNED AT BIRTH BY SOMEONE ELSE POSSIBLY ACUNT FOR YOUR OWN FEELGS, SIR, AND SELF-EXPRSN? THAT’S WHERE GENR INTY TO .I LEARNED MORE ABOUT GENR AND SEX INTY THREE MONTHS ON TUMBLR THAN I DID THE PREV 35 YEARS OF TRADNAL TN. AND WHAT I DISVERED IS THAT GENR IS WHATEVER YOU WANT TO MEAN. HOWEVER, BEE SEX AND GENR ARE NFLATED WTERN SOCIETY, THIS IS AS GOOD A PLACE AS ANY TO TALK ABOUT ALPHABET SOUP. EVERY JUNE NORTH AMERI SEEMS LIKE THERE ARE MORE LETTERS TO MEMORIZE FOR PRI MONTH.UNLS YOU’VE BEEN LIVG OFF THE GRID, YOU WILL HAVE SEEN SOME VARIATN OF THE LETTERS TO SCRIBE PEOPLE WHO DO NOT F TO THE HETERONORMATIVE SEX OR GENR BARY. THIS IS WHAT THOSE LETTERS MEAN. SOME ARE OVERLOAD WH TWO OR MORE MEANGS, AND SOME ARE REGN-SPECIFIC.L — LBIAN (WOMEN WHO HAVE ROMANTIC OR SEXUAL ATTRACTN TO OTHER WOMEN)G — GAY (MEN WHO HAVE ROMANTIC OR SEXUAL ATTRACTN TO OTHER MEN)B — BISEXUAL (MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE ROMANTIC OR SEXUAL ATTRACTN TO OTHER MEN AND WOMEN)T — TRANS (GENR INTY OR EXPRSN THAT IS DIFFERENT TO THEIR ASSIGNED SEX)Q — QUEER / QUTNG (THIS N ALSO CLU GENR-FLUID OR GENR-QUEER PEOPLE)I — TERSEX (PHYSIL SEX CHARACTERISTICS ARE AMBIGUO)A — ASEXUAL / AGENR / AROMANTIC (THE “A-” PREFIX MEANS “NOT”)2 — TWO-SPIR (NATIVE AMERIN ONLY: A THIRD GENR NOT FED BY INTY OR SEXUAL ATTRACTN)THE A IS NOT FOR “ALLY”.YOU MAY SEE THE LETTERS WRTEN OUT AS (FOR EXAMPLE) LGBTQ, LGBTQIA, LGBTQ2, AND SOME S FOLLOWED BY PL SIGNS (LGBTQ+), BEE HUMANS ARE BAD AT LABELS AND CLIVY. WHILE THERE HAS BEEN DISCSN OVER THE YEARS TO FD ONE WORD FOR THIS GROUP OF PEOPLE, THERE IS NO NSENS. AND ANYWAY, WHAT’S THE POT? IF WE IGNORE DIVIDUAL FNS OF INTY AND EXPRSN, WE SILENCE AND ERASE THE PEOPLE WHO E THEM. IT’S LIKE SOME AMERINS OF IRISH SCENT LLG THEMSELV “IRISH”. WHO AM I TO JUDGE?OTHER WORDS THAT DON’T HAVE A LETTER TO SCRIBE THEM CLU PANSEXUAL (SEXUAL ATTRACTN TO ANY GENR OR SEXUAL INTY), MISEXUAL (SEXUAL ATTRACTN ONLY AFTER YOU GET TO KNOW SOMEONE, IRRPECTIVE OF SEX OR GENR), AND ALLOSEXUAL (THE OPPOSE OF ASEXUAL).HUMANS LOVE LABELS, AND FOR SOME REASON WE LOVE THEM MORE IF THEY ARE SCIENTIFIC. HOMO SAPIENS. BRASSI OLERACEA. HETEROSEXUAL. CISGENR. THE ARE JT WORDS TO SCRIBE THGS. CISGENR SCRIB A PERSON WHOSE GENR MATCH THE SEX THEY WERE ASSIGNED AT BIRTH: AMAB STANDS FOR “ASSIGNED MALE AT BIRTH”, WHILE AFAB STANDS FOR “ASSIGNED FEMALE AT BIRTH”. MOST PEOPLE WHO READ THIS ARE CISGENR. IT’S NOT AN SULT ED BY “LIBERALS” OR “SJWS” (SOCIAL JTICE WARRRS); ’S A LERAL SCRIPTN OF MOST OF THE 100 BILLN PEOPLE WHO HAVE LIVED AND DIED ON PLA EARTH. IF YOU FEEL OFFEND BY THIS LABEL, MAYBE YOU NEED TO LOOK AT THE OTHER LETTERS AND SEE IF SOMETHG FS.I KNOW THIS IS A LOT TO TAKE , AND WHO HAS TIME FOR ? SURELY, ’S JT BETTER IF WE PICK ONE OR TWO WORDS AND STICK WH ? RIGHT? HERE’S THE THG, THOUGH. WORDS HAVE POWER. WORDS ARE ED TO OPPRS AND SUPPRS. WHAT IF I ASKED YOU TO STICK WH A LABEL YOU HAD NO SAY . IT’S LIKE INTIFYG BY THE NICKNAME YOU WERE LLED AT SCHOOL.THROUGH THE YEARS OF HUMAN CIVILIZATN, HUMANS HAVE NSIRED THEMSELV SUPERR TO OTHER SPECI, CLUDG ANIMALS, BY DIVE RIGHT. AND BEE THAT’S HOW HUMANS THK, WE’VE EXTEND FNS OF OUR SUPERRY TO MAKE “SCIENTIFIC” THAT PEOPLE THEMSELV ARE DIFFERENT SOME WAY OR ANOTHER. FOREIGNERS. WOMEN. SLAV. MELAN-RICH PEOPLE GENERAL. THERE’S A GOOD CHANCE I’LL BE ACCED OF SAYG