Fighting back against tlte cooptation ofPride tsinar• Domir ..., , & creating alternate jpaces based on resistance and apti-oppression for queer - _..,r ~"' .1J communities s Pride Toronto is busy celebrating it's 25th anniversary, contorting our her/histories, and handing out awards to sellouts like Kyle Rae and oppressive companies like Labatt, we need to reflect on the effects of assimilation and cooptation on our communities. What is Pride & How Did It Start? 0 ' phobia Pol' tt How Was Pride Coopted? for selling out queerss a mg S ree What Is Dyke March & How Did It Start? Why Do We Need A Seperate Dyke March? as we gain "acceptance". .. volt"' Who Are We Leaving Behind? What Struggles Are Being Ignored? What Voices Are Being Silei\~J? vv uat Identities Are Bein • Erased? Pride Toronto is Racist, Classist, Sexist, Homophobic ... in short, it reproduces the fo rms of oppressions it was originally meant to fight. Created by Abuzar (Creatve Commons 20QS) as a project of http://queerdlverslty.com Villaqe Raid Stirs Melee 4POU CEMBH HURT· A ~ l"loJ 0t1 t h.- Rlnn,.. "" \ I ~' tt-,,. t:hcu rb&n<"'f't., whJda IN 'VILLAGE' RAID "'•II Jnn. a ta\ f" n a f""flui"''V<t ""nc ln""'t fM "'~ tha ft. hnl I>)' lxln~ S tLl l t at :..'! C'hrl.o­ IW"M tr"C. R ~ Uw t1m4'! t&ln\ f"'ll. Melee_Nur ~e rldan Sq~are toph~ r St.. Just ....., , h f '"""'J t.u 1~ ~~.~Wo. a& leMl ~~l.d.t.~ ~U&N \A (;,..., n It J)l"nn>ffa •ad bf.- &rrf'Mr4 Fellows Actton It Bar wtch \ '11\a.-.. trtcc.. ...., • ~ · "" r w V'l r&ll,(lac t'-1 .... riot euty IOclay. wudt lo ol~rl y cw.d~w:L lit.IDd rtd! o.1 YOWl& mu went ·""",..,; th- ..,... ::u.-..w 1 ~"" -~"&lriY ~f'O , o.-. ·'"o.y '"'b:t lnlk ola.:~r Da•e \'an 1\enk, on 1. rampese in C.rctn wtcb poU«. hon•lr4'dt o( ,....-nby SS. or IS ~rtdan Sq.. ...... 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P'ollce 0 re l llforc em~u '"" MOC t.o tbl arta to hold ott tilt croW. Pll.llldOUIU IMll IM dclec:• N tlvta colllllaatd cuet olllq~&« rr om llwt ller. which lllt9eCtot l'tne said wu OJMraUntwitJio.t E a llq110r lkt111c. Tht .,olice utkll.ated that w 200 you na me.o had bHnt U• ,..u o.~ r. ""' u.. \lat. 'the crowd arew to cloac to -'110 A dw-lna tba ntelee. which luted about 4S mltlutu, !My aiCI. Ar~sted In Ute nttiH. wu L Dave v- Ra.lc, 33 yeen olcl. nf IS SIKriciall Squanr, a ..U· kiiOWD folk ttacn. Ha wu L n,;u-.1 ul' bo.•la&¥ Ouvwa a htfvy obJe<t at a pljn)lmaD and later paroled in hi,s own INN rc<:ocniumoe. n .e r..aid was onr ot thnt! h cld qn Villaco b&r.s Ia \heo lut New York Times, 1969 July 3 two w~k" ln.-pector Pine saJ4. cu~ ualnst the l3 wlto Hostl le Crowd Dispersed wall Inn, -•.t 5l Cbr!stopher ........ Street. whJch Lhe polke _sa.id "'~ ......~ .....8 .... ,,_ US~MJ~t aad rulst!Q arrut to Ne'ar Sheridan Square was well _kDoM~ Jor its Mn>e- suuat cliutalc IJld wu aJ. ~~rdert y c:onduc:l. A pattol· operari!lc without a man su~fmd a b,..n wrist. At lc ~ st rour persons w~re lcgedly liquor li e~. the pOlice aaid. arrested ond charted with ha(· lAst nilht ·a chantin& crowd Throf'I8S o~smtn con· •ssmeot 1an nlcfit ln lht Sheri· or 1bo\lt soo ~1'$011s wu · ~at ­ &lflltlet ou t 1M ,... dan Square are• of GrMnw•dl tc~ by ~111ben of the Tlcti­ •labl. rudaaa a adcaAI· Vill aa:~. where 1M polkc dis· nl Patrol Fora and polite of I IOIU ol tM poUee. pe~ a hoaule crowd lor the the Cha rles Stlftt sut.ion who A .ola o on the d-.-.J.J. .' ,ola third time In the lut wcetc. were the. tarpta occ.aUoaally' ls a priute dllb. Mt:ll'lberJ The confrootatloa. re.$ulttd ot bottles and bftrcans. A·fewl 01\ly.'" Only toh drWct "'lltre from a police rood lul -k· fires were IC!l in trash basll:tts bt l r~~ ~·tel. end .on a local bar, !Jic Stone- a lone Christoph"' Slrftt. co-opt To neutralize or win over (an independent minority, for example) through assimilation into an established group or culture: co-opt rebels by giving them positions ofauthority. Calling all Radical Queers, Trans People, Youth, Sex Workers, Poly People, Anti- Poverty Activists, & Allies 4 Reflecting on Toronto Pride's 25th Anniversary 5 Limp Fist: Resist! Rovolt! Celebrate! 