LGBTQI+ Pride Month

I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2022 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to recognize the achievements of the LGBTQI+ community, to celebrate the great diversity of the American people, and to wave their flags of pride high.

Pride Month is timed in honor of the Stonewall riots, which took place at the end of June in 1969.  The full acronym seems to be ever expanding (no "A" for asexual or something?), but the riots provided a taste of the diversity of the movement. For instance, trans people were surely involved, even if today they are treated as an appropriate target in multiple states.  

The riots were a reaction to continual harassment and mistreatment.  The specific spark was yet another police raid to a mob controlled bar.  But, there was a wider meaning to the whole thing.  The bar was one of the few places certain people could openly associate and be themselves.  And, even there, they could not truly be safe from often dehumanizing police attacks.

The Biden Administration (following in the footsteps of the Obama Administration)  has taken special care to emphasize its support of pride. This includes both who they appoint (including a member of the Cabinet and the current press secretary as well as multiple judges) and its policies.  Meanwhile, it took until 2019 for the Trump Administration to announce pride month, and in multiple ways it opposed LGBTQI+ rights. 

There has been some signs in recent years, on a bipartisan basis, that society respects the pride banner.  Individual Republicans and at times as a group in power respect gays and lesbians and trans people in various ways.  Multiple Republican governors in recent days have at least opposed the breadth of anti-trans measures, including by vetoes.  All the same, there is still a clear division between the parties on such issues. 

This month honors the complexity and diversity of sexuality.  History has always shown that humans cannot be put into clean little boxes here.  It might be noted that in some general fashion certain basic classifications are in place across cultures.  This does not mean, to be clear, such "basic" lines are the only valid ones.  But, some very basic lines can be seen. 

But, even there, there tends to be complexities and exceptions.  And, even such little things as hand-holding and other signs of affection being more accepted among men in some cultures reflects the differences.  Gender particularly has various cultural differences.  And, then, we can see specific differences in people themselves, including sexual characteristics.

Complexity can be confusing, complicated, and at times a bit scary (or some "c" word meaning that).  We can admit that and work together to find common ground and respect each other.  And, as we do so, we can respect the accomplishments and abilities of everyone involved.  This can be true even if we do not always accept everything about each other. 

As noted on this week's episode of Gay USA, a weekly LGBT (as noted at its website) news show that I have personally watched for approaching twenty years now, a fitting symbol was put in place recently to honor pride month:

After years of advocacy spanning across two presidential administrations, LGBTQ activists and federal park officials joined together to raise a Rainbow Flag on federal property at Christopher Park on the first day of Pride Month.

(You can see a photo of the long serving co-hosts of Gay USA at that link. One occasional fill-in host is the activist/bird watcher, who became nationally known for an infamous Central Park encounter.)

A rainbow flag, showing all colors, is a fitting symbol for the diversity honored this month.  We have gone far -- in the 1990s, the specter of same sex marriage was so horrible to consider that the federal government singled it out for burdens.  This is so even though the idea was not truly novel even then.  I found a paperback book on weddings published in the early 1970s, which has a few pages of same sex weddings.

We still have a ways to go, again noting how multiple states (including Florida and Texas) are going after trans children, particularly in athletics.  There is reason to fear that this Supreme Court will go backward though it is unclear how far.  We still have gone quite far.  We should remember that, especially when the times leads some to be quite bleak.  

For now, as another Joe, I say let us honor and celebrate LGBTQI+ and the diversity and complexity of us all.  

ETA: This blog post cites a recent state trans bill to "save women's sports" or some such.  It is the sort of thing being tossed out there -- some specter of trans athletes ("trans" many might say) threatening women's sports.  

In practice, you have a few trans students, fewer playing sports, and we are talking single digits regarding any with any real special skills that would matter.  Meanwhile, you have others who have some special athletic ability or some other non-trans related body type that is atypical particularly.

For this "problem," there is a blunderbuss approach that invites abuse.  A few (two in particular) in comments try to small print the whole thing, which is bending over backward for something that doesn't warrant good faith assumptions.  It not really much different than burdensome rules against non-existent problems of "voting fraud." 

Such people are annoyed in part at what they see as overheated rhetoric, which is invited by the people involved. This includes the latest Republican tactic at hearings in Congress to ask people to define "men" and "women" or ask things like "can men have abortions."  I find screeching annoying myself, but you know, at some point it's understandable given the trolls involved.  And, even there, regularly they are right on basic points.