Waukegan Pride Festival
Given that many minority groups are being unjustly targeted for various reasons at the moment, how do you feel about being queer right now in Lake County? In the US in general?
[Diane, she/her] It’s different now. Under the Trump administration, with changes such as removing trans troops from the military, and forcing people to have their gender assigned at birth on passports, things aren’t looking up for us. But in Lake County specifically, and Waukegan, it’s a completely different story, and life is better than it was a decade ago. Events like Pride and regular Drag Brunches were impossible to imagine happening back then.The fact they’re happening now is really nice!
[Harley, she/her] I just moved here two years ago. I’m from California. Waukegan has a strong budding community of LGBT here, including artists and creatives. I’ve been finding myself a niche in this community because of that, and I feel really welcome. And it’s very inclusive. A lot of the people that I’ve met are very much like, oh, you know this person, you should meet this person, and I love that about it. And yeah, I know that we’re dealing with a lot of stuff right now, but being active in the community makes it feel like all the difficult things that we’re dealing with aren’t so prominent.
[Greg] We have to be very cautious.
[Kai, she/they] I feel like Lake County is a really safe environment for queer people and minorities in general, at least for now. The rest of the United States, I am not totally sure. I know in a lot of southern states that’s not the norm, and it’s where a lot of those hate crimes usually happen.
What do you think is the best way we can work together to resist the current administration and improve queer folks’ lives today?
[Diane, she/her] We can try to help out at the state level. While Trump is doing things like suspending funding for programs at the federal level, the state can continue to support those programs. As long as we can stay active in openly LGBT events like Pride, we won’t feel like a ‘cut corner’ of society. But thankfully we’re all part of a community here. As older generations grow, we can be more supportive and pass those ideals along.
[Harley, she/her] I think being active in the community doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to go out there physically to protests, or anything like that. I think something simple, like having visibility in public is a big deal. Because we are all hidden, and being that one person who somebody can identify with and relate to can give them wonderful courage.
[Greg] I think one of the biggest problems in the gay community is that they don’t work together as well as they should. Okay, so coming together, collaboration, it would be really great if they did. Unfortunately, I think it’s a community that people don’t want to get involved in.
[Kai, she/they] In my opinion, I don’t think there are enough laws preventing discrimination and hate against minority groups. The government says there are laws in place, but there are actions that aren’t really having any consequences.
Do you have any more personal advice you’d like to share with others like you?
[Diane, she/her] Stay who you are. If you change anything about yourself, you’ll be very uncomfortable every day. Once you’ve accepted yourself, you can start opening up, make new friends, and realize the amount of support you have!
[Harley, she/her] I think that the best thing to do, as an artist, is to make art. Part of success, and being an artist, is to have other people succeed with you. So, when you go out there and look for opportunity, you have to bring along all the other people in the community with you. So, they will know that you’re all working together to create a bigger sense of self.
[Greg] I really think one of the biggest things that is important now is that we are united as much as we possibly can be, and I think certain people need to [FLIP] overlook certain aspects of what should be and what isn’t so, especially when you get into pronouns and things like that. One of our successes in Waukegan has been to embrace our straight community, which provides us with the security and the support that you need to be successful. And if you don’t do that, then you have a problem. Part of the issue, which is why we have what we have now in our government, is because people push great ideas like how you want to identify, but they forget about the fact that most of America doesn’t understand what they’re doing. I respect people for that, but that’s why I don’t identify any specific way; it doesn’t matter. We forgot to educate before we started making demands.
[Kai, she/they] I don’t think anyone should be afraid to express themselves, like honestly who cares who you love. I would say, if you know you are in a safe community to do so, just do it. Be as open as you can.
How do you feel expressing yourself openly in your queer identity?
[Diane, she/her] I feel good about it. I don’t care what other people say, I am who I am.
[Harley, she/her] The only way to really navigate the world you know is to find who you truly are when you break down all those barriers and try to dig deep to find all those answers. Then you get a sense of peace within, what your purpose is, and what you mean in the community.
[Kai, she/they] I mean, I am personally pretty comfortable expressing myself. Everyone I know knows how I identify and everyone in my life currently respects it.
How has your experience of being queer changed over your lifetime? What patterns do you see in challenges facing the queer community?
[Greg] One of the things with the younger community is that they have forgotten that it wasn’t always so easy as it is what you see today. We would never. When I was younger, we would never be able to do this, right? You would never be okay, and so this has happened because of the work that people that are my age did. The work groups have done to get us this particular life didn’t happen overnight, and I think my vision is that they continue to get things to grow.