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Tuesday, June 29, 2010

GCM Pride Week Issue - Learning to Listen

Feminist Thoughts
By Erica Chu

Learning to Listen


Every June is full of LGBT pride activities mainly centered in Lakeview and Andersonville and culminating in Pride Week and the Pride Parade. All kinds of groups participate in the parade and attend events throughout the month, yet some ethnic groups have separate weeks specifically designated for celebrating LGBT pride in their communities. During the first week of June, a week of activities for Latino Pride took place in Pilsen, Humboldt Park, and Lakeview, and during the first week of July, Black Pride activities take place across the city in neighborhoods like South Shore, the Loop, and Lakeview.

The other day a friend complained, “If we’re supposed to be inclusive, why have separate gatherings for Black and Latino LGBTs?” This friend was just trying to express a desire for unity, but I think these questions are worth attempting to answer.

Unity is something I’ve been trying to emphasize in this column: We who have experienced some measure of pain due to discrimination ought to think about how we can interact with others in a way that alleviates the discrimination they experience. A first step in accomplishing that goal is to see how they really are a part of us. If this LGBTQAI unity that we are supposed to work toward is so valuable, then why would African American and Latino organizers seemingly damage that unified “us” by calling for separate weeks of celebration? Shouldn’t we all celebrate our rainbow identities as one community?

This is a complicated issue that activists and academics have been trying to deal with in many contexts over many decades. Since everyone has so recently been excited about hockey, it may be helpful for us to think about a metaphor along those lines.

Let’s say you live in Chicago and you’re a hockey fan in a culture that highly values the Blackhawks. Now imagine (oh the horror!) you’re actually a Red Wings fan. If you were to participate in a hockey celebration, wouldn’t you want to express your Red Wings pride? If you tried though, who would listen?

Now in many circumstances you might celebrate hockey with Blackhawks fans, but wouldn’t you feel like they were overlooking, ignoring, and even viewing with suspicion your identity as a Red Wings fan? In addition, the people who aren’t into hockey may have learned to tolerate Blackhawks fans but may have less interest in understanding you. Is it any wonder then that you might occasionally have your own party where your voice of celebrating the Red Wings can be heard?

This metaphor is not perfect: hopefully there’s not this much segregation and competition among LGBTQAIs, and even though Chicago is a Blackhawks city when it comes to hockey, when it comes to people, Chicago is very diverse.

Still, this picture of the Red Wings fan in Chicago is a kind of representation of what it can be like for black and Latino LGBTQAIs during Pride festivities (as well as for members of many other ethnic groups). Sure, it’s a celebration of rainbow flags, but it often feels like a celebration organized by and for white rainbow flag bearers. A similar feeling of marginality can be experienced by members of the LGBTQAI community who do not identify as gay or lesbian.

Racism, transphobia, and phobias of many kinds unfortunately exist, and though we try to strive for inclusivity, folks within our community can still feel that they’re overlooked and even treated with hostility.

So as we enjoy the last days of this month of celebration, let’s keep in mind that in many cases, our gleeful shouts may have the unfortunate effect of drowning out the voices of those among us with other needs and interests. Let’s try to listen for those voices and learn from them as we strive for unity.

Sometimes it’s only apart from the larger group that some of these voices can be heard clearly. At such times, let’s be sure we are listening carefully and offering our support. Learning to listen to the marginal voice takes time and constant energy. Though it can be exhausting, trying is the most effective thing we can do.



Erica Chu is a student at Loyola University Chicago and is seeking a PhD in English with a concentration in Women Studies and Gender Studies. She manages the blog keepingitqueer.blogspot.com and can be reached at ericachu@msn.com.

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