Can I Participate in Pride?

Seattle Pride 2012 by Brett Curtis, 25 June 2012.
CC 2.0

 

From time to time, we get emails from people who aren’t sure if they’re “allowed” to wear TomboyX. The same goes for Pride season; we know lots of folks out there aren’t sure if they’re allowed to join the fun. We get it: you don’t want to do queer stuff if you’re not queer, or if you’re not sure wether you’re queer enough.

The first thing to know is, anyone who gatekeeps the queer community by saying that some queer identities aren’t “queer enough” needs to seriously reevaluate. The queer umbrella contains infinite subcategories. If you’re not sure whether your identity counts, but you know you’re not 100% heterosexual and/or 100% cisgender, there’s a place in the alphabet mafia for you.  

The second most important thing to remember is that no matter whether you’re in the gay bar or outside on the street trying to figure out if you should go in, be respectful. If you’re straight, don’t go to Pride just to gawk at queerness. If you’re queer, don’t go to Pride just to judge “more queer” people. If you’re showing up to have a great time and meet new people and celebrate everyone’s identities, GO TO PRIDE!

And when it comes to whether or not you’re “allowed” to wear TomboyX, the only question you need to ask is, “do I have a body?” If the answer is yes, come on in.