PHOTO: Ryan Obery
If you tell someone from outside the South that you’re from below the Mason-Dixon Line, they’ll probably feel sorry for you and curse the conservative Hell they’ve been told the South is. Mention that you’re queer and/or trans, sometimes coupled with being of color (or any other identity that’s burdened with marginalization), and they’ll look at you like you have no free will.
Being queer and here in the South is hard—we all know this all too well. At the same time, being queer and here in the South is amazing. People tend to forget how influential and vibrant the community is. We’ve launched queer and trans icons into the stratosphere. We’re known for radical resistance and the impossibility to sit down and shut up when we’re being denied. That energy is something to celebrate, and that’s what SFQP does.
We are Southern Fried Queer Pride, a queer and trans, arts and culture alt Pride festival based here in Atlanta. When we first started crafting the festival, we came from so many disenfranchised ends: most of us were of color, most trans and gender-nonconforming, not represented at large in other Pride festivals, communities, and more. We were invested, and still are, in the idea of queer liberation and anti-assimilation—ideas shouted by the likes of Sylvia Rivera, Marsha P. Johnson, and so on. And we were Southern—undeniably so—and proud. Atlanta’s status as a queer (read gay) mecca was something everyone threw around like a catchphrase, without acknowledging that only a letter or two of the acronym were fully accepted in that mecca. Southern Fried Queer Pride believes in a queer community where all are seen, and heard, and appreciated. And with every event and festival and action that we plan, we want to exude that idea of queer liberation even more.
This week were are taking over Wussy Mag and showing you how we create space and spotlighting some of the amazing people who make Atlanta queer.
We are also accepting submissions for this year’s festival! Submissions for volunteers, workshops, performers, and more can all be found here: southernfriedqueerpride.com/getinvolved
We’re ending this week and takeover with the first annual Peach Pit Pageant on Saturday, April 23rd at Eyedrum Gallery. Get more details about it here!
Queerly Yours,
SFQP
southernfriedqueerpride.com