By Luke Sherman

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History of Pride and state of LGBTQ+ rights

Gay Pride, also referred to as LGBTQ+ Pride, is a celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) identity observed around the world. The first Pride celebration occurred one year after the Stonewall Riots, an uprising that took place on June 28, 1969, following a police raid of the Stonewall Inn, a gay club located in New York City. The protests and violent clashes between the LGBTQ+ community and police served as a major catalyst for the LGBTQ+ rights movement, both in America and around the world.

As many South Pole employees participate in Pride events this year, it’s important to not only celebrate LGBTQ+ culture and identity but also reflect on some sobering statistics: according to Human Rights Watch, at least 69 countries have national laws criminalizing same-sex relations between consenting adults, and an additional 9+ countries have national laws criminalizing forms of gender expression that target transgender and gender nonconforming people. In some countries, violations of these laws can even result in the imposition of the death penalty.

LGBTQ+ rights and climate change

For many LGBTQ+ people, the struggle for climate justice is deeply intertwined with the struggle for LGBTQ+ liberation. One of the reasons for this is that climate change’s impacts are felt most acutely by the most marginalized communities, and LGBTQ+ people are, unfortunately, highly marginalized to varying degrees around the world. Indeed, LGBTQ+ people are much more likely than their cisgender and heterosexual counterparts to be homeless, impoverished, and affected by natural disasters. 

When thinking about and discussing the impacts of climate change on LGBTQ+ people, it is important to reflect on the intersections between LGBTQ+ identity and other identities: LGBTQ+ females, gender non-conforming individuals, and transgender people are, generally speaking, more likely than their LGBTQ+ male and cisgender counterparts to face systemic discrimination, increasing their vulnerability to climate change’s impacts. Other demographic characteristics, including but not limited to, race, ethnicity and ability, further impact LGBTQ+ community members very differently. 

As climate change is expected to lead to an increase in homelessness, poverty, and the number of natural disasters, LGBTQ+ people are disproportionately affected by the climate crisis. In that sense, the mitigation of climate change is an LGBTQ+ issue. This rings true in the words of  Audre Lorde, an African-American lesbian feminist who dedicated her life to fighting injustices such as heterosexism and homophobia: “There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.”

LGBTQ+ climate change activists who are making an explicit connection between the fight for LGBTQ+ equality and a stable climate include Jamie Margolin, a 19-year-old lesbian who founded Zero Hour, a youth-led movement creating entry points, training, and resources for new young activists and organizers seeking to take concrete action to mitigate climate change. Actions organized by Zero Hour include a youth climate march and a youth climate summit. As Margolin recounted in a 2020 interview to the bimonthly British magazine Dazed:

“A lot of people from privileged backgrounds who never faced prejudice or discrimination a day in their lives say things like, ‘Forget all other social justice issues; let’s just throw that all aside and fight for the climate!’ But I realize that I can’t just stop being a woman, stop being gay, stop being Latinx, stop being Jewish until we solve the climate crisis – and the climate crisis was caused by the same people and systems of oppression that hold a lot of my communities down. I fight for social justice and climate justice simultaneously, knowing the two aren’t mutually exclusive.”

Margolin’s connection between the fight for LGBTQ+ equality (as well as for social justice more broadly) and a healthy planet is not new; indeed, Gilbert Baker, the creator of the Rainbow Flag, the iconic symbol of the LGBTQ+ rights movement, included a green stripe at the center of the flag to symbolize nature, reflecting not only that LGBTQ+ sexual and gender identities are perfectly natural but also his support for the environment. Other notable LGBTQ+ individuals who have fought for both LGBTQ+ equality and a healthy environment include Harvey Milk, the pioneering gay politician, and Rachel Carson, the author of the enormously influential environmental science book Silent Spring.  

So for those South Pole employees celebrating LGBTQ+ pride this year, consider reflecting on the connection between the struggle for LGBTQ+ equality and a healthy environment and the pioneering LGBTQ+ individuals who, today and in the past, have made the link between the two.