THAT THE BIBLE MA RACIST WHE MISOGYNISTS, BUT THERE’S AN ELEMENT OF TTH TO .A LOOK BACKBY FN WE LL EVERYTHG BEFORE RERD HISTORY “PRE-HISTORY”, AND THAT JT REFERS TO A PRE-HISTORIC TIME. IT DON’T SPECIFILLY MEAN THE TIME OF VE PEOPLE, THOUGH TERMS OF HUMAN PRE-HISTORY, THE VE PEOPLE ARE SOMEWHERE RIGHT NEAR THE BEGNG OF THAT STORY.HUMANS THAT FIRST LOOKED LIKE VELOPED AROUND 200,000 YEARS AGO. HUMANS THAT BEHAVED LIKE (ABSTRACT THOUGHT, ART, AND TECHNOLOGY CLUDG HUNTG IMPLEMENTS) VELOPED AROUND 50,000 YEARS AGO. IT TOOK ANOTHER 10,000 YEARS FOR MORN HUMANS TO LEAVE SOUTHERN AI AND SPREAD ACROSS THE WORLD.THE NEOLHIC PERD (NEO MEANS “NEW”, LHIC MEANS “STONE”) STARTED AROUND 12,000 YEARS AGO (10,000 BCE). THAT’S WHEN WE FIGURED OUT AGRICULTURE, WHICH TURN ED TO CHANGE OM A NOMADIC LIFTYLE (MOVG AROUND ALL THE TIME TO FD FOOD) TO FORMG SETTLEMENTS. AND THAT IS WHEN WE STARTED RAPIDLY VELOPG AS A SPECI.RERD HUMAN HISTORY GO BACK TO AROUND 5,000 YEARS AGO. THAT’S THE TIME OF THE SUMERIANS AND ANCIENT EGYPTIANS, AND CINTALLY (BUT IMPORTANTLY), THE EARLIT FORMS OF WRG. THE SUMERIANS FIGURED OUT A WAY TO WRE ON CLAY TABLETS, WHICH MEANS A LOT OF THEIR CUNEIFORM SCRIPT HAS SURVIVED. TWO THOAND YEARS BEFORE THEY VELOPED WRG (AROUND 5000 BCE), THE SUMERIANS MOVED TO AN AGRICULTURAL LIFTYLE. THEY VELOPED MATHEMATICS A THOAND YEARS AFTER THAT.I DON’T WANT TO DOWNPLAY THE SUMERIAN FLUENCE ON MORN HUMANY. THEY WERE ONE OF THREE CIVILIZATNS THAT VENTED WHEELED VEHICL (THE WHEEL SELF WAS DISVERED EARLIER). THEY ALSO VENTED ARHMETIC, VELOPED WRG AT THE SAME TIME AS THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS, ME UP WH A LEGAL SYSTEM, VELOPED IRRIGATN, AND VENTED NEW HUNTG IMPLEMENTS AND ARY WEAPONS. AS WH ALL HUMAN CULTURE, THEY HAD A MYTHOLOGY.TO SUMMARISE, WE HAD MORE THAN 40,000 YEARS OF ABSTRACT THOUGHT UNTIL THE BRONZE AGE ME ALONG AROUND 6,000 YEARS AGO. I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT ’S MD-BOGGLG TO ME THAT WE HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF NEARLY 90% OF HUMAN HISTORY. EXCEPT THAT WE DO.THOSE 40,000 YEARS WHOUT WRG OR STAYG ONE PLACE WOULD HAVE REQUIRED THE SHARG OF LANGUAGE, IAS, NCEPTS, DANGERO PLANTS AND ANIMALS TO AVOID, BEDTIME STORI, AND HISTORY LSONS. IN OTHER WORDS, MYTHOLOGY VELOPED DIFFERENT CULTUR OVER THOSE YEARS, AND WH AGRICULTURE EVENTUALLY HERG THE BRONZE AGE, WE HAD THE BEGNG OF THE STORI THAT BEME SUMERIAN AND EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY, WHICH TURN FLUENCED EUROPEAN TRADNS. IN FACT, A LOT OF THE BRONZE AGE CIVILIZATNS ARE REFERRED TO BY NAME THE HEBREW BIBLE (MONLY KNOWN AS THE OLD TTAMENT).MANY CULTUR BORROWED OM SUMERIAN MYTHOLOGY THE SAME WAY THAT WT SI STORY IS PRETTY MUCH THE SAME PLOT AS ROMEO AND JULIET. IT IS ONLY MORE RECENT YEARS, RELATIVELY SPEAKG, THAT WE NSIR ORIGAL IAS TO HAVE HIGHER VALUE THAN PYG OTHERS. YOU N THANK THE PRTG PRS FOR THAT.BEFORE WRG, THERE WAS ORAL TRADN, MEANG THAT A CULTURE’S HISTORY, MORAL , ETHICS AND KNOWLEDGE WERE PASSED DOWN THROUGH WORD OF MOUTH TO YOUNGER GENERATNS. SOME MORE ABSTRACT NCEPTS MIGHT BE TGHT THROUGH PARABL OR FABL, NOT BEE WAS LS TELLECTUAL, BUT BEE WAS EASIER TO REMEMBER. THK OF THE STORI YOUR OWN PARENTS OR REGIVERS TGHT YOU. A MYTHOLOGY NTAG STORI OF NATURAL SPIRS AND GODS MIGHT BE HAVE STARTED AS WARNGS OF DANGERO PLANTS AND