Growing Community
Mike Doughty, July Newsletter ‘24
Pride month is officially over, and for a lot of folks the Pride season is the one time of year they can truly express themselves and be among their community and with folks that see them and respect them for who they are. Being publically out is a privilege that not everyone can afford in order to stay safe from harm, keep their housing or job security, or to keep their social and family circles intact. Coming out can disrupt one or more of these groups and while it has gotten better in a lot of ways, it is still a big fear for many LGBTQ+ folks.
Growing community can be hard, especially for marginalized folks who maybe don’t feel comfortable or empowered to meet in public, have transportation barriers, or are unsure where to start. One thing the LGBTQ Center tries to do is promote community, and larger community events are just one avenue to building that. Larger events can promote networking, people meeting to make new connections and make plans of their own to expand on whatever overlap of their identity connects them. Larger events like Pride can also show a community what agencies or people are out there and getting involved, which can help not only that person not feel so isolated, but also let them know that they have resources right in their town, or a new shop to go visit, or maybe event register to vote or become aware of other political situations.
The harder part of growing a community is the day to day smaller scale situations. A lot of new groups need a time and repetition and consistency to see their community grow, and some folks don’t have that. Jobs and school can be very draining, and at the end of the day it can be really hard to convince yourself to go back out into the world. So when building up your community group, make sure you also check in with each other, know who is hosting on what day, who is supplying any food or materials, and just remember that the hard work is worth it. It might take a week, a month, 6 months, or longer, but the people who are looking for a community space will find it and will join when they are able.
Another way to support that is to use the internet! Social media platforms can be wonderful to help keep in touch with folks in a group you are trying to cultivate and grow, post about events, life updates (if appropriate to the group), other events that your group maybe isn’t directly hosting or involved with. The more information that is shared the better chance people will hear about it. Will everyone be part of the community you are trying to grow? Not likely, but you might be able to find new allies or new folks to network with and that can mean a stronger place in your community.
Having those allies or networks in place can be very beneficial, especially for LGBTQ+ folks, as a means of safety. If you are reading this and you consider yourself an ally to any marginalized community, think to yourself about ways you can help speak up and protect your family, friends, neighbors, customers, etc. LGBTQ+ folks are constantly harassed or attacked, both on a legal level and on a physical level, and having people to turn to can help save their life, and you as an ally can also work on making it known that certain behaviors or language, like homophobic comments or misgendering someone, aren’t allowed. The people who try to single out LGBTQ+ folks are often a loud majority and think they can do and say things without consequence, but allies and folks within the community have the ability to tell them they are wrong. The consequences could simply be being told to be quiet, or told to leave, or being banned from a store entirely, just something to let that person the behavior they are doing isn’t welcome.
Cultivate community, let it grow and learn to find each other, and for those that try to cause a problem let them know that they will face consequences.