Life Through a Queer Lens

EP67: When They Say They've Seen This Before, We Should Listen; Learning From Our Queer Elders

• Jenene & Kit • Season 2 • Episode 67

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Our queer elders have crucial wisdom to share about navigating difficult times, having been through similar challenges in previous decades.

• Find and get involved with your local LGBTQ center, even in small towns 
• Build physical community networks of people who can actually help if things get worse
• Centers provide safe spaces, resources, event information, and connections to elders
• Legacy organizations like ACT UP, Lambda Legal, and the National LGBTQ Task Force continue fighting for equality
• The Matthew Shepard Foundation offers abundant resources for education and support
• Learn from queer history through books like "The Book of Pride" and "The Stonewall Reader"
• Watch documentaries like "Paris is Burning" and "Forget Us Not" to understand our community's past
• If you're scared to take the first step in getting involved, "do it scared"


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Speaker 1:

learn from the elders in your community by going to your local lgbtq center, by getting involved in your community events. Learning from your elders in the sense of researching what they have done before us so that we can use those tools in the present day fight for equality. Hello, hello, everybody, and welcome back. We have got another solo cast for y'all with me, kit. I have a pretty distinct voice. I feel like that's obvious, the Jenna Marbles sounding motherfucker. Anywho, today we are going to be discussing a topic that sits very close to my little heart and soul. It's learning from our elders, because now's the time, like they've been through this before, to the point where most of them aren't even scared, like some of them are a little nervous, most of them are just like it's like Reagan 2.0. They've been here before. They've been here before. So learn from them, talk to them, and today we're going to give you some tips as to how to get started with that, how to dip your toe in the water of learning from the people in our community who came before us. And again, it's really important. I know personally. For me recently I've been getting involved in the local LGBTQ center, which is actually my first tip Get involved in your local LGBTQ center, which is actually my first tip. Get involved in your local LGBTQ center. It's listen, you'll be surprised what could be around the corner in such a small town. I'm in middle of nowhere, pennsylvania, and even my small town has an LGBTQ center. You never know. So look into it, see what you have near you and, if you have one near you, go check it out. Go hang out on a day when you're free, go sit in on their open hours and see what's going on. I've been doing that for a hot minute at the one in town and now I'm on the board of it. I am the first trans, gender nonconforming person on the board of this area's Traversity. Yeah, it's really cool, it's really fun. It's really nerve-wracking at the same time. I'm not going to lie. I'm sure some people from there are listening to this, hi. But yeah, it's kind of nerve-wracking because I've never done anything like this before and I also have the organizational skills of 13 rats in a trench coat, so wish me luck. I think I got this. I have 13 post-it notes on my door already.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, even in your small, in the smallest of small towns, you should be able to find something You'll find a sense of community, a sense of safety, with people close to you in physical proximity, not just emotionally, but close to you physically. So if shit hits the fan, they're close by. You want people in close proximity to you physically who are able and willing to help. That's very important in times like now is building up a network of community, not just online, but people who are literally in close physical proximity to you. So if shit hits the fan, you have somewhere to go, you have people to call on, you have people to go to, you have a unit to connect with and get together with and say okay, what's the plan, what do we do now? What do we do next? They have access to local resources that you might not know about, that you might be able to utilize you never know until you go and they're usually responsible for organizing community pride events, which allows you to know when they're coming, be able to get involved in their setup process and get a group together to go with plenty of time in advance. So, yeah, you'll also know the events happening in your area. If your town has pride or queer events that tend to sneak up on you, getting involved in your local LGBTQ center will let you know when those events are happening, because they organize them and you'll be able to maybe get involved in organizing them, which is, again, really good for building community and connecting with people and learning from your elders. You see, it all falls into place. It all falls into place. It's like a puzzle, except not ableist. Looking at you, autism speaks.

