In only 10 days, the lives of over 330 million Americans have been completely turned upside down. For so many of us, the future is unclear and the mere presence of a future is in jeopardy. Living in the “free world” should not come with so many caveats, especially in this age when sharing knowledge and experiences is so seamless.
Last weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the South Jersey Queer Conference and one of the sessions featured five trans panelists. One of them made a statement that has stuck with me this entire week:
“The best part about being trans is being alive.”
That statement has a lot to unpack. And with the supposed leader of the free world spewing transphobic hate daily, working through everything meant by those nine words is no easy task.
At face value, I — a cisgender bisexual white man — took it to mean that this person was proud of their gender identity and each day was an opportunity to share themselves with the rest of the world. But as I thought about it more, I realized that for trans people, each day being alive, having access to medical care, and being able to afford essential pharmaceuticals is a gift. Yet, for some unclear reason, Republicans are fixated on taking all of that away (and then some).
In New Jersey, most of these rights will be guaranteed for the foreseeable future. But for so many others in red states, the future is uncertain.
Returning to my office for another week with the vicious news cycle, I found myself in multiple meetings where the question keeps getting asked:
“How does the queer community find/support one another if DEI keeps getting canceled?”
I did not think the problem was that widespread until I heard that several pharmaceutical companies in New Jersey froze external spending on DEI programming out of concern for NIH contracts being suspended. That made me pause.
As a small, queer-owned business, I’ve relied on networking events and business development programs hosted by New Jersey’s Pride Chamber of Commerce and other DEI-related organizations. Often, these pharmaceutical companies are the primary sponsors of the events. Without them, how will these organizations bear the financial burden of offering programs that have helped so many queer-owned businesses grow?
I turned back to the answer that I gave so confidently during a podcast interview in early January — “we just have to work harder, creating spaces and opportunities for one another within the community.”
In spite of the further rollback on DEI spending, my answer remains the same. We have to support one another and be more intentional in our organizing work.
Pride month this year might look a little bit different. It is not going to be as well funded by corporations. But that does not mean that we skip events because they look a little more homemade. Instead, we need to show up even more. And every step of the way, we need to offer queer business owners the opportunity to showcase and sell their products. If you have the means, buy another six candles, purchase five quarts of soup even though it is 90 degrees, and buy even more merchandise to showcase that you are proud to be part of a community that bands together in the face of adversity.
I consider myself fortunate to have a business relatively unaffected by the craziness of this administration. In fact, we are kicking into high gear with even more work for nonprofits and advocacy organizations that are taking a stand against manic manifestos masqueraded as law.
I am prepared for LGBTQ+ events to not be as glamorous for the next few years. My personal mission is bringing more queer people to the table and getting everyone engaged in the organized aspects of the community even more. Then, four years from now, when we can get back to sanity, our businesses and organizations will be even more powerful and ready to thrive with a supportive administration.
Being a Queer-Owned Business in This America was originally published in Thoughts? for Jersey on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.