By Brooks McLain and Max Skorodinsky
For many members of marginalized communities, including those who are LGBTQIA+, the last few months, and especially the last few weeks, have felt like a nightmarish fever dream — bizarre, surreal and terrifying.
How could it come to this? While this current moment is particularly bleak and it seems like all progress made in the last 60 years is potentially rolled back, all is not yet lost. It is essential that we come together and use all the tools we have to resist and fight back.
To start, executive orders do not carry the weight of laws passed by Congress, and many of these orders will be overturned by the courts. A majority of federal judges were appointed by a Democratic president and most cases won’t make it to the conservative Supreme Court. Many of these orders are designed to intimidate and have us give up our rights pre-emptively.
Don’t fall for it. Trans/gender diverse and queer people still have many of our rights — especially, at the state level in Oregon. This includes parentage and adoption rights, the right to update your birth certificate and change your name and gender marker on your Oregon ID as well as protections from housing and employment discrimination.
At this moment, we need to be here for each other. If you are LGBTQIA+, there are many local resources that are available to support trans/gender diverse and queer individuals and groups. In what turned out to be fortuitous timing, The Lavender Network, Eugene’s LGBTQ+ community center, opened its doors the day before the November election; housing five local nonprofits.
At the center, TransPonder operates Sylvia’s Closet, where folks can access gender affirming products, and Queer Eugene maintains a clothing closet, where people can obtain clothing that matches their gender identity — both for no-cost. Additionally, HIV Alliance offers HIV testing and PrEP navigation (for HIV prevention medication) and, along with TransPonder, peer support services.
TransPonder also offers a food program, employment preparedness and assistance to community members who need help updating their documents to reflect their correct name and gender identity. Allies — consider a financial contribution to these organizations and efforts.
Social events and meetings are also happening at The Lavender Network, including planning for the 2025 Eugene Pride Festival June 28 at the Lane Events Center.
With our Pride Festival falling in Pride month this year, it’s a great opportunity for local businesses, nonprofits, schools, organizations, and city and county leaders to show loud, proud and visible support for the community all month long. Volunteering during the event is another way to show support and allyship.
Allies, you must follow through on your words and leverage your privilege to slow and hopefully prevent the descent into authoritarianism. Interrupt racist or transphobic comments or actions when you encounter them. Volunteer in ways that support the communities you seek to ally yourself with, or donate to the cause. Don’t accommodate bad behavior and creeping fascism, and do have your actions match your words. Get involved in, elevate and support mutual aid efforts.
We are not facing anything new, and we owe it to those who came before us to push the fight forward.
Our rights have been self-determined, not given; something trans and queer ancestors like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera fought fiercely to attain. We can’t give up on their legacy nor shirk away from defending our rights and the rights of future generations.
When Angela Davis was asked by a young activist during a lecture last year at the University of Oregon how to remain hopeful when everything seems so bleak, her response was: “The work of organizing radical movements is the work of generating hope. This is why we need art. This is why we need music.”
Make music and art, celebrate, be visible and create hope. Identify and strengthen connections with your people. Lean on each other and hold the line.