Speaker 1:

Anyway, it has been a very short amount of time I've been getting involved with the local LGBTQ center in my town, but it has been genuinely life-altering for me. I live with a homophobe. I live with someone who does not respect my gender identity at all, who thinks that AIDS was a punishment from God. It's really hard to keep yourself sane in an environment like that, in a world like this. That center is a lifeline for moments like that, for when it's just too fucking much. You get to go and just be with people who are like you and laugh. I have laughed there harder than I have in a hot minute without, like, my partner being in the area or one of my besties being in the area from Lancaster, which is three hours away, like this is 30 minutes away. It's accessible, it's fun and I am learning a lot. I am gaining more confidence. I read a poem out loud on Trans Day of Visibility, which I haven't done in a long time, and I barely shook like a Yorkie. That was great. So, yeah, you know, like you, you can get more than you would ever imagine from centers like that. You, you can gain a lot from interacting with places like that. So do it, do it. And if you're scared, do it scared. Trust me, it's my motto of 2025. If you're scared, do it scared. Go do it. Go check out your local LGBTQ center. If you're scared, do it scared. I dare you, I double dog, dare you Do it.

Speaker 1:

And mutual aid groups for queer rights, health and liberation started before, during and since the height of the HIV AIDS epidemic and are still going strong all across the country looking for LGBTQIA plus people of all ages and identities to get involved. These are just some of the many examples spread throughout the United States. Act UP began operations in 1987 and was involved in organizing some of the most well-known and influential protests of the HIV AIDS epidemic. The National LGBTQ Task Force this organization is active all over America and to learn more about them, take a trip back through our work, to episode 46 of the podcast where we have an episode all about their history. Lambda Legal. Lambda has been behind some of the most well-known cases for LGBTQ plus rights in America, including the case allowing for their own place as a nonprofit organization. We will absolutely be doing an episode about Lambda in the coming months the history of Lambda and how it came to be and 100% that's happening. And, mind you, getting involved in Lambda is a little difficult unless you're like a lawyer, but I'm sure they're looking for donations. If you're looking for a lawyer, they'll help. Just you know, check them out the Audre Lorde Project, a Brooklyn-based organization for LGBTQ plus people of color assisting community organization and radical nonviolent activism. Now check them out too. The Audrey Lorde Project, oh yeah.

Speaker 1:

And then there's this is another little list. Along with that, these are some organizations and programs started in the aftermath of the murder of Matthew Shepard, who we will also be doing an episode about very soon. There's the Matthew Shepard foundation, which is a nonprofit organization started by Matthew's parents, judy and Dennis Shepard, that shares resources and education to bring an end to hate crimes and supports the productions of the play the Lamerie project, which tells the story of Lammery Wyoming's reactions to the horrific hate crime that happened in their small town. Also on Matthew Shepard's Foundation's website are different resources, like articles and a glossary for different terms and symbols of the LGBTQIA plus community and, more Seriously, go check them out. Go check out the Matthew Shepard Foundation because you will find a lot of resources, a shocking amount of resources, even like they have something called Matthew's Place, which I believe is run through the website Medium. It was advertised as a social media platform, but from what I was able to find, it's not. However, what it is is a compilation of resources, so it has articles about queer books, articles about what's happening in the news, articles about music, articles about different art just so many different. They had broken down into different sections. Go check that out. Check out their website. And then also through the Matthew Shepard Foundation is Small Bear, big Dreams, which is a K-12 educational program started by the Matthew Shepard Foundation that teaches the values of respecting everyone equally and accepting individual differences.

Speaker 1:

Along with legacy organizations, new ones are cropping up and here to help like Advocates for Trans Equality. They're About Us states. Leveraging decades of experience on the front lines of power, we shift government and society towards a future where we are no less than equal. A4te was founded in 2024 as the National Center for Transgender Equality and Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund Two longtime champions for the trans community merged together as one organization. A4te builds on their successes to boldly imagine a world where trans people live our lives joyfully and without barriers. So, yeah, definitely go check out the Advocates for Trans Equality website because it is two very well-known legacy trans rights organizations combined into one organization for trans rights and trans equality. It's fantastic, wow.

