From the May-June 2021 issue of News & Letters
by Elise
Members and friends of Homokomando jog past watching Polish police on their Gdansk Equality Run.
In Gdansk, Poland’s Vice President Monika Chabior joined hundreds of other pro-LGBTQ+ activists in the Solidarity Workouts in March. Participants exercised in many of Poland’s parks and public spaces, draped in Pride flags, to support, in part, the members of the sports club Homokomando, who had been assaulted by 30 masked, cowardly men. Some of the workouts attracted heavy police surveillance. State-controlled media called them COVID superspreading events, even though participants were socially distanced and masked.
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Ten-year-old Transgender girl Kai Shappley testified to the Texas Senate State Affairs Committee that she does “not like spending my free time asking adults to make good choices,” adding that Texas lawmakers have been attacking her since she was in pre-K for being Trans. She was opposing a bill labeling parents who support their Trans children as child abusers, equating them with child molesters, child pornographers and child traffickers. Not one Committee member had any questions for Kai or her mother, who also testified. Protesters have delayed anti-Trans legislation in a few states, but not in Texas, despite polls indicating that two-thirds of Americans, and even a majority of Republicans, oppose them.
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Queer-Art, originally founded in 2009 to support Queer artists who lost mentors because of AIDS, hosted an online exhibit Response to Anti-Asian Shootings in Atlanta, to fight anti-Asian hate. The organization continues to give platforms to LGBTQ+ artists to display their art. Responses include a painting of a non-binary person captioned “Against empire, patriarchy and capitalism towards love and care.” The statement of Red Canary Song protests racism, white supremacy, colonialism and the patriarchy, and supports decriminalization of sex work. It is important to note that the debate about decriminalizing sex work continues.
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On March 31, International Transgender Day of Visibility, President Joe Biden announced his support for the Equality Act, which would add gender identity and sexual orientation as protected categories under anti-discrimination provisions of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Also on March 31, Australians posted on social media their support for Trans people, so they know they are recognized and their accomplishments are celebrated.