🌈 Pride, Even Now: Why Joy Is Still Resistance 🌈

Written By Renee Sommer


It’s Pride month. Again. Yay! Yay??

If you’re anything like me, maybe you’ve been staring at the rainbow flags going up in storefronts and wondering, does this even mean anything anymore? It’s hard to summon glitter and parade energy when it feels like the world is unraveling - when queer and trans rights are under coordinated attack, when people in power treat our lives like chess pieces or distractions, and when everything from grocery bills to basic safety feels up for debate.

So yeah. If you're feeling burnt out, angry, or like celebrating anything right now is weirdly indulgent, I get it.

But I want to make a case for joy anyway.

Not the sanitized, brand-approved kind of joy - I’m not talking about corporations slapping rainbows on their logos while funding anti-LGBTQ+ politicians. I mean real joy. The kind that lives in a knowing glance, a found family dinner, a dance floor moment when you forget what hurts for a minute. The kind of joy that doesn’t need permission.

Pride Didn’t Start as a Party

Let’s remember: Pride was, and still is, a protest. It began as a direct response to police brutality and criminalization of queer lives. The first Pride marches were born out of the Stonewall Uprising in 1969, led by Black and brown trans women, sex workers, and others who had been pushed to the margins. Here’s a quick read if you want to dig into that history more deeply.

They weren’t marching for brand deals. They were fighting for survival. And somehow, in the midst of that, there was dancing. There was laughter. There was defiance. That joy was never frivolous - it was fuel.

The Present Isn’t Pretty

Fast forward to now, and we’re watching states ban gender-affirming care, restrict books, and roll back protections that took decades to build. Trans youth are being targeted. Queer families are under threat. And let’s be honest, it’s not just political - it’s personal. It hits our friends, our partners, our kids, and ourselves. Some of us have spent the past year(s) in courtrooms, on picket lines, or simply holding our breath as policies shift around us like trapdoors.

So what does it mean to throw on a flag or plan a picnic in that kind of climate?

It means everything.

Joy Isn’t Denial. It’s a Declaration.

Choosing joy doesn’t mean we’re ignoring what’s happening. It means we’re refusing to let it steal everything.

The systems trying to crush us rely on exhaustion, silence, and shame. They want us to feel like we don’t deserve to exist, let alone celebrate. So when we do show up - laughing, kissing, painting our cheeks with glitter, building community in spite of it all - we’re pushing back in a language older than laws.

As poet Toi Derricotte wrote, “Joy is an act of resistance.” That line, rooted in Black liberation, echoes deeply in queer spaces too - where joy often pushes back against shame, violence, and erasure. It reminds us that even in survival mode, we are allowed to feel something more than pain. That joy isn’t frivolous - it’s fuel.

I think about how queer people have always carved out joy in the hardest places. How ballroom culture emerged amidst poverty and rejection. How queer artists and musicians have always reimagined the world through color and sound, even when survival was the only thing on the to-do list.

Joy, in this way, is a strategy. It’s medicine. It’s a protest. It’s legacy.

Our At The Roots LLC Take What You Need, Leave What You Can board at Pride in the Park 2023 🏳️‍🌈

For many, queerness doesn’t exist in a vacuum - it’s intersecting with race, disability, class, immigration status, and more. Celebrating joy within all that complexity? That’s revolutionary.

You’re Allowed to Celebrate. Especially Now.

I’ve heard so many people say this year that they feel guilty for feeling good, or weird about planning Pride events when the headlines are so bleak. I’ve felt it too - like joy is somehow inappropriate when so much is broken.

But guilt doesn’t build anything. Shame doesn’t save anyone. Celebration, though? That creates momentum. It reminds us of who we are and why we keep fighting.

So yeah, go to the drag show. Bring snacks to a trans youth group. Paint your porch with every color in the spectrum if that’s what keeps your heart beating. And if what you need is quiet joy this year? That counts. Holding space for yourself is resistance, too.

If you're looking for a space to feel that joy in real time, we’d love to see you at Pride in the Park on Saturday, June 14th in Eau Claire. It’s free, it’s full of community, and it’s one of those rare moments where celebration and resistance meet in the sunshine (and even the rain!). Whether you show up loud, soft, sparkly, or just quietly existing - you belong.

Where to Learn More and Show Up

If you’re looking to ground your joy in action, here are a few places worth your time:

We need people marching and making art. Protesting and parenting. Speaking out and surviving.

If Joy Feels Impossible Right Now

That’s okay, too. Start small. Text someone who gets you. Light a candle. Make a playlist that feels like home or even use the jukebox lineup from Stonewall to inspire you. Let yourself laugh at something ridiculous without apologizing. Pride doesn’t have to be loud to be real. Even a flicker of joy is a refusal to go numb,and that, in itself, is a powerful beginning.

Because we don’t wait for the fire to go out before we dance.
We dance because it’s burning and we are still here.

That’s Pride. Even now.

Queer Joy on Your Feed: 5 Accounts to Follow

Need a daily reminder that joy still exists and queer life is worth celebrating? These folks are showing up with humor, honesty, softness, and spark:

  • The Old Gays – A group of queer elders dancing, laughing, and living their best lives on various platforms (Facebook).

  • Your Lesbian Mom (@your_lesbian.mom) – Vintage love stories and gentle wisdom on Instagram

  • Calla Felicity (@callafelicity) – A nonbinary mini-farmer and elder sharing queer joy and identity reflections on TikTok

  • Joy Oladokun (@joyoladokun) – Queer singer-songwriter whose music feels like being held. Instagram | Spotify

  • Donté Colley (@donte.colley) – Affirmation-filled dance videos on Instagram and TikTok

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️And remember, if you stop by Pride in the Park this year - make sure to pop into our booth for some extra connection and joy with the ATR team! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

What Does Pride Mean to You This Year?

We’re collecting anonymous reflections from our community and providers about what Pride means right now - in your body, in your neighborhood, in your heart. Whether it's joy, grief, protest, glitter, exhaustion, love, or all of the above, your voice matters.

Want to work with Renee? CLICK HERE

Renee Sommer
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A Love Letter to the LGTBQ+ Community