With those festive greetings and gay happy meetings — it’s the most colourful time of the year! Running from June to September, Pride season kicks-off Canada wide this month.
Many of us don’t realize, but Pride is a commemorative time. This season was sparked by the Stonewall Uprising of 1969, a six day clash between LGBTQIA2S+ protestors and police after the raiding of The Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in New York City. This was sadly not an uncommon occurrence for the gay community and to this day we still see targeted attacks on queer gathering spaces. So, as much as we seek to celebrate our community members during this time, it’s important to acknowledge that the past isn’t so far behind us. In a community like Abbotsford, danger can be present far too often. From Anti-SOGI protests, to the vandalization of Pride flags on our own UFV campus, to proposed policies in our neighbouring provinces that threaten gender affirming care, it’s hard not to feel the looming danger that seems to lurk at the corners of our community.
For many, Pride might be a bittersweet time; there’s space to celebrate our community and stand boldly alongside each other in the face of danger, hate, and harm, but there is also space to reflect on the journey of being queer and of loving those who are queer. We can all take part in a piece of this reflection with our feature this issue where members of UFV’s very own CHASI share intimate stories of what being queer and being an ally mean to them. On p. 9 our Opinion Editor moves into more personal experiences by sharing what being aromantic has meant to her. Then on p. 21 we explore all things Pride with an essential media list curated from our Jr. News Editor.
The Queer community is a powerful and beautiful group of survivors and an integral part of our national identity. They deserve to be recognized and celebrated, and here at The Cascade we want to make it clear that we stand alongside them as allies, colleagues, fellow students, community members, and friends.
Darien Johnsen is a UFV alumni who obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree with double extended minors in Global Development Studies and Sociology in 2020. She started writing for The Cascade in 2018, taking on the role of features editor shortly after. She’s passionate about justice, sustainable development, and education.