ANIMALS, THAT THROUGH HUMAN CREATIVY BEME MORE LOURFUL OVER THE GENERATNS.WH THE VELOPMENT OF WRG, THE ORAL TRADNS OF MANY PRE-HISTORIC CULTUR ULD BE RERD, AND THOSE WRGS ULD BE HAND DOWN ALONGSI OR STEAD OF THE MYTHOLOGY. WE HAVE EXAMPL OF THAT TODAY. YOU WILL TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TO READ AND WRE, BUT YOU’LL ALSO TELL THEM JOK AND STORI YOU LEARNED OM FAY AND IENDS THAT HAVE NO PI WRG.BUT TO MY ORIGAL POT, WRG HASN’T BEEN AROUND ALL THAT LONG, AND BEFORE THAT WE WERE ONLY JT FIGURG OUT AGRICULTURE AND UNTG TO TEN. AS HAPPENS, TAK AROUND 10,000 YEARS FOR HUMAN SK LOUR TO CHANGE BASED ON WHERE WE LIVE RELATIVE TO THE EQUATOR. A 2015 STUDY LED BY DR IA MATHION OUT OF HARVARD UNIVERSY DISVERED THAT “WHE PEOPLE” ONLY VELOPED AROUND 8,000 YEARS AGO.IN THE HISTORY OF HUMANKD, BEG WHE IS SO SIGNIFINT AS TO BE MEANGLS. IF YOU’RE A WHE SUPREMACIST, YOU ARE NOT ONLY SCEND OM BLACK PEOPLE ANYWAY, BUT THE ANCTORS WERE BLACK BEE OF THE SUN.HOW DO THIS RELATE TO GENR? THERE IS A PREVAILG MYTH (AND AS WE’VE ALREADY TABLISHED, MYTHOLOGY IS VERY POWERFUL, HAVG BEEN AROUND TEN TIM LONGER THAN WRG) THAT THERE ARE ONLY TWO GENRS. WHAT’S HAPPENED AT SOME POT IS THAT WE NFLATED SEX AND GENR.AS I MENTNED EARLIER THIS CHAPTER, OUR PHYSIL SEX ANS ARE ED TO FE HOW WE ARE NAMED AND RAISED, WHEN FACT THE ONLY RELEVANCE THEY HAVE IS HOW WE PROCREATE. IT JT SO HAPPENS THAT WE ENJOY THE ACT OF SMHG THE SEX ANS TOGETHER SEVERAL WAYS THAT DON’T RULT PROCREATN. ADD TO THIS A BRONZE AGE MYTHOLOGY THAT GUILTS TO THKG ’S BAD TO FEEL GOOD, BEE 6,000 YEARS AGO, HUMANS NEED TO FOC ON NOT GETTG KILLED A LOT MORE THAN THEY DO NOW.I GET . OLD HABS DIE HARD. WE’VE BEEN LEARNG FOR THOANDS OF YEARS ABOUT BARY SYSTEMS. IF A CULTURE IS IMPOSG A MYTHOLOGY ON THEIR PEOPLE ORR TO GROW THEIR CIVILIZATN, IS UNRSTANDABLE WHY THE ACT OF SEX IS RTRICTED TO MAKG MORE BABI THAT N BE TGHT THE TRADNS OF THAT CIVILIZATN. BUT AT SOME POT, WE TOOK OVER THE PLA AND NQUERED NATURE WH DOOR PLUMBG AND DIEL-POWERED SUVS. WE ALSO HAVE THE INTER WHICH NNECTS BILLNS OF HUMANS ACROSS THE PLA AND ALLOWS TO SHARE OUR STORI AND CREATE NEW ON. THIS IS WHERE TUMBLR .GENR AND SEX INTYWE ARE PART OF A SPECI THAT HAS BEEN INTIFIABLY ABSTRACT AND ARTISTIC FOR 50,000 YEARS. WE ONLY REALLY STARTED TALKG ABOUT GENR BEG THE SAME AS SEX THE LAST FEW HUNDRED YEARS. THK ABOUT THAT FOR A MOMENT. WHAT WE KNOW NOW IS THAT GENR IS NOT THE SAME AS YOUR BLOGIL SEX ANS. WE’VE ONLY SPENT ONE PERCENT OF OUR TIME ON EARTH AS SMART HUMANS TALKG ABOUT GENR AS A THG, AND HOW IS A PART OF YOUR PERSONAL INTY.BUT SPEAKG OF ONE PERCENT, HERE’S SOMETHG THAT MIGHT BLOW YOUR MD. BETWEEN 1 AND 2% OF ALL (Y, ALL) HUMANS HAVE RED HAIR. THERE ARE OVER 7 BILLN PEOPLE ALIVE TODAY, SO THAT’S BETWEEN 70 AND 140 LN PEOPLE WH RED HAIR, OR AS MUCH AS ONE THIRD OF THE POPULATN OF THE UNED STAT.DID YOU KNOW THAT THE PERCENTAGE OF INTERSEX PEOPLE ULD BE AS HIGH AS 1.7%? AS MENTNED THE EARLIER LIST, INTERSEX PEOPLE HAVE AMBIGUO PHYSIL SEX CHARACTERISTICS. IT IS PREVALENT ENOUGH THAT MEDIL PROFSNALS HAVE VELOPED VISUAL CLASSIFITNS FOR GENALIA THAT CI WHETHER A BABY IS “MALE” OR “FEMALE”. ONE OF THE IS THE QUIGLEY SLE, WHICH F SEVEN CLASS BETWEEN “FULLY MASCULE” AND “FULLY FEME” GENALIA. SEVEN DO NOT GO TO TWO, SO FOR CULTURAL AND SOCIAL REASONS, DOCTORS MAY PERFORM SURGERY TO