For the second time during my life in Denver, I went to tracks. The first time I went to tracks I went with some straight friends who at the time did not know of my orientation. I went to tracks to have some fun and dance and ended up experiencing something for the first time. I was with a bunch of people who I realized were like me, and if they weren’t, they were cool with it. A community of people who did not care how you identified, in-fact celebrated the different culture moments. I didn’t realize any implications at the time of what might of happened before me to create this space for me to exist in. The second time I went to tracks, I was no longer unaware of what happened to allow me to feel safe. I decided to go with my group of queer-identifying friends and experience the community while feeling more comfortable with sharing my own identity. It was an entirely different feeling in the air when I walked in. I wasn’t going to a gay club with my friends, my friends and I went to be with people we felt free with. We knew we could go to have fun and dance and make friends that would be accepting of who we are. We could be celebrated for a part of us that has been shamed in many ways.
Needless to say not everyone who goes to tracks identifies as LGBTQIA+, however they are there with love and fun in their hearts. There is a sense of ally-ship when you attend a gay club with openness and love in your heart. The union of LGBTQIA+ and straight, is what is so rewarding for all the struggles queer folk went through. To achieve this, there was police brutality, riots, rallying, protesting, supreme court cases, assaults and death that was all fought through so someday a queer girl and her queer friends could feel normal while dancing. Now, I don’t mean to trivialize what LGBTQIA+ has fought for and the outcomes, including marriage equality and adoption rights, but in the simplest form, we have spaces designed to celebrate that part of us.
The simple enjoyments of LGBTQIA+ couldn’t and wouldn’t be so simple if not for the struggles. For example, I got to watch a drag show as well as dancing, so I decided to watch more observant than participate. At first, I noticed how much fun everyone was having, the performance from the drag queen was at first a fun, cool thing to watch, then I realized something, Prior would be ecstatic to see drag so celebrated by so many because when he was alive it was too different for folks to dress up in drag. I thought of how the teenager who was trying to build a Gay-Straight Alliance at her school would be so happy because there was a commonality of not knowing the other person’s identity, but also it not being a defining factor of their values and core beliefs. The queer folk who fought for their rights to be viewed as a person, are now having, at least a part of their culture, enjoyed and celebrated by people of all orientations. There are nights, shows and events dedicated to drag and LBGTQIA+ nightlife, but most importantly, through the darkness, this feeling of community is born out of the idea that it’s ok to be gay or queer or trans.
It sounds like you had an empowering evening, and even as a night out at a club can seem a little frivolous, being able to experience these simple joys of music, friendship, community, and fun can be so important!
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