University of Melbourne and member of the 2021 EMCR Forum Executive
It is a yearly tradition for me to string some words in the spirit of Pride Month. Those words sometimes are public but mostly they are private because a little bit of reflection on any given day does not go astray. This year I decided to share some of my Pride Month reflections with the EMCR Forum and anyone who is a keen reader of their terrific newsletter.
The Stonewall riots occurred at the end of June 1969 as one of the single most catalytic events in US history. Queer activists made society reckon with the proposition that the personal lives of queer people were not aberrations or matters that needed to be corrected using the law and order. Queer and trans people of colour, led by activists like Marsha P. Johnson, put it all on the line because she knew that some of us cannot simply put away their difference and assimilate into society after the have supressed and marginalised what makes them special.
I am not sure you can call the protest for equal rights a riot if it was merely answering the call of violence by people who have long tried to oppress queer people, but what can you do? Queer history is oftentimes recorded in the violence against us not in the good wholesome moments of solidarity and love we share across all of time and space. This is why we mark Pride Month every June because no language, time period, or border has ever stopped queer people from joining hands to do what is just on the journey of self-discovery. Stonewall is our something old. Our talisman of protection to ward us from old prejudices and remind us that what we have is precious and will need guarding always. For our STEMM audience a talisman of protection is kind of like antibodies that protect you from all sorts of illnesses.
In the queer community, we are always in a constant state of reassessment when it comes to who we are, the words we use, and the members of the queer community that are not represented fully. This is born from queer people living on the margin, being silenced, or sometimes not having the words to describe who we are or what we feel. Queer people are not afraid of learning and growing beyond the words and definitions of the previous generations. Quite the contrary, I am overjoyed by the idea that there would be someone after me who would use my words and how far I have come to build upon something anew that is the house of tomorrow. Romanticism aside, there is a great correlation between the queer identity and the scientific identity. They are both relentless in their pursuit of constant growth and discovery. There is no final scientific discover there is only more discovery, and there is no final self rather there is only the journey of knowing oneself and one another a little bit more every passing day. This constant spirit of renewal is our something new. It gives us for the house of tomorrow where we are somehow more than we are today in ways we have not yet envisioned.
When we consider Pride Month, we consider how all communities are connected. Although from afar a connection is not directly apparent, it is there in the heart of all progress throughout history prior, during, and after pride. It was Maya Angelou who said in her poem Alone:
Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
I came up with one thing
And I don't believe I'm wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone
The kinship and allyship we have is our something borrowed. We borrow the lives and voices of the good natured many and heed the call of equality to strengthen and advocate for the few.
Now let’s talk about the heart of pride and the equality: the lives of many queer, trans, and intersex people of colour (QTIPOC) who gave up everything so we can have the freedoms we have today. Every day I think about them—their stories; their humanity; the lives unlived; the dreams scattered into the wind by prejudice; lives snuffed out by violence. They are a great source of pride for me because I know queer people come from strength that has shaped the world for generations. No injustice or prejudice can find safe harbour with QTIPOC pushing for equality for all with their might no matter the cost. They are with me during every lab experiment, every manuscript, every time I call out prejudice. With their company I am unafraid of what comes ahead. The fidelity, honesty, authenticity, and sense of justice of all QTIPOC before us is our something blue.
I will finish this piece by talking about our something science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine (STEMM). I’ll start with some facts: queer people in STEMM struggle to openly be themselves in their workplaces; feel unsupported by their employers; have lower retention rates; and experience discrimination and harassment based on their sexuality and gender identity. These facts are surprising given the strong correlation and love for discovery that the queer identity and the scientific identity show. We have queer individuals who are extremely talented and equipped with great imagination and more-ness. In a world with evolving problems, we need diverse minds and opinions to find new solutions and create a better tomorrow. Not only are we not putting that potential and talent of queer people to good use, rather we oppress and discriminate until they can’t see safe harbour and a place to plant their trees within STEMM. This is the guiding principle of QueersInScience (QIS) as an initiative that aims to provide support for LGBTIQA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer/questioning, Asexual and others) professionals and students in STEMM. QIS aims to improve support for those vital members of our future through leadership, visibility, advocacy, networking, education and intersectionality and remove the barriers currently preventing LGBTIQA+ individuals contributing to their full potential in STEMM.
My message to all LGBTQIA+ people in and outside STEMM: dream it all because it is possible; do it all because you can; stay the course and look after yourselves because there is always hope and above all there is always PRIDE.
© 2024 Australian Academy of Science