MAKE THE AMBIGUY LS EVINT. PARENTS MIGHT BE ASHAMED AND NOT TELL THEIR CHILDREN. AND THOSE ARE JT THE SEX ANS YOU N SEE AT BIRTH. OTHER PEOPLE MAY ONLY DISVER THAT THEY ARE INTERSEX WHEN THEY H PUBERTY. THIS DON’T EVEN VER GEIC FACTORS, CLUDG PEOPLE WHO HAVE MORE X CHROMOSOM THAN THE AVERAGE (KNOWN AS KLEFELTER SYNDROME).PUT SIMPLY, THERE ARE TENS OF LNS OF PEOPLE ALIVE TODAY WHO ARE BORN WH SEX CHARACTERISTICS THAT DO NOT F THE SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE BARY OF MALE AND FEMALE. JT AS YOU KNOW SOMEONE WH RED HAIR, AND IRRPECTIVE OF HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT MALE AND FEMALE, SOMEONE YOU KNOW WAS BORN INTERSEX.GENR IS A SOCIAL NSTCT. WE ARE D TO BEHAVE CERTA WAYS, PREFER CERTA LOURS, PLAY CERTA SPORTS, AND TAKE TERT CERTA THGS BASED SOLELY ON THE GENALIA WE ARE BORN WH. ASSUMG FOR THE MOMENT THAT THE SMHY BS ARE ON THE LEFT OR RIGHT SI OF THE QUIGLEY SLE, IS NOTHG MORE THAN A CULTURAL HAB TO FE WHAT SOMEONE SHOULD LIKE OR DO BASED ON EXTERNAL CHARACTERISTICS. IT IS THE SAME AS SAYG THAT A CHILD WH RED HAIR SHOULD LEARN THE PIANO.INTERTGLY, CULTURAL HABS N CHANGE, AND THEY DO CHANGE. BEFORE 1900, PK WAS NSIRED A MASCULE LOUR AND BLUE A FEME LOUR. THIS CHANGED THE 1930S AND 1940S. AS RECENTLY AS 1953, AMERINS BEGAN ASSOCIATG PK WH BEG FEME. HOW QUICKLY WE FET.PK IS JT A LOUR, FOLKS. SK LOUR LERALLY CHANGED OM BLACK TO WHE LS THAN 10,000 YEARS AGO. IT ONLY TOOK 70 TO TURN PK TO A LOUR FOR GIRLS. CHILDREN DON’T RE WHAT GENALIA THEY HAVE. THEY DON’T RE WHAT LOUR YOU DRS THEM . THEY DON’T RE WHAT THE LOUR OF THEIR SK IS. WHY DO YOU RE SO MUCH ABOUT ?DIVERSY, THE THEME OF THIS BOOK, IS NOT JT A WORD BANDIED ABOUT BY PEOPLE ON SOCIAL MEDIA. HUMANS ARE A MIX OF DIFFERENT CULTUR, LOURS, GENRS, SEXUAL ORIENTATNS, WHO HAVE LIK AND DISLIK CLUDG TV SHOWS AND FILMS, FOOD, BOOKS, AND SO ON. SOME PEOPLE LIKE THE SAME THGS, AND YOU MIGHT CHOOSE TO BE IENDS WH THEM. SOME PEOPLE MIGHT LIKE DIFFERENT THGS, EXPOSG YOU TO WAYS OF THKG THAT YOU N E TO CREATE PLETELY NEW IAS. YOU ULD E PARTS OF SUMERIAN MYTHOLOGY TO E UP WH A STORY ABOUT A SAVUR WHO TO EARTH TO CLEANSE THE SS OF YOUR ANCTORS. YOU ULD E PARTS OF JAPANE MYTHOLOGY TO E UP WH A STORY ABOUT A BOY OM A SERT PLA WHO SAV A GALAXY OM A TYRANT WH THE HELP OF A GREEN SPACE WIZARD.DIVERSY IS A HUMAN THG, WHICH MEANS ’S A MSY THG, AND LABELS CHOSEN BY OTHER PEOPLE AREN’T HELPG. IF YOU MEET SOMEONE WHO DON’T NFORM TO GENR NORMS, RPECT THEIR CHOICE. IF WE N MEMORISE THE NAME OF OUR FAVOURE STARBUCKS DRK, SO TOO N WE ACCEPT PERSONAL PRONOUNS.AND FOR GOODNS SAKE, LET PEOPLE E THE TOILETS THEY WANT TO. EVERY TOILET ON A PLANE, ON A B, OR YOUR OWN HOME, IS GENR-NTRAL. IF YOU’RE LOOKG AT OTHER PEOPLE’S SEX ANS WHILE THEY’RE ELIMATG, MAYBE YOU’RE THE PROBLEM.GAYGENR IS MANY THGS, BUT ONE THG IS NOT, IS THE BASIS OF SEXUAL ORIENTATN. HOW I INTIFY MYSELF (A CHOICE) HAS NO BEARG ON WHO I AM ROMANTILLY OR SEXUALLY ATTRACTED TO (NOT A CHOICE). WE N DRS UP TERMS LIKE “MAN CSH”, BUT ’S CREASGLY EVINT THAT SEXUAL ATTRACTN IS NOT LKED TO BODY PARTS.THIS NF PEOPLE. IT NFED ME FOR THE LONGT TIME. THE SIMPLE FACT IS THAT PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE. IF SOMEONE INTIFI AS A WOMAN, THEY ARE A WOMAN. IF THEY INTIFY AS A MAN, THEY ARE A MAN. SURGERY AND OUTWARD PHYSIL APPEARANCE DON’T FE GENR, NOR