CINCINNATI PRIDE IS CELEBRATING 50 YEARS SINCE THE FIRST PRIDE EVENT IN THE CITY. AT THE SAME TIME, WE ARE ACUTELY AWARE OF THE ANTI-LGBTQ+ LEGISLATIVE ATTACKS.  AS AN ORGANIZATION, WE HAVE ADDED ELEMENTS TO THE ANNUAL PARADE AND FESTIVAL IN ORDER TO BE VISUALLY VOCAL, LOUD, AND UNAPOLOGETIC.  IN UTILIZING OUR PLATFORM TO ELEVATE AND SPOTLIGHT LGBTQ+ ISSUES, WE WANT TO EMPOWER AND INSPIRE OUR COMMUNITY AND ALLIES TO TAKE ACTION. ​

QUEER JOY IS RESISTANCE.

The joy of LGBTQ+ folks in a structurally and pervasively queerphobic, cisheteronormative world is a political act — an act of resistance against societal norms that tell us that we can’t be who we are. Yet, here we are, celebrating our endurance, creativity, courage, talent, and everything we bring into the world. Not despite our queerness, but in part, because of it.

Follow and keep up with Cincinnati Pride for more opportunities to enjoy Queer spaces and events year-round (in addition to hearing more about local LGBTQ+ advocacy efforts)! Follow other local Pride organizations (Cincinnati Black Pride, NKY Pride, Hamilton Pride, Middletown Pride, New Richmond Pride, etc) and keep up with their programming and activities as well!

A note about the word “Queer”: Once used as a LGBTQ+ slur, the word “Queer” is being reclaimed by LGBTQ+ community. This trend started in the 1980’s and continues through today. (1)

Resources for Queer Wellness and Mental Health:
Sources:
  1. https://www.cjr.org/language_corner/queer.php 

GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE SAVES LIVES.

Gender-affirming care, as defined by the World Health Organization, is “a number of social, psychological, [behavioral], or medical…interventions designed to support and affirm an individual’s gender identity.” (1) Examples of gender-affirming care include: social affirmation (adopting a gender-affirming name and/or gender-affirming clothes, using gender-affirming pronouns, using restrooms/other facilities that align with one’s gender identity, etc), puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgeries (such as top/bottom surgery, or other procedures that help affirm one’s gender identity). (2) Many may not need all of these methods of gender-affirming care. Which methods of gender-affirming care that an individual needs is determined by the individual in collaboration with a trusted care team. It’s important to remember even cis people utilize gender-affirming care! (For example, behaviors or procedures that cis men may use to affirm their masculinity or cis women to affirm their femininity).

A study led by researchers at the University of Washington, Seattle Children’s Hospital, and the University of California, San Diego, published in JAMA Network Open, showed that among Trans and Nonbinary youth ages 13-20, receiving gender-affirming care (including puberty blockers and hormone therapy) was associated with 60% lower odds of moderate or severe depression and 73% lower odds of suicidality. (3) Another study, published in JAMA Surgery and led by researchers at Harvard Medical School, found that Trans and Gender Diverse people with a history of gender-affirming surgery had significantly lower odds of psychological distress in the past month and suicidal ideation in the past year. (4)

Gender-affirming care saves the lives of many Trans and Nonbinary folks. If anti-trans politicians actually wanted to address forced medical interventions, as many say they do, they’d address how children born Intersex are often forced to undergo surgeries during infancy/childhood in an attempt to erase their Intersex characteristics, without their consent.

If you have the means, please donate to these organizations that assist Trans and Nonbinary folks with accessing gender-affirming care:


Sources:
  1. https://www.who.int/standards/classifications/frequently-asked-questions/gender-incongruence-and-transgender-health-in-the-icd 
  2. https://opa.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/2022-03/gender-affirming-care-young-people-march-2022.pdf
  3. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2789423 
  4. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamasurgery/article-abstract/2779429 ​

BLACK TRANS LIVES MATTER.

CW: mentions racist/transphobic violence, sexual violence, suicide

We, the LGBTQ+ community, owe the rights we have today due to Black Trans and Black Trans adjacent folks and it’s time Cisgender/white members of our community started acting like it. Activism that doesn’t include Black Trans folks doesn’t combat anything, it only propagates racism and transphobia. 

According to results from the U.S. Transgender Survey in 2015, 38% of Black Trans people were living in poverty, 42% experienced homelessness at some point in their lives, and 20% were unemployed. (1) Economic justice for Black Trans people NOW!

According to the same survey, 53% of Black Trans people have been sexually assaulted at some point. (1) 56% of Black Trans people experienced intimate partner violence, with Black Trans men most likely to be affected at 62%. (1) 61% of Black Trans people experienced forms of violence or mistreatment by the police/law enforcement. (1) 47% of Black Trans respondents had attempted suicide previously. (1) All of this is on top of an epidemic of fatal violence against Trans people that disproportionately impacts those who are Black and those who are women. (2) (3)

Everyone, especially cis/white folks, must engage in the work of anti-racism, anti-transphobia, and the intersection between the two for things to get better. Uplift the voices of Black Trans people and compensate them for their work. Continue saying the names of and demanding justice for all Black Trans people impacted by violence from police/“public safety” personnel, and violence in general, such as Tony McDade, Banko Brown, and Riah Milton. Black Trans people deserve to live, experience joy, and be in a society that recognizes their worth and appreciates them for the full people that they are.


