Posting a week late, because I'm still recovering from Toronto Pride. Not only was it my first time at Toronto Pride (one of the world's largest Pride celebrations), but it was my first Pride ever. It was such a privilege to get to take part in this year's festivities (as my job!). We spent so much time doing outreach at our booth, and I was truly humbled to see how receptive folks were to our mission. Religion is an emotionally charged topic for most queer individuals and it was so beautiful to see how many individuals described longing for an organization like ours when they were younger. I only hope that we can prevent this same sentiment from being felt by later generations.
We also featured an easel at our booth entitled "What does faith mean to your queerness?" as a setting where folks could detail the good, the ugly, and neutral aspects of their relationships to faith. Overwhelmingly, people channeled positive responses, much to my surprise. This call-and-response truly epitomized our mission: challenging the notion that faith is irreconcilable with queer identity.
Some of my favorite responses were:
"GAY means God Accepts You"
"Love is god/holy"
"In the way God is multi-faceted, we are multi-faceted, and that is beautiful."
To top it all off, my best friend, whom the Barnard Laidlaw Scholars Team introduced me to, came to visit!
Hi all! My name is Kirsten Trevino, and I am a rising senior at Barnard College majoring in Sociology and Human Rights.
My interests in identity, sexuality, and sociology led me to research the coming-of-age experience and identity formation practices of white lesbian elders who came of age during the post-WWII, Cold War period in Detroit, Michigan, during my first summer.
In my second summer, I am currently volunteering with the organization Rainbow Faith and Freedom to further their mission of securing affirmation for 2SLGBTQIA+ by ending religious-based homophobia and transphobia 🌈
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