SHOULD THEY.I AM SEXUALLY ATTRACTED TO PEOPLE WHO INTIFY AS MEN. I AM ALSO ATTRACTED TO REALLY SMART PEOPLE, WHICH HAS MA THGS AWKWARD ONCE OR TWICE MY 20S AFTER I ME OUT AT 19 AS “NOT STRAIGHT”. AS FOR GENR INTY, MY BT LABEL SO FAR IS “RANDOLPH”, AND IF I’M QUTNED FURTHER, “GO FUCK YOURSELF”.I DRS, WALK AND TALK LIKE A MAN. FOR NVENIENCE (THERE’S THAT WORD AGA) I LL MYSELF GAY. I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE TO DO SO, AND I LIVE A UNTRY THAT ACCEPTS THIS LABEL. PEOPLE ARE FORTABLE WH THE IA OF MEN LIVG TOGETHER NOW, AND ADDG “GUILT-EE WARLOCK UNIRN” ISN’T HELPG ANYONE OUTSI OF MY SUBCULTURE.I’M THE LUCKIT PERSON I KNOW. LUCKY TO BE ALIVE. LUCKY TO HAVE ALL MY LIMBS. LUCKY TO HAVE ALMOST FULL NTROL OF MY MENTAL FACULTI. LUCKY TO GET PAID OM TIME TO TIME TO DO TERTG THGS. AS LUCKY AS I HAVE BEEN MY LIFE, THERE ARE LNS OF PEOPLE THE WORLD WHO ARE LS FORTUNATE. AS I WRE THIS JUNE 2018, THERE ARE STILL 28 STAT THE UNED STAT OF AMERI WHERE POSSIBLE TO FIRE SOMEONE FOR THE SIMPLE FACT THAT THEY ARE A PART OF THE LGBTQ MUNY.EVEN WORSE, SOME UNTRI RRY THE ATH PENALTY FOR THE WAY SOMEONE IS BORN.SO Y, I HAVE PRIVILEGE. I GREW UP WHE DURG THE TAIL END OF APARTHEID SOUTH AI. I WAS GRA 12 THE YEAR NELSON MANLA ME TO POWER, SO TOOK A WHILE FOR THE SEA CHANGE TO TAKE EFFECT, AND THE ONLY CHALLENGERS FOR JOBS I TOOK WERE OTHER WHE PEOPLE. THAT’S THE VERY FN OF WHE PRIVILEGE, WHEN YOUR PETN IS ONLY 10% OF THE POPULATN. HECK, MY SEND AND THIRD JOBS WERE OFFERED TO ME BY IENDS. SURE, I HAD TO DO TERVIEWS, BUT THEY WERE TILTED MY FAVOUR.THE CHANGE THAT ME OVER THE UNTRY OM 1994 WAS PROFOUND. HARDLERS EXPECTED, PERHAPS HOPED, FOR A BLOODY CIVIL WAR. SOMEHOW, NELSON MANLA AND F.W. KLERK MANAGED TO BROKER A MOSTLY PEACEFUL TRANSN TO FULLY MOCRATIC LE AND WERE AWARD A SHARED NOBEL PEACE PRIZE. THE UNTRY’S NUCLEAR ARSENAL WAS DISMANTLED. SOUTH AI DREW UP A NEW NSTUTN WH A BILL OF RIGHTS THAT IS STILL ONE OF THE BT THE WORLD, CLUDG PROTECTNS FOR GENR AND SEXUAL ORIENTATN. THIS MAY SEEM TRIVIAL 2018 AS I WRE THIS, BUT 1993 WHEN THE TERIM NSTUTN WAS DRAWN UP WAS A BIG AL, PECIALLY ON A NTENT KNOWN FOR S HISTORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS AB.GIVEN ALL THAT, ’S HILAR THAT A SIGNIFINT PERCENTAGE OF WHE PEOPLE ARE STILL UPSET THAT THEY ARE NO LONGER CHARGE, NO LONGER SPECIAL, HAVG TO PETE WH TEN TIM THE POPULATN THAN BEFORE FOR THE SAME WORK. AND, SPE EMPLOYMENT EQUY LEGISLATN THAT TRI TO IMPROVE OPPORTUNI FOR PREVLY DISADVANTAGED PEOPLE, WHE PEOPLE STILL NTROL A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THE UNTRY’S ENOMY. EQUALY IS A NOBLE PURSU, BUT REQUIR BUY- OM EVERYONE.I KNEW I WAS DIFFERENT GROWG UP. IT FELT LIKE I WAS OM ANOTHER PLA. I DIDN’T UNRSTAND A LOT OF WHAT WAS GOG ON AT PRIMARY SCHOOL, OR THE POT OF ALL. I JT WANTED TO READ BOOKS. WHEN I DID PARTICIPATE, I FISHED THE WORK EASILY. HOWEVER, I WAS BORED AND EASILY DISTRACTED. I ED BIG WORDS AND WAS MA FUN OF. I WAS ALSO BULLIED BEE I WAS ONE OF THE YOUNGT KIDS MY CLASS, AND SMALL FOR MY AGE. KIDS LLED ME NAM, SOME OF THEM UNPRTABLE. TEACHERS WOULD LL ME BRIGHT BUT LAZY. I WAS LABELLED AS A GIFTED CHILD AND ATTEND POTLS GIFTED CHILD CLASS AFTER SCHOOL FOR A WHILE. MY FATHER BRAGGED ABOUT MY HIGH IQ TO HIS IENDS.UP TO THEN I HAD TERPRETED “GIFTED” TO MEAN THAT I WOULD NEVER HAVE TO WORK HARD