#florida queer

[gayinflorida]

Being Gay in Florida

hi tumblr. i’m gay and gender fluid in florida and still here.

[cookinguptales]

So I’ve been enjoying the Disney vs. DeSantis memes as much as anyone, but like. I do feel like a lot of people who had normal childhoods are missing some context to all this.

I was raised in the Bible Belt in a fairly fundie environment. My parents were reasonably cool about some things, compared to the rest of my family, but they certainly had their issues. But they did let me watch Disney movies, which turned out to be a point of major contention between them and my other relatives.

See, I think some people think this weird fight between Disney and fundies is new. It is very not new. I know that Disney’s attempts at inclusion in their media have been the source of a lot of mockery, but what a lot of people don’t understand is that as far as actual company policy goes, Disney has actually been an industry leader for queer rights. They’ve had policies assuring equal healthcare and partner benefits for queer employees since the early 90s.

I’m not sure how many people reading this right now remember the early 90s, but that was very much not industry standard. It was a big deal when Disney announced that non-married queer partners would be getting the same benefits as the married heterosexual ones.

Like — it went further than just saying that any unmarried partners would be eligible for spousal benefits. It straight-up said that non-same-sex partners would still need to be married to receive spousal benefits, but because same-sex partners couldn’t do that, proof that they lived together as an established couple would be enough.

In other words, it put long-term same-sex partners on a higher level than opposite-sex partners who just weren’t married yet. It put them on the exact same level as heterosexual married partners.

They weren’t the first company ever to do this, but they were super early. And they were certainly the first mainstream “family-friendly” company to do it.

Conservatives lost their damn minds.

Protests, boycotts, sermons, the whole nine yards. I can’t tell you how many books about the evils of Disney my grandmother tried to get my parents to read when I was a kid.

When we later moved to Florida, I realized just how many queer people work at Disney — because historically speaking, it’s been a company that has guaranteed them safety, non-discrimination, and equal rights. That’s when I became aware of their unofficial “Gay Days” and how Christians would show up from all over the country to protest them every year. Apparently my grandmother had been upset about these days for years, but my parents had just kind of ignored her.

Out of curiosity, I ended up reading one of the books my grandmother kept leaving at our house. And friends — it’s amazing how similar that (terrible, poorly written) rhetoric was to what people are saying these days. Disney hires gay pedophiles who want to abuse your children. Disney is trying to normalize Satanism in our beautiful, Christian America. 

Just tons of conspiracy theories in there that ranged from “a few bad things happened that weren’t actually Disney’s fault, but they did happen” to “Pocahontas is an evil movie, not because it distorts history and misrepresents indigenous life, but because it might teach children respect for nature. Which, as we all know, would cause them all to become Wiccans who believe in climate change.”

Like — please, take it from someone who knows. This weird fight between fundies and Disney is not new. This is not Disney’s first (gay) rodeo. These people have always believed that Disney is full of evil gays who are trying to groom and sexually abuse children.

The main difference now is that these beliefs are becoming mainstream. It’s not just conservative pastors who are talking about this. It’s not just church groups showing up to boycott Gay Day. Disney is starting to (reluctantly) say the quiet part out loud, and so are the Republicans. Disney is publicly supporting queer rights and announcing company-supported queer events and the Republican Party is publicly calling them pedophiles and enacting politically driven revenge.

This is important, because while this fight has always been important in the history of queer rights, it is now being magnified. The precedent that a fight like this could set is staggering. For better or for worse, we live in a corporation-driven country. I don’t like it any more than you do, and I’m not about to defend most of Disney’s business practices. But we do live in a nation where rights are largely tied to corporate approval, and the fact that we might be entering an age where even the most powerful corporations in the country are being banned from speaking out in favor of rights for marginalized people… that’s genuinely scary.

Like… I’ll just ask you this. Where do you think we’d be now, in 2023, if Disney had been prevented from promising its employees equal benefits in 1994? That was almost thirty years ago, and look how far things have come. When I looked up news articles for this post from that era, even then journalists, activists, and fundie church leaders were all talking about how a company of Disney’s prominence throwing their weight behind this movement could lead to the normalization of equal protections in this country.

The idea of it scared and thrilled people in equal parts even then. It still scares and thrills them now.