Speaker 1:

And then here are some book and movie recommendations to get you started when I say, yes, learn from the elders in your community by going to your local LGBTQ center, by getting involved in your community events and things like that. This is more learning from your elders in the sense of researching what they have done before us so that we can use those tools in the present day fight for equality. You feel me? That makes sense. That's where, like the organizations and the legacy organizations, like the large ones, like Lambda and yeah, and the books and the media and stuff like that, more comes in with learning on your own from our history, from our elders. I hope that tries. So, yeah, here's some book and movie recommendations to get y'all started the Book of Pride LGBTQ plus heroes who changed the world by Mason Funk, chronicles interviews with LGBTQIA plus elders, many of whom worked in activism in their time before they passed away.

Speaker 1:

For many of these trailblazers, these would be their only interviews about their lives and work. Seriously, check out that book, the Book of Pride. Get it from your local library. If your local library doesn't have it, ask them to order it. They can and they will. I heavily recommend it for many of the people, for many of those interviewed, and specifically a good amount of them, it would be their only time being interviewed about their work for LGBTQ plus rights, and learning from them before they passed will help us again. Like I said before, take what they did, what worked in the past, and alter it a little bit, but have it work. You know what I mean. Like we can use those tips in the present day. Fight. Those tips aren't just old news. They can still be useful. They are still useful. So go check that book out please. The Stonewall Reader. With a foreword by Edmund Wright, edited by the New York Public Library, this book uses archived information like personal accounts, newspaper articles, photographs and more from that warm night late in June to chronicle the events of that night and the sparks of change that would follow.

Speaker 1:

Harris is Burning, a documentary from 1990, filmed in the late 1980s in New York City, focused on the drag house culture of the time. This film is a time capsule of the people and queer culture of the time that led to much of the queer culture and language we know today. Many of those who star in this film are no longer with us. It's important to note also that not one queer or queen in this documentary was properly compensated for their roles in it, so that is important to keep in mind as you watch it. However, I do still recommend checking it out and watching it because, as I said, I've seen it, so that is important to keep in mind as you watch it. However, I do still recommend checking it out and watching it because, as I said, I've seen it. It's truly a time capsule of the spirit of the time, the art of the time, the culture of the time, the way that culture shaped what we know now, the people in it. It's a time capsule of their beauty, their joy, their lives.

Speaker 1:

We actually we did an episode about one of the queens from Paris is Burning Venus Extravaganza, whose murder occurred during the filming of Paris is Burning and we will, in the future, do an episode about another queen from Paris is Burning named Dorian Corey, who, after she died there was. A bunch of people were going through her home and friends looking through her stuff and they found a mummified body in her closet. We're going to be doing a whole episode about her because, bitch, I need to know more and I hope y'all do too, because that's coming. So, yeah, please check out Paris is Burning. It's great, it's such a good movie. We'll be doing episodes about a few of the queens from that movie Dorian Pepper LeBeige. Yeah, willie Ninja, I would love to do an episode about him. Yeah, don't worry, I got y'all. I got y'all.

Speaker 1:

Forget Us Not. From 2013. Narrated by Ron Perlman of Hellboy, this documentary discusses the lives and untimely deaths of the 5 million non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust, like disabled individuals, lgbtqia plus people, romani people, people and those considered political enemies of nazism. So I heavily recommend checking those out. They all are great resources for again just learning bits and pieces about our history from our elders to the best of our ability.

Speaker 1:

You know, again, forget us not is not from our elders. Necessarily. It's Ron Perlman scenario, but you know what I mean. It's learning about people that without information like this out there would be forgotten. Otherwise, interesting fact time American actress and love of the queer community of the time, judy Garland, whose character, dorothy, would inspire the queer coding phrase are you a friend of Dorothy? Which is how gay men would ask each other if they were gay in the times when it was not safe to just say hey, are you gay, not safe to just say hey, are you gay. Judy Garland passed away on June 22nd 1969. Less than one week later, six days to be exact on the evening of June 28th, the Stonewall riots would begin. That's what I would call interesting. Stay safe, stay queer. I love you all so much, so, so, so much, so, so, so, so much you.