TO ACHIEVE SUCCS. AS TURNS OUT, THAT WAS FELY NOT THE SE.MY FATHER DIED A MONTH AFTER NELSON MANLA ME TO POWER AND MY WORLD IMPLOD. AFTER FISHG HIGH SCHOOL AND NOT GETTG TO THE UNIVERSI I WAS PROVISNALLY ACCEPTED AT DUE TO POOR PERFORMANCE, I TOOK A TOUR TO JOURNALISM SCHOOL, BUT MY HEART REALLY WASN’T . I SPENT MOST OF MY TIME THE STUNT RAD STATN. UNFORTUNATELY, THAT’S WHERE MY TERT MY MAJOR STARTED AND END.IT WAS AT JOURNALISM SCHOOL WHERE I FALLY REALIZED AT THE AGE OF 19 THAT I WAS ATTRACTED TO MEN, SPE KNOWG SCE I WAS TEN. UNIVERSY WAS A ROUGH EXPERIENCE WHEN THAT RMATN WAS MA AVAILABLE TO THE PEOPLE AROUND ME. WHEN I ME OUT, I WAS LLED A LIAR BY OMISSN, AND THEN THREATENED TO HAVE MY HEART RIPPED OUT, THAT SORT OF THG. MASCULY IS SO AGILE.HERE’S A FUN FACT. SOUTH AI CRIMALIZED HOMOSEXUALY 1997. IT REQUIRED A CHALLENGE THE CONSTUTNAL COURT ONCE THE NSTUTN WAS SIGNED TO LAW 1996. BUT CRIMALIZG DON’T TOMATILLY STOP PEOPLE OM HATG YOU. IT DON’T PROTECT YOU OM BEG MURRED FOR WEARG A PRI T-SHIRT, WHICH HAPPENED TO THE SON OF A PERSON I KNEW. IN MANY PARTS OF SOUTH AI, AS THE RT OF AI, BEG PERCEIVED AS GAY IS AN VATN FOR VLENCE AND A POSSIBLE ATH SENTENCE.I ME HOME OM JOURNALISM SCHOOL HALFWAY THROUGH 1996, RECENTLY OUTED, AND LATER THAT MONTH MY GRANDMOTHER DIED. EIGHT DAYS LATER, MY SEND GRANDMOTHER DIED. THOSE WERE TERTG TIM.IT TURNS OUT THAT I’M ON THE AUTISM SPECTM. I WAS DIAGNOSED AS AN ADULT WH HIGH FUNCTNG AUTISM. WHEN I GOT THAT DIAGNOSIS, WAS A REVELATN. IT EXPLAS A WHOLE LOT, BUT IMPORTANTLY EXPLAS THAT I DON’T LIKE CHANGE, AND WHEN I LOST TWO OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FIGUR MY LIFE WH EIGHT DAYS, I HAD THE FIRST OF SEVERAL MELTDOWNS. MY BT IEND AT THE TIME WAS WNS TO HIS IEND LOSG TOUCH WH REALY AND BREAKG DOWN. I NTEMPLATED SUICI SEVERAL TIM THAT YEAR. EACH TIME ME BACK TO WHAT WOULD DO TO MY MOTHER, BROTHER AND SISTER.THIS IS NOT A CRY FOR SYMPATHY. THIS IS NOT A REQUT FOR SOLACE. I HAVE GRIEVED THE LOSS OF FAY MEMBERS JT AS I’M SURE YOU HAVE YOUR OWN LIFE. WE ARE NOT IMMUNE TO ATH. I’M WRG ALL OF THIS TO EXPLA WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.I’M WHE. I PRENT AS MALE. I’M TISTIC. I’M ATTRACTED TO MEN. ON THE ONE HAND, I HAVE THE WORLD AT MY DOORSTEP. ON THE OTHER, I MIGHT BE KILLED BEE I’M ATTRACTED TO MEN, AND I GUS HETEROSEXUAL MEN FEEL THREATENED. IS THAT THE BASIS FOR ALL THE HATE THE WORLD TODAY, MEN FEELG THREATENED?THROUGHOUT MY YOUNGER LIFE I TRIED TO F BETTER, WHICH WAS SOMETIM TOUGH. WHEN I CHANGED HIGH SCHOOLS, I STOPPED PERFORMG CHOIR. I BEME THE CLASS CLOWN ORR TO FLECT ATTENTN. IF SOMEONE WAS LGHG AT ME, THEY WEREN’T PUNCHG ME. I REALIZED THAT SCHOOL WAS A GAME AND FIGURED OUT HOW TO DO THE LEAST AMOUNT OF WORK FOR THE MOST REGNN.BUT AFTER THE YEAR OF ATH 1996, I GREW ANGRY. I FIGURED THE WORLD OWED ME SOMETHG. THEN AGA, IF THE MENT SECTN OF THE INTER (TWTER) IS ANY DITN, ANGER IS A THG THAT AFFECTS MANY A PRIVILEGED WHE KID, SO I WASN’T UNIQUE. I WASN’T SPECIAL. IT DIDN’T FEEL THAT WAY AT THE TIME. I VELOPED A BE TO MY HUMOUR. ONE OF MY IENDS WOULD SAY “BE REFUL YOU DON’T CUT YOURSELF ON THAT TONGUE.”THROUGH THE LENS OF 41 YEARS, I N SEE HOW PETULANT AND ENTLED I WAS. EVEN NOW I N REGRS TO THAT AME OF MD, AND ’S IGHTENGLY EASY FOR ME. IT TAK HARD WORK TO BE A CENT HUMAN BEG. IT REQUIR NSIRED THOUGHTFULNS