I keep seeing people say “I need them both to lose!” and I get it, I do. Disney has for sure done a lot of shit over the years. But I am begging you as a queer exvangelical to understand that no. You need Disney to win. You need Disney to wipe the fucking floor with these people.

Right now, this isn’t just a fight between a giant corporation and Ron DeSantis. This is a fight about the right of corporations to support marginalized groups. It’s a fight that ensures that companies like Disney still can offer benefits that a discriminatory government does not provide. It ensures that businesses much smaller than Disney can support activism.

Hell, it ensures that you can support activism.

The fight between weird Christian conspiracy theorists and Disney is not new, because the fight to prevent any tiny victory for marginalized groups is not new. The fight against the normalization of othered groups is not new.

That’s what they’re most afraid of. That each incremental victory will start to make marginalized groups feel safer, that each incremental victory will start to turn the tide of public opinion, that each incremental victory will eventually lead to sweeping law reform.

They’re afraid that they won’t be able to legally discriminate against us anymore.

So guys! Please. This fight, while hilarious, is also so fucking important. I am begging you to understand how old this fight is. These people always play the long game. They did it with Roe and they’re doing it with Disney.

We have! To keep! Pushing back!

[alittleemo]

chappell talked abt trans/womens/oppressed territories rights while dressed in lady liberty drag td and also dedicated my kink is karma to the White House after she said she declined an offer to perform for pride there . she also crawled out of an apple for her entrance and wore a taxi dress while she played a brand new song genuinely the future of pop is so bright

[gwydionmisha]

This is a fundamental safety issue.

[stargore]

new patch vest 💖💖💖 it’s so silly!!!! im very proud!!!!!

and ALSO…

IT GLOWS IN THE DARK.

how cool is that?!?!?!?!?!?! i wore it out for the first time to a show last night and it got sooo many compliments i’m so so so happy

[chimerabytes]

are there like. any other queer floridians here on tumblr dot com. anyone born and raised here. no matter if youre choosing to or trying to escape, or either having no choice or deliberately choosing to stay here and weather the ensuing shitstorm.

i just want to let you all know that you aren't alone. no matter what

[gaps-between-stories]

anyways, the future of hockey is queer

[lambxink]

trying to post where i can but if youre able to donate toward our travel expences, anything helps. and if youre not able to donate at this time please boost this post. deshitstain signed into law even more anti trans/lgbtq bills today and it does not look like hes slowing down on them.

[celbrini]

iT's ThE CuP, GirL

[everyponie]

tired of seeing people hate on bi lesbians and gay girls while I as a trans person may not be able to access life saving healthcare in the state I live in. A lot of yall are being really quiet about that but verrrryyyy loud about things that hurt no one!! it's genuinely so annoying. Like trans people here in Florida, including CHILDREN, are losing access to trans Healthcare. Why is no one talking about it??? yall will complain online about some kid using neopronouns but you won't stand up for us trans individuals in red states??? and I don't wanna hear yall be like "you can worry about both things" because you can't! People are DYING. CHILDREN are being put in danger by this court ruling. Pick your fucking battles and for the love of God PICK THE IMPORTANT ONES.

[queerism1969]

[batw1nggg]

happy 1 year anniversary of mcr sunrise 2022 here is a painting i did!!! sunrise was the concert i went to and i will not forget it ever <3

[commiepinkofag]

Teachers with Pride Still Have to Hide

Gay schoolteachers wearing masks at parade, June 28, 1986

In this image, Seattle schoolteachers participating in the Gay Freedom Day parade through the Capitol Hill neighborhood hold a banner reading "Teachers with Pride Still Have to Hide," and wear masks to protest the discrimination they have felt. An estimated 10,000 people participated in the event, which is part of Seattle's annual Gay Pride Week.

[ 📷 Jennifer Werner-Jones / Seattle Post-Intelligencer ]

oh, how times have changed!

[chipper-smol]

very vivid feeling i had last week

[v8mpvrse]

i love the way that matthew invokes such a visceral reaction from ppl no matter if it’s positive or negative. u either love him so much you’d do anything for him *points to the entire panthers bench, pointing twice at sam bennett* or he aggravates u sm u have to publicly state so *points to a poster of the twitter logo then at leon “i’d get off the ice” draisaitl*