By: Heather Shea and Gabby Wahla, W*SS
Hello Spartans!
Yesterday--midway through Pride Month-- the U.S. Supreme Courtruled 6-3 in three cases regarding transgender and LGBQA+ rights. Yesterday’s decision affirms that sexual orientation and gender identity are protected characteristics under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This good news seemed like an apt time to release our Summer WSS Zine celebrating June as Pride Month.
We at Women*s Student Services celebrate people of all genders and sexual identities and invite all students to express themselves freely. We also recognize the persistent fear in doing so within many communities. While Pride may often be depicted as a celebration of sexual identity, it is impossible to discuss sexuality without its attachment to gender. Today, Pride is more than just celebrating the freedom of expressing one’s sexuality - it also invites us to celebrate all expressions of gender.
Women*s Student Services uses an asterisk to depict that gender is not binary. Gender can take many different forms, and we are committed to serving ALL students, no matter their gender identity, sexuality, race, ability, religion, and all things in between.
As we reflect and celebrate Pride, it is important to consider how we balance our own celebration at today’s good news alongside the tragedy of Black lives being lost to police brutality. As we shared in last week’s newsletter, we in WSS and at MSU are committed to serving as a place to discuss and share resources for activism, racial justice, and social change. When we think of leaders at the front lines of Stonewall like Marsha P. Johnson, a Black transgender womxn fighting for freedom of expression of her identities, we have to consider how we can channel our pride into the Black Lives Matter movement and protests. We can view our collective liberation through an intersectional lens, considering race, gender, sexuality, and all identities in conjunction.
We pause and recognize this current moment amid the larger movement. We celebrate those individuals and groups who fought and are fighting to allow freedom of expression. The first Pride parade was the Stonewall Riots. The Stonewall Riots took place from June 28, 1969 through July 3, 1969. The riots occurred in response to a police raid of the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village. The most notable rioters were transgender rights activists Marsha P Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, amongst many others. To read more about the Stonewall Riots, click here.
Marsha P. Johnson (left) and Sylvia Rivera (right). Image from: https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/marsha-p-johnson-1945-1992/
Want to celebrate Pride but while physical distancing? Here are some ideas:
Here are some virtual events from Prides around the country: https://thenextweb.com/insights/2020/06/08/pride-2020-your-guide-to-virtual-events-in-june/
Check out the New York Times Virtual Pride Guide
Check out Global Pride on Saturday, June 27th from InterPride!
Check out this virtual Stonewall Monument: https://stonewallforever.org/
Consider donating to organizations like The Trevor Project, the Human Rights Campaign, or many other organizations!
Provide financial support to the MSU LBGTRC through supporting their initiatives.
Make sure your email signature has your pronouns, and we suggest adding a link for folx to click on to learn more about pronouns if they aren’t familiar, or want to be further educated. Here is a link from the LBGTRC that we in WSS use to encourage folx to learn more about pronouns: http://lbgtrc.msu.edu/educational-resources/pronouns/
Stream some LGBTQ+ movies (just a few we were thinking about, there are many, many more than just this list, and many TV shows or other media to view!):
Rocketman (Hulu, Amazon)
Milk (Starz, Amazon)
Moonlight (Netflix, Amazon)
Philadelphia (Netflix, Amazon)
Blue is the Warmest Color (Netflix, Amazon)
Tangerine (Hulu, Amazon)
Transamerica (Amazon)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Hulu, Amazon)
Love, Simon (Amazon)
Call Me By Your Name (Amazon)
Carol (Amazon)
The Danish Girl (Netflix)
AND SO MANY MORE!
Happy Pride, Spartans! Reach out to us at wssmsu@gmail.com if you’d like to chat more. Summer WSS Zine Newsletters will be released about every month, so we will see you next in July!
Interested in sharing your own "Thought Of The Day" or TOTD? Email us at wss@msu.edu.
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