TO BE KD TO OTHERS. MOST IMPORTANTLY, REQUIR SHEER FORCE OF WILL TO APOLOGIZE FOR SOMETHG. ENTLEMENT IS AN ILLN THAT I WAS BUYG WHOLALE.THEN THE BT THG HAPPENED. I ENUNTERED DIVERSY MY OWN LTLE MUNY. BUT FIRST, A STORY.IN 2000, I ATTEND JOHANNBURG PRI. I DIDN’T ACTUALLY MARCH THE PARA, MD YOU. EVEN SO, I WENT WH IENDS TO THE EVENT, WHICH WAS A MONTH LATER THAN UAL, AND RAED. A LOT OF ENTLED GAY WHE MAL (GWM) WERE UNHAPPY WH THE PLANNG BEE MAYBE THE BEER TENT WAS TOO BY OR THEY GOT A LTLE B WET DURG THE PARA. I DON’T REMEMBER WHY I WAS UPSET. ENTLED AS I WAS, I FIGURED I ULD DO A BETTER JOB. AFTER ALL I WAS A SOFTWARE VELOPER WH A SMALL WEB HOSTG PANY ON THE SI. HOW HARD ULD BE? (“HOW HARD ULD BE?” IS THE RALLYG CRY OF AVERAGE WHE MEN THE WORLD OVER.)IN LATE 2000 I JOED A MTEE THAT EVENTUALLY ANIZED THE 2001 JOHANNBURG PRI PARA AND MARDI GRAS, EXTENDG PRI TO A WEEK-LONG SERI OF EVENTS CLUDG A LOT OF ACTIVI THAT REGNIZED PEOPLE AND NTRIBUTNS OUTSI OF THE STANDARD GWM MENTALY OF “PARTY, DGS, PARTY, DRK, PARTY, SEX, PARTY”. I MET A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT I NORMALLY WOULD NEVER HAVE TERACTED WH. THE -CHAIRS WERE A BLACK JAMAIN LBIAN WOMAN AND A BROWN MLIM GAY MAN. FOR THE FIRST TIME MY LIFE I MET ANT LBIANS PLETE WH SHORT BLEACH BLON HAIR AND BOOTS, AND VED THEM TO MY HOME SEVERAL TIM FOR MEETGS. IT WAS TENSE.PRR TO THAT, MY EXPERIENCE OF LBIANS WERE MULLETS WHO DRANK BEER AND PLAYED POOL AT THE LOL GAY BARS WHILE THE “BOYS” DRANK CKTAILS, TOOK ECSTASY, AND DANCED TO ELECTRONIC DANCE MIC (EDM). AND THEN I JOED THIS MTEE THKG HOW I ULD DO A BETTER JOB AND WAS GIVEN A LSON HISTORY AND HUY.I LEARNED THAT THE FIRST PRI MARCH SOUTH AI TOOK PLACE 1990 (AS LATE AS 1990!) AND WAS ANIZED BY SIMON NKOLI. THERE WERE VERY FEW ATTEN BEE HOMOSEXUALY WAS A CRIMAL OFFENCE AT THE TIME. SOUTH AI HAD A LAW THAT WAS KNOWN LLOQUIALLY AS “TWO MEN AT A PARTY”. IF YOU HAD MORE THAN TWO MEN AT A PARTY AND NOT ENOUGH WOMEN, WHEN THE POLICE RAID YOU ULD BE ARRTED FOR HOMOSEXUALY AND THROWN PRISON (OR “DISAPPEARED”).SOUTH AIN MEMBERS OF THE LGBT MUNY (AS WAS KNOWN AT THE TIME) CREATED THEIR OWN SLANG LLED GAYLE. SIAR PRCIPLE TO POLARI THE UK, WOMEN’S NAM WERE ED AS WORDS. DORA MEANT “DRK”. BLAH MEANT “BETIFUL”. PRISCILLA MEANT “POLICE”.THIS WASN’T THE BIG LSON FOR ME, THOUGH. I LEARNED THAT PEOPLE OF ALL RAC PARTICIPATED THE FIRST PRI MARCH, AND THEY WORE PAPER BAGS OVER THEIR HEADS SO THAT THEY WOULDN’T BE REGNIZED.PEOPLE OF ALL RAC. NOT JT WHE GAYS OM THE SUBURBS LOOKG FOR A DRK AND A GOOD TIME. I LEARNED ABOUT SIMON NKOLI, WHO ARGUED THAT RACE AND SEXUAL ORIENTATN WERE “EXTRIBLY LKED” AND THAT HE ULDN’T BE EE AS A BLACK MAN SOUTH AI IF HE WASN’T EE AS A GAY MAN.I LEARNED ABOUT HOW WOMEN ARGUED AND WON THE RIGHT TO HAVE THE G AND L SWAPPED AROUND SO THAT WE WERE LGBT AND NOT GLBT. MEN ALREADY HAD EVERYTHG ELSE, EVEN OUR MUNY. I MET AND SPOKE WH SOME OF THE ORIGAL MEMBERS OF THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT SOUTH AI. I GOT TO LONG ARGUMENTS (OM MY PLACE OF PRIVILEGE) WH MUNY MEMBERS WHO WERE TIRED OF ARGUG WH YOUNG WHE GAYS BUT DID SO ANYWAY.I LEARNED ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED DURG APARTHEID TO PEOPLE WHO DIDN’T LOOK AND SPEAK LIKE ME, WHO WERE MURRED OR “DISAPPEARED”.I REALIZED THAT I WAS A SMALL PART OF A BIGGER MUNY. I REMEMBER