7 You May Kiss The Bride 8 Sex Professionals of Canada: Whores and Dykes Unite! 10 Queer Diversity: Dissenting Against The Cooptation of Pride 12 Renegade Free Communtiy Fair 12 Protest Against The Cooptation of Pride 13 The Stonewall Riots: A Militant Era of The Gay Movement 13 The Alternate Pride Guide 15 Pride's That Sic Cops on Queer People 16 Calling all Radical Queers, Trans People, Youth, s ~ x Workers, Poly People, Anti-Poverty Activists, & Allies: Sick and tired of the main streaming of the "Gay Movement"? Frustrated at being pushed out of and excluded from queer spaces? Angry at getting kicked out of a queer community we helped create? What the tuck? Is everyone buying into gentrification? Are there no radicals left to fight back in Toronto? If you're a pissed off and unapologetic hooker, tranny, gender queer, radical, lived/worked on the streets, or an ally, it's time to fight back! Help build another (yes, another, 'cause we 've been down this road before) resistance to the battle that's been with us ever since (and even before) the Stonewa ll riots. Back in the day of the Stonewall riots, many of us weren't welcome in gay bars and this still holds true today in many of the posh gay spaces that have been created since. Many of the people who started the Stonewall riots ended up joining and supporting the gay movement, yet they were quickly dropped from the gay agenda. Within a few years, the Gay Activists Alliance had eliminated drag and transvestite concerns from it's civil rights agenda and Drag rights were also eliminated from a proposed gay rights bill to make it more acceptable. It's been decades and little has changed. We are now pushed into the margins and dissed by a movement we helped create. On top of that, we're constantly told to tone down as middle class queers are busy assimilating into mainstream culture and told to be grateful for the few scraps thrown our way. Mea nwhile, trans people, sex workers, homeless/street-involved queers, people of color, and the visibly queer constantly face ..increa sing violence and marginalization with every new mainst ream queer victoy. There is no conscience about the lash back we face as a result of these victories, or the effects of the long term c;ystematic exclusior: (past, present, and future) we face as a result of the blind pursuit for mainstream acceptance. It doesn't matter how many of us are murdered, go missing, or find ourselves excluded, bashed, or beaten. The band plays on like the single minded machine that it was always meant to be. Pride Toronto is busy celebrating it's 25th anniversary... but wait, something is wrong ... something got lost in all the circuit parties the alcohol/aden, inaccessible and ageist spaces The Dyke March is now the last refuge for those of us looking for the politics that began Pride, well, actually any politics at all! Since when did we become a tourist attraction? Where is our community? Why is it that many queer people choose to go elsewhere on the day of Pride? What happened to the revolution? Since when did "revolution" become an embarrassing word associated with those unwanted angry types? THIS IS A TIME FOR REFLECTION!! When the mainstream throw us a few scraps after long years of hard fought struggles, how do we react? As we morph and grow, and become "accepted", who are we leaving behind? What her/history and identities are we erasing? What principles do we compromise? As it stands, Pride is now a coopted event, and an epitome of what is happening to the rest of the queer community.