Pride in Community: No Queer Liberation Without COVID Mitigation
Image Description: Top-down capture of a non-binary Black person lying back on top of various throw pillows, with one arm arched above their head. They wear tinted purple sunglasses, a KN-95 mask adorned by a double gold chain, and a “Pro-Black Anti-Bullshit” tank top paired with a denim vest and plaid skirt. A pink cane rests next to the person on a watermelon pillow. Photo by Disabled and Here
I’ve been watching online chatter explode as cautious concern mounts regarding hantavirus. Sound familiar? It’s the rodent-derived illness that took Gene Hackman’s wife in 2025 and recently wreaked havoc on a cruise ship. As someone who has been masking since 2020, it’s really mind-blowing: people are terrified of what has yet to affect us on any large scale while COVID, which has been affecting us substantially for over six years, rages on.
Politicians have failed us, institutions have failed us, and – while many people don’t like to hear it – individual people have failed us as well.
Nowhere have I felt this more than in queer and trans “community.” As a bi activist of almost 20 years, teaching across the country as a community educator, I have been intimately familiar with our people for a long time. I have learned from our ancestors and elders. I’ve taught my peers and younger generations. I’ve dealt with conflict. I’ve been betrayed. I’ve been uplifted. I know well the sacrifices that we’ve made – particularly those most vulnerable – for the movement.
So it puzzles and frustrates me every late spring, when Pride Month rolls around, and organization after organization, movement leader after movement leader promotes COVID-unsafe events and programming. I feel hurt, angry, and disappointed that people who are “supposed” to care and champion liberation for all consistently leave out some of the most vulnerable of our community. Do we, disabled people, not also deserve joy? Social camaraderie? To be seen? Do we, those most negatively affected by COVID, not also deserve to show our Pride? Not just in June (in the colonized U.S.), but year-round?
To be clear, this is an indictment. I’m very exhausted tiptoeing around the evidence-based fact that completely abandoning COVID precautions, leaving the most vulnerable to fend for ourselves, continues to kill and disable people – queer and trans people! – unchecked. But it’s an indictment swimming in love and care. If I didn’t care, I would stay silent. But I’ve been doing this work too long to stay silent.
So this calling in (and out) comes with a roadmap for doing better. Because we can do better – no, we must.
At its core, this is a systemic issue. However, that doesn’t mean that we are helpless. There was another time in our history where the government abandoned us and we, as individuals, stepped up our community care efforts. It can be done again.
One way is through advocacy. We must hold our government – federal, state, and local – accountable for how they continue to (mis)handle an ongoing pandemic. Whether you challenge local anti-mask laws or advocate for cleaner air, there is something for everyone to contribute.
Secondly, you can start requiring masks and testing at events again. Yes, really – no one can stop you! Mask blocs are a great collaborative resource, but there are also websites like Bona Fide (which I personally use), if you have the budget to purchase directly, to provide to those who have stopped masking.
Finally, you can organize more outdoor-only events during the warmer months and virtual events during the colder weather (and year-round!). Even outdoors, airborne transmission is still a risk, especially in large crowds. Plan ahead with social distancing and limiting the number of attendees.
Does this all feel a little daunting? I’m not surprised! Especially if you haven’t been thinking about who’s being left out, it can feel burdensome to try to navigate new protocols and accessibility needs. But we are all we’ve got and, ultimately, it is those of us who are cut off from community who are the most burdened.
This offering is by no means exhaustive, but by the time you’re able to read this, it’ll probably be too late for June 2026 events. However, Bi+ Visibility Month (September), LGBTQ+ History Month (October), Trans Day of Remembrance (November), and World AIDS Day (December), among others, are right around the corner. Plus, you have an entire year to get ready for Pride 2027.
Don’t delay; start planning now. And this time, those plans can include how to make your spaces safer for everyone and more inclusive of those most isolated so that all of us can have a “Happy Pride!”
Denarii Grace (she/they – mix it up!) is a multi-hyphenate writer and editor, singer, and long-time activist. Founder of Fat Acceptance Month, they’ve been an editor with Rooted in Rights since May 2022. She can be found on Facebook, Threads, and Instagram @writersdelite.
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