From The Editor: How Are You?
Andrew Creagh asks – and means – how are you? as Trump’s attacks on the LGBTQIA+ community mount, and Pride season arrives under a shadow.
It is going to be a challenging season for Pride around the world.
It’s a question we should ask each other more often – and actually mean it – but I ask it now because of events in the US that are impacting our friends, families and our LGBTQIA+ community.
How can we celebrate Pride while there’s a nagging feeling that things are not right? And we know they aren’t. How many of you have a feeling that worse is yet to come?
We’ve all seen the news: Trump’s attacks on the trans community, on the HIV-positive, on intersex and non-binary people, on women in power. We’ve seen his cuts to LGBTQIA+ health services, seen him stop funding life-saving HIV drugs in developing nations, we’ve seen him pretend to not know how to pronounce Pete Buttigieg’s name and then make up crap about him riding to work on a bike with his husband on his back… it would be funny if it weren’t taking us to a dangerous place.
I know my friends and colleagues in the US are nervous. Some are exploring ways to leave the country, which is possible for dual nationals, but not so easy for those with only a US passport. Others are considering relocating to areas of the US that are less volatile, where they can maintain a lower profile.
Some are angry but are unsure how to channel that energy.
I know Australians living in the US on working visas. One friend said of the current state of affairs, “This is not what I signed up for,” adding that if he could get his dogs into Australia without our strict quarantine laws, he would already be back home.
Australians are nervous about travelling to the US, and with good reason. An acquaintance had her phone scrutinised when she arrived at Dallas, Texas. When they saw her social media accounts where she made comments criticising Trump, she was refused entry.
It feels as though the ground is shifting under our feet.
This month’s feature, Pride In The Age Of Autocrats, looks at the ways authoritarian governments oppress LGBTQIA+ pride, try to remove us from civil society and demonise us, and why. As we researched this piece, it was chilling to see the tactics of the likes of Vladimir Putin, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, and Türkiye’s Recep Erdoğan being repeated by Trump and co in the USA.
One conclusion our story draws is that in the face of oppression, we must not become invisible. Pride is an opportunity to show our strength, to remind the world that we exist and are not just statistics on a page that can be cut for the sake of “government efficiency”. So this Pride season, wherever you are, get out there in your rainbow flags, bang those pots and pans, dance all night, and be seen and be heard.
And so, I ask again, and I really mean it: how are you? I would love to hear from our readers, especially those in the US. How are you feeling about the Trump presidency? For those outside the US, are you also feeling that the rise of unsympathetic governments and political parties is threatening the LGBTQIA+ world? Email your thoughts to [email protected]
Meanwhile, there is plenty to enjoy in the current issue, and I’m always happy to hear your thoughts.
Andrew Creagh, Founding Editor
Email your feedback to [email protected]
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