PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Pride Month 2022 has just ended. Philadelphia’s LGBTQ community has created big changes for its Pride celebration, with new organizers PHL Pride Collective aiming for more inclusiveness and a celebration that better reflects the activist roots of Pride.
Yet even after 50 years of Pride celebrations, there is still much at stake for queer Philadelphians. Here in Pennsylvania, and across the country, state legislatures are moving to restrict transgender people from being their full selves. And the overturning of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade ruling has many queer advocates wondering: What is the next constitutional domino to fall?
The initials LGBTQ group together a multiplicity of identities, experiences and lives. Who are the people that make up this community, and what do they think about where the community stands today, looking back at Pride Month 2022?
We invited four people from within the LGBTQ umbrella to the Jawncast: a bar owner in the Gayborhood, who’s been watching as his community is changing; an icon in the ballroom scene, who’s tired of the status-quo; a young, non-binary person who’s found a community, and an oasis, at The Attic Youth Center; and a transgender producer, musician and writer, making art in the face of hate.
They share their stories, their concerns, and their hopes.
Listen to the full Jawncast episode
Ram Krishnan
Ram Krishnan is the owner of two bars, Writer’s Block Rehab (1342 Cypress Street) and Cockatoo (208 S. 13th Street). He has the distinction of being among just a couple Black and brown bar owners in the Gayborhood, so he has seen first-hand how the community is changing and diversifying.
“To me, Pride is just a month where you have a marker, right?” Krishnan said. “The reality is that, I think, we as people — whether we are LGBT or not — every day should be a day when we feel safe, we feel proud, we feel good. But I think June gives us a moment to stop and focus on a community.”
He says this year's Pride being in the gayborhood brought the focus back to the people in that community and to the issues they face.
“I really hope we as a community can work better with each other and not have division like we have sometimes,” Krishnan said. “If we, as a collection, can work together, I think we'll be far more successful.”
Jacen Bowman
“It's a very scary world andin time that we're in right now, but I remain optimistic that … sometimes the world has a way of going 10 steps back to go 30 steps forward,” said Jacen Bowman, a make-up artist and an Icon in Philadelphia’s ballroom community.
“I don't want an ally. I want an accomplice. I want an accomplice to be there with us every single day on the forefront fighting.”
He says Philly Pride became more inclusive this year, featuring Kiki Alley, a space celebrating the culture and history of the Philadelphia ballroom community in which he grew up.
Ballroom is a queer subculture centered on dance and modeling, where all kinds of LGBTQ people, particularly people of color, represent competing houses. It’s not really something that is easy to describe accurately in words — as Bowman will tell you. You have to see it.
The 1990 documentary “Paris is Burning” brought ballroom to mainstream attention, and the recent series “Pose” on FX has kept it there, but it started in the ’80s, and Philadelphia is one of the biggest cities in the scene.
Bowman, who was a member of House of Prodigy in the second season of "Legendary" on HBO Max, describes what real ballroom looks like — and what mainstream television shows get wrong.
Ava
Ava, an energetic 19-year-old, seems very proud of their identity, but they have a really tough world to navigate. As a gender non-binary person of color, who is not currently in school, Ava wasn’t sure how to socialize and find people like them — until they found The Attic Youth Center. It’s a space where young queer folks can connect and find resources.
“What I want to see is more community spaces in general. Not even just queer ones, just more community spaces for people to exist,” said Ava.
Their biggest concern is finding an accepting work environment
“I'm in the minority here. This is a new thing for a lot of people. But holy crap, it gets exhausting explaining who I am, over and over and over again,” they said.
Daisy James
Daisy James is an artist. She makes music and podcasts. And she has been through some really tough times. As a transgender woman, she has struggled to find work and she fears for her safety every day. And yet, she’s somehow able to channel that fear into her art.
With the William Way LGBT Community Center, Daisy made a film for Trans Day of Visibility.
“Pride is about LGBTQIA+. It's about our stories. It means community. It means finding each other during this month, and remembering how strong we are when we come together,” she said.
She grew up in a conservative area and has witnessed a lot of extreme hate, and while she eventually escaped that, she sees how strong and unmoving that hate can be.
“It's hard to talk about the anti-trans hate that is happening,” James said. “We can't change the minds of those people. It's through policy, it's through legislation, and it's through just taking care of each other.”
Listen to the full Jawncast episode
Links
Here are some LGBTQ+ resources and places where you can donate or get involved to help the community.
William Way Community Center
Arcila-Adams Trans Resource Center
Mazzoni Center
The Attic Youth Center
Philly Black Pride
PHL Pride Collective