DISCSG THE NEED TO HIRE B TO BRG MEMBERS OF OUR DIVERSE MUNY TO THE PARA, MEMBERS WHO ULDN’T AFFORD TO PAY FOR TRANSPORT, MEMBERS WHO WERE NOT WHE AND PRIVILEGED. AND THROUGH ALL, WAS THE ANT LBIANS WHO SHOWED THE MOST PASSN.AS WH ALL MTE, THE UAL ATTRN TOOK PLACE. PEOPLE WHO WERE FIRED UP AT THE START WERE DROPPG OUT DUE TO STRS, TIME NSTRATS, AND POLICS. EVERY MTEE IS POLIL, AND YOU HAVE TO AL WH KEEPG THE GAYS WH MONEY HAPPY SO THAT THE PARTY (WHICH GENERAT ALL THE REVENUE TO PAY FOR PRI) GO AHEAD, WHILE STILL BEG REPRENTATIVE OF THE ENTIRE MUNY. THERE WAS A BLACK PRI NTGENT THAT WE NEGOTIATED WH TO PARTICIPATE THE PARA. THERE WAS A LONG ARGUMENT ABOUT THE ROUTE THE PARA WOULD TAKE THAT WAS SAFE TO WALK THROUGH (DOWNTOWN JOHANNBURG IS NSIRED ONE OF THE MOST DANGERO CI THE WORLD), AND NOT TOO FAR OM THE CENTRE OF THE CY WHICH WAS EASY TO GET TO.A FEW WEEKS BEFORE THE PARA WAS DUE TO GO AHEAD, THE NON-PROF THAT OWNED THE RIGHTS TO THE PRI NAME AND NSTUTN WAS DISSOLVED FOR FANCIAL REASONS. WE SPEND THE PRI NSTUTN AN EMERGENCY MEETG, AND THROUGH SHEER FORCE OF WILL MANAGED TO KEEP THE EVENT NNG. TWO WEEKS BEFOREHAND WE STILL WEREN’T SURE IF WOULD GO AHEAD, PECIALLY WH THE NEW PRI WEEK NCEPT.I SWORE AFTER THAT EXPERIENCE THAT I WOULD NEVER SERVE ON A MTEE AGA, BUT THANKFULLY THAT PROMISE DIDN’T STICK. I WAS GIVEN THE OPPORTUNY TO SERVE ON A MTEE WH A SHARED LIVG HISTORY OF THE LGBTQIA MOVEMENT SOUTH AI AND JAMAI, AND MY PAYOFF WAS LEADG THE 2001 PRI PARA THROUGH JOHANNBURG AS A FLAG BEARER (WE HAD A SECTN OF THE ORIGAL PRI RABOW FLAG).FAILG UPWARDS

One day 1991, Time Out magaze, there was a ltle article, like “Celebrate gayns at Kenngton Park” [a Pri event]. It was Black mic, rather than the hi-NRG mic that you’d hear om the rt of Gay Pri, which felt very alienatg.

And so to fally attend a Pri where there was mic culturally relevant to me, mic om the Black gay clubs I ed to go to, was a ltle piece of paradise. They said “exce me”, and we immediately knew what they were gog to e out wh bee we always experienced that: you ask any Black gay person, they’d all had this experience, of people sayg: ‘You don’t look gay.

It’s Gay Pri, you know? I went along to Brockwell Park wh my iends; I remember walkg om my hoe Oval to Brockwell Park, and takg the back streets, bee we didn’t want to go through Brixton, bee we knew all the gays gog through Brixton probably would be subjected to some homophobia.

‘WE KEPT GETTG PEOPLE SAYG: EXCE ME, YOU DON’T LOOK GAY’ – HOW BLACK PEOPLE FOUGHT FOR A SPACE AT PRI

At prev Gay Pris I ed to hang out very close to the women’s tent bee that was the tent that played the bt mic.

So that was a lastg memory: jt feelg really exced about the prospect of havg a safe space for Black lbians and gay men, pecially after several unsuccsful attempts to create that at prev Bailey I remember the women’s tent, which I thk was always the more tertg of the tents. Tony was at the stage where he’d bee one of the most visible and vol activists for Black gay men.

I thk if I’m beg hont, if they didn’t have that space, I would’ve stopped attendg Gay Pri.

TMP TELLS GAY SUPPORTER 'YOU DON'T LOOK GAY' AT MAR-A-LAGO FUNDRAISER

Havg said that, what I found tratg about Black or people of lour spac at Pri is that they’re seen as hip and ol and so they get undated wh whe gay men and lbians.