PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

Call for Radical Queers
by RESYST Wednesday, Jun. 08, 2005 at 8:20 AM
www.thomasmertoncenter.org/resyst (412)-361-3022 5125 Penn ave. Pittsburgh Pa. 15224

This is a call for all radical queers in the Pittsburgh and surrounding areas for their participation in a radical queer contingent at this years Pride parade. So if you are a self-identified radical queer who feels that all oppressions are interconnected, that liberation is better than equality, and that assimilation is an attack on the vibrant culture that queers have cultivated despite the obstacles against us, then come and march with us. We will be celebrating our queerness, challenging queer assimilation, and partying in the streets. -Resyst

Call for radical queers

On the weekend of Jun 18th, Pittsburgh will have its annual Pride
parade, held in downtown Pittsburgh to celebrate the GLBT community,
and "our" persistent struggle for civil rights and social justice.
This year the official slogan is "Equal rights no more no less", but
much like previous year's slogans this one is equally as euphemized,
watered down, and inadequate. For instance, what does equality mean
for the GLBT community? The commonsense assumption is that equality is
having the same rights as heterosexuals. But is equality really
attainable for the GLBT community?

In the aftermath of the Stonewall riots during the first ever Pride
march (1970), then known as the Christopher street fair, banners read
"Queer Liberation", not "We want a piece of the pie." What was
demanded was the autonomy for all forms of sexual expression, an end
to the policing of public affection, and an immediate halt to the
institutional socialization of homophobia, genderphobia, and
heterosexism. Demanding liberation and demanding equality are two
totally different things. One is saying we want the autonomy to
control our own lives, and the other is saying we want the ability to
utilize our class, sex, and race privileges to their fullest extent,
the same as our heterosexual counter-parts.

Our society has demonstrated time and time again that there can be no
such thing as equality within it's current racist, sexist, classist,
gender-normative institutions, and framework. Equality is made
impossible by a system that is designed to give power and privilege to
a minority above all others. As radical queers we are fighting for
liberation, not a token equality that cannot be achieved within our
current society, because nothing short of the complete transformation
of this society will give us our liberation.

As radical queers we oppose militarism, capitalism, systems of
assigned privilege, state sanctioned relationships like marriage, and all forms of oppression. Assimilation is oppression for those of us who can't play the part of the well behaved queers.

Join the radical queer contingent at this years Pride parade as we
celebrate our queerness, and challenge the whitewashing,
mainstreaming, and assimilation of our community, because we are not
just like your neighbor, nor do we want to be.

This year we will be doing another pink & black bloc with color guard
flags, and bucket drums, so bring your home made drums, noisemakers,
flags (not rainbow), balloons, bandanas, and hankies. We encourage
freaky bikes (low riders, tall, and dyke trykes), banners, puppets,
jugglers, gender non-conformity, signs, people in drag,
whistles, lots of kink, and fetishtastic goodies.

We will be meeting 10:30 am, the morning of Saturday June the 18th @
Fifth ave. and Ross st. downtown. Look for the RESYST banner.
Contact: http://www.thomasmertoncenter.org/resyst
http://www.jenniferq_83@hotmail.com">http://www.jenniferq_83@hotmail.com>

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