Making Allies Across the Rainbow Communities

Storm Faerywolf writing at the pagan community website The Wild Hunt says that LGBTQ people need to unite across their differences, not just for political campaigning, but to gain an insight into other people whose lives are outside the mainstream.  In an wide ranging article which also discusses honouring queer ancestors at the feast of Samhain or Hallowe'en, Storm writes "Those outside of that poetic umbrella are sometimes quick to assert that the diverse members of our “alphabet mafia” don’t legitimately belong together, that our lives and experiences are so vastly different that to associate us together amounts to an artificial construct and is therefore detrimental, somehow.   This argument is used to deny any number of people from having a seat at our table, whether that be aimed at bisexuals, aro/ace individuals, or trans people. What these people fail to understand is that despite our differences, we share a common history and are each the inheritors of a culture steeped in the life experiences of a diversity of queer people everywhere throughout time.   I feel it is important, especially for queer people, to form friendships and bonds with others who are unlike themselves, lest we fall into the spell of blind isolationism like so many of our straight friends and colleagues who are unable to see as legitimate a life outside the white picket fence and the 2.5 children.   To better round out our understanding of the queer experience, gay men need to explore the lives and contributions of queer women, just as lesbians should learn about queer men. And we all need to include others from our shared rainbow tapestry into the mix: trans folk, aro/ace, non-binary, two-spirits, etc. If you do not have friends or at least acquaintances in these categories, then let this be a wake-up call."  For Storm's full essay, please visit https://wildhunt.org/2023/10/column-the-nebulous-rainbow.html