Learn more about demands for Black Trans Women and Black Trans Femmes:

If you have the means, please donate to these Black Trans-led organizations, that serve the Black Trans community:



Sources:
  1. https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/docs/usts/USTS-Black-Respondents-Report.pdf
  2. https://www.hrc.org/resources/fatal-violence-against-the-transgender-and-gender-non-conforming-community-in-2022
  3. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/nation/report-says-at-least-32-transgender-people-were-killed-in-the-u-s-in-2022​

ALLIES- SPEAK UP.

Allies- we need you to speak up for us. The onslaught of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and violence our country has seen as of lately compounds the importance of your active support. The ACLU, at the time of this being written, is tracking 474 anti-LGBTQ bills in the U.S, so far in 2023 alone. (1) We need consistent allyship that goes beyond the bare minimum and the month of June. We need allyship all-year, every year.

Members of the LGBTQ+ community should not bear the brunt of activism for our community. The work is hard, deeply personal and emotional for us, and seemingly never-ending. Allies need to step up to right the wrongs committed by people who are generally outside of the LGBTQ+ community. It shouldn’t be solely the job of the LGBTQ+ community to fix these problems that often do not originate from us.

Remember, true activism goes beyond the LGB, and especially focuses on the T (recognizing the Trans community has been disproportionately impacted by recent attacks). Include all LGBTQ+ people in your activism. 

Some ways to show up as an Ally:
  • Register to vote and only vote for pro-LGBTQ+ candidates, in EVERY election (most of the legislation that impacts the LGBTQ community happens at the state and local level). Every federal, state, and local election is important. You can find information on voting and voter registration at vote.org.
  • Share your pronouns and respectfully ask others about theirs (some people may be uncomfortable sharing their pronouns with you, which is okay, and they don’t have to. Some folks may only want you to use their name). You can share your pronouns when introducing yourself, in your email signatures, on a name tag, by your name in a virtual meeting, etc! Always respect people’s pronouns and quickly apologize and move on if you make a mistake!
  • Volunteer for pro-LGBTQ+ advocacy groups and campaigns. You can help encourage people to speak out and vote in support of LGBTQ+ people via phone/text banking, help an organization with data entry, or provide specialized skills like graphic design and social media!
  • Regularly contact your representatives and let them know that you don’t support anti-LGBTQ+ pieces of legislation (such as bans on gender-affirming care, Don’t Say LGBTQ+ legislation, and bans on Trans athletes), and that you support legislation that protects and expands the rights of LGBTQ+ people (like the Equality Act, and other protections against anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination).
  • Donate to mutual aid funds and LGBTQ+-led organizations that serve LGBTQ+ folks. Here are some you can donate to:

Resources for allyship: 
Learn more about pronouns: https://pronouns.org
https://www.glsen.org/activity/pronouns-guide-glsen

Sources:
  1. https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights

PRIDE IS A PROTEST.

Queer people fought back at the Stonewall uprising in 1969, where Black and Brown Trans people and butch lesbians played critical roles in starting and leading this effort. Queer people were angry and tired of the state violence ravaging their safe spaces and fought back against the police targeting Queer bars. This event is widely regarded as the impetus for the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement in the United States, along with Compton’s Cafeteria riot which occurred earlier in San Francisco in 1966 and kickstarted Trans/Queer activism. Pride started (and in the absence of our rights, must continue) as a protest. Pride is a protest against all forms of violence and discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community.

While the Stonewall uprising is an essential historical moment for all people to know, we have similar history here in Cincinnati as well that we must know, remember, and carry on the work of. This year marks the 50th since what is recognized as the first Pride event in Cincinnati. April 6-8, 1973, Cincinnati held its first public Pride event organized by the Cincinnati Gay Community, a group composed of fervent activists (1). On April 7, 1973 this culminated in a March from Washington Park to Fountain Square. (2) While Pride demonstrations weren’t consistently organized at first, they were key in promoting LGBTQ+ visibility, especially to elected officials who began intermittently recognizing pride “days” by proclamation, 1978-onwards. (1,3) These first public Pride demonstrations created the groundwork for future demonstrations advocating for LGBTQ+ acceptance and equity, and against LGBTQ+ discrimination, such as campaigns against employment discrimination and policies mandating discrimination (such as Article 12/Issue 3 which passed in 1993), and rallies advocating for same-sex marriage. A substantial portion of Pride events documented in Cincinnati’s history were rallies — inherently and publicly political protests. (1)

We encourage you to learn more about local LGBTQ+ history, and how you can play a role in preserving it and following in its activist footsteps. At the Festival this year, you can visit our History area to learn more.

This description was written in part using information consolidated at cincinnatipridehistory.org, a project of the Ohio Lesbian Archives.

Sources:

  1. https://www.cincinnatipridehistory.org/timeline
  2. https://www.cincinnatipridehistory.org/intro
  3. https://www.cincinnatipridehistory.org/more-history