As a proud member of the LGBTIQ community, I attend and have attended a lot of queer events. I am a true citizen of Planet Pride! I’ve protested, rallied, paraded, mourned, celebrated and more with fellow community members and allies. From the AIDS quilt display in Washington, to appearing on the nightly news in San Diego, to lots and lots of rallies and parades up and down California, I’ve seen and photographed a lot of LGBTIA events.
Visibility
Visibility for a group of people who deal with closeting and coming out issues is huge. These choices affect our most intimate lives; we one of the few communities whose own family members reject some of us when we do choose to be visible.
I consider myself incredibly fortunate. I have had a super supportive mother, a father who came around after a couple of years, a lesbian aunt, and an uber-religious aunt who saw the light after about 15 years. In more recent years, I’ve also been blessed with various biological relatives who have also been very loving and accepting.
Coming out counts! Certainly, the only way the wider world has come to acknowledge our rights, hopes and dreams is through the courageous coming out and visibility of so many pioneers, ordinary people and top-tier celebrities. Without regurgitating the major historical milestones of queer history, we’ve come a long, long way, baby.
The struggle continues
The fight, however, is long from over. It is still illegal in one form or another to be gay in over 70 countries, with punishments ranging from jail time to execution. Our transgender and non-gender-conforming members are recently more in the headlights of the movement as controversies around bathrooms and dress codes continue throughout the U.S. in a variety of settings.
This gallery is an updated compilation of my more recent images. As long as the struggle continues, I will be making new ones!
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All photos are copyright Chris Allan 2021 and cannot be used without my written permission. Please contact me for usage rights. Thank you for reading my blog post “Planet Pride.” To learn more about me and my work, please see my About page.