Tear-jerking personal stories, belly-laughs and hopeful messages filled the Dunford Auditorium April 10, as the LGBTQSO and guest speakers gathered for a seminar on queer identity and culture.
The seminar, Pride Talks: A Seminar on LGBTQIA+ Identity and Culture, invited students and members of the community to listen to the real stories of queer community members — from the toughest parts of coming out to the value of community.
Guests were welcomed in to the music of Fleetwood Mac and the comedic quips of LGBTQSO president, Mason Britton, a senior history major from Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
Lisa Scott, an assistant professor of psychology unaffiliated with the university, started the event off by sharing her experience with the LGBTQIA+ community. Her heartfelt story pulled the audience in, but her final advice explained the value of seminars and community gatherings such as this one.
“My friends are not people that I have to be like, ‘So sexual fluidity is [this], and minority stress is [this].’ No, they know all about that. When we get together, instead of having to go through that, we just breathe out together.” Scott explained. “So find your people, be brave and you’re resilient. We’re resilient.”
Julie Benson, program director for St. George’s branch of Encircle, shared comedic retellings of her life’s story. From the AIDS epidemic to the hidden world of pre-2000 lesbians and the purpose of Encircle, Benson shed light on the many challenges the community has faced.
Benson also shared the value of Encircle events, such as Rainbow Brunch, an event that happens once a month and invites members of the community to eat and share their experiences.
“[Rainbow Brunch is] sort of an open house moment where you can meet folks if you’re feeling nervous about just showing up. Bring friends, we’ve got kids that come, everybody from the community,” Benson said. “I also invite some folks that are a little wary to be around our people. I say, ‘Well, come have a bagel. We don’t bite.'”
Plexi Glass, a local drag performer, shared the history of drag in an eye-catching presentation. From the first drag performers to the origin of the word and the art form’s ties to the queer community, the presentation shed new light on the performance.
“Drag is a lot of dressing up, [a] bigger expression of gender. So it can be a man dressing up like a woman and presenting high femininity, a woman dressing up like a man and presenting high masculinity,” Plexi Glass explained. “Or you can present your gender even higher. If you want to be a man presenting masculinity more, do it. If you want to be a woman presenting femininity more, do it.”
The final speaker was Galileo Bates, a long-time member of the LGBTQSO and junior ASL English interpreting major from Cedar City.
Bates shared their story of coming out, finding themselves and creating their found family, continuing Scott’s earlier sentiments on the value of community.
“For the most part, I do have a very loving and understanding family, which I really am super grateful for that. And I also have a very loving and awesome chosen family, and I love them so much,” Bates expressed. “It’s just a genuine connection that I have with these people, and just, you don’t have to explain what all of the different terms mean. You can just exist with them.”
Bates finished the seminar off with a passionately read poem, reminding the audience that they aren’t alone and deserve to be loud and proud, no matter what others say.
The event ended with a Q&A, where members of the audience shared their own ties to the stories shared and discussed how to continue supporting the community after the event.
Some suggestions were to support local drag shows and attend LGBTQIA+ events wherever possible.
“Just being in spaces where we can meet each other, I think is so important,” Scott said.
For more information on future events like this, you can find the LGBTQSO and Encircle on Instagram.
