Words by Smiley Team
This week, Pride In London announced the indefinite postponement of its Pride Month – including the parade- in light of the pandemic, leaving many LGBTIQ+ people uncertain as to what this might mean for their community. However in light of the global crisis, LGBTIQ+ activists and creatives have come together to form Far and Pride – a new, digital pride which aims to be accessible for all.
The Global Pride Day - the idea of illustrator, artist and NHS therapist Hannah Daisy - will take place on the 20th of June 2020 and is designed to be a pride day that everyone is able to attend. With everything from takeovers, panel events, workshops, Far and Pride hopes to bring together a community who need Pride more than ever.
For those not in the LGBTIQ+ community, it might be difficult to understand the significance of Pride and why it takes place during summer. Pride is in part a commemoration of The Stonewall Riots of 1969, in which LGBTIQ+ people pushed back against police brutality and persecution in what would become a pivotal moment in LGBQIT+ history and the birth of queer liberation.
Irrespective of the issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Pride has often been inaccessible to many including disabled people, people who are sectioned, imprisoned, in hospital, living in rural areas or without financial means to attend, refugees, people for whom it is not safe to be themselves publicly. Far and Pride is the antidote to all of these things, providing a space for creativity, community and joy wherever in the world people are, in whatever circumstances they find themselves in. One of the event organisers Prishita Maheshwari-Aplin, who is a equality advocate and LGBTIQ+ community organiser also notes that ‘this event shifts the focus back from prioritising corporate profit-driven organisations to centring the needs and experiences of the community itself, which is what Pride was and should be about.’
‘This will also be a Pride Day that everyone can attend - whether they’re unwell, in hospital, bed-bound, sectioned or self-isolating. Wherever they are in the world, regardless of whether they can be safely out of the closet or not. If they’re still exploring their sexuality or gender identity, there’s no pressure to dress, look or behave in any particular way.’ Indeed, a particular effort has been given to making the content as accessible as possible, something which historically Pride events have failed to do. Having an ethos centred on inclusion at all levels and the inclusion of disabled people on the organising team has made a huge difference.
Even simple things such as captions on video and image descriptions make a huge difference to those who would otherwise be excluded by these barriers.
In the week since its first conception, Far and Pride have already hosted musicians such as GIRLI and Andrea Di Giovanni, run workshops on GIF-Making and illustration, as well as creating educational resources on transgender history and intersex identities.
Prishita says it’s still early days, but that they know ‘that our priorities include accessibility, spaces dedicated to queer and trans people of colour, especially queer and trans black people, and hitting the right balance of celebration and continuing to fight for the rights and freedoms of our queer siblings worldwide.’
The current crisis has exacerbated the fear, uncertainty and danger for many LGBTIQ+ folks, especially those being forced to self-isolate in unsupportive homes and Far and Pride strives to help remedy this, balancing advocacy and education with joy and community and has never been more needed.
You can learn more about upcoming workshops, performances and takeovers by heading to the Far and Pride Instagram and following their work.
You can also donate via PayPal at [email protected]
By Ellen Jones
Illustration by Wednesday Holmes and Hannah Daisy.
