If you saw us at Milton Keynes Pride last weekend you will have seen us carrying this sign. We wanted to talk a little about why we chose this.

We felt it was especially important at an event like MK Pride to remind people why events like this still exist. As much as we enjoyed MK Pride, we felt before attending that it was likely to be incredibly commercialised and sadly were only proven right. The event itself was a funfair type setup in Campbell Park with rides, candy floss stalls and a large pop up bar.

There was no march, no signs and placards and little to no political chat from any of the performers. The focus of this event was more on fun and escapism and not about furthering the rights and acceptance of LGBT people in the UK and worldwide. 

It’s not that we hate fun, but events like these exist mostly to line the pockets of those running it, because sadly LGBT lifestyles and interest have become very profitable.

Lesbians get the stereotype of being the most political group within the LGBT community and I feel it’s because it often falls to lesbians to be the ones to remind people that there’s still a struggle. This is possibly because within the lesbian community, there is a culture of feminism and class consciousness between women. We are more removed from men than most other groups within the LGBT umbrella so by nature tend to build our social groups as man free spaces, while groups such as bisexuals and transgender people are mixed gender spaces so building a culture specifically around feminism will always have opponents. While men within the LGBT community are often shielded from many of the issues faced by other members due to male privilege, and mainstream LGBT culture is controlled mostly by white gay men who often times feel the struggle is over, the reaction to other groups pointing out we are still fighting for our rights is that we’re just out to kill everyone else’s fun and should try to lighten up. In fact, this stereotype played out almost too perfectly on the drag and cabaret stage when a drag king (a rare sighting at LGBT events) paused their performance to ask people to remember pride is still a protest and to think about the struggles of our brothers and sisters around the world. This was then immediately followed by a drag queen taking vodka shots on stage at 1 in the afternoon. 

Many people still have an attitude that if it’s not happening to them, they’re happy to ignore it. People will attend pride events like these not wanting to be reminded of those who are still fighting. They want to wave their flags, listen to Rupaul and get drunk. I’m all for escapism, but that is for the pub and the after party. Of course we should celebrate our hard fought wins but we cannot be complacent. Everything we have fought for can still be taken away. The recent attack on Roe v Wade in America should serve as a stark reminder of that. 

On the night of the Stonewall uprising, eyewitnesses say it was black butch lesbian Stormé Delaverie being dragged away by police and shouting “why don’t you guys do something?” that spurred the rest of the patrons into action. Had she not shouted this, that night could have ended like any other night. Those who weren’t arrested would have been glad it wasn’t them and went home putting it into the back of their minds. 

The LGBT community desperately needs its politics and its solidarity back. To all the political gays, militant lesbians and killjoys, if your presence makes people feel guilty for having fun that can be a good thing. We thank you!