By Josh Watkins
Gay Pride is defined as “a sense of dignity and satisfaction in connection with the public acknowledgment of one’s own homosexuality.” In today’s queer community, however, Pride tends to be catered to a select few, creating an unhealthy environment based on both identity and appearance. While Pride should inherently be for everyone, our current climate raises concerns of inclusivity.
Southern Fried Queer Pride (SFQP) is seeking to reconnect the gaps in queer representation—particularly in the South. Based out of Atlanta, SFQP is a queer and trans alternative Pride festival and collective that celebrates the robustly vibrant community in the southern United States. SFQP is committed to queer and trans art, activism, and community building in Atlanta and beyond.
“We aim to uplift the art and activism that makes the southern queer community so vibrant,” explains TAYLOR ALXNDR, head organizer of SFQP.
Southern Fried Queer Pride is completely organized by and for the community.
SFQP is described as being “cooked in the oils of our forequeers of the Compton Cafeteria Riots, the Stonewall Riots, ACT UP, and the many radical uprisings of years past.” The collective holds close to the political identity of being queer and bases their efforts in arts and advocacy. SFQP strives to provide an intersectional, radically inclusive festival along with events throughout the year.
The South is so frequently written off as an unsafe place where queer and trans people cannot live their lives openly and freely—but that’s just not true. “[That mentality] does a disservice to the communities that we have that are thriving,” ALXNDR says.
The idea for an alternative Pride came into fruition as a result of the very intense lack of outlets for queer and trans people to come together in ways that “aren’t whitewashed, corporate, and inaccessible.” After recognizing this notion—and seeing flaws in the representation of queer and trans individuals—SFQP organized their first festival in June 2015.
In previous years, the festival was held over a three-day span. However, due to overwhelming attendance and interest, SFQP expanded to a seven day “queer extravaganza” for their 2017 festival, which was held in May. Some of SFQP’s additional events include C L U T C H, Atlanta’s own Q&TPOC-centric dance concert, and Queer Threads, a pop-up thrift shop and safe space perfect for finding inexpensive new looks, one-of-a-kind items, and that gives back to the community at the same time.
“In these trying times of social and political change, it’s sometimes hard to muster hope and the question of safety in our spaces and events comes into question,” ALXNDR explains. “SFQP is fully committed, as we have always been, to creating and protecting events and spaces for queer southerners to exist, commune, and celebrate.”
Being a fully grassroots-based organization sets SFQP apart from conventional Pride festivals. The collective is completely organized by and for the community, and does not accept money from corporations or groups that would threaten the safety and integrity of the queer community.
ALXNDR explains that the most prominent long-term goal of SFQP is to become a hub for southern queer and trans culture, art, and activism. Their immediate goals, however, include establishing an official SFQP space where artists and activists alike can create community and arts, becoming a non-profit organization, and creating regular SFQP media. In the future, the collective also hopes to organize satellite festivals in other parts of the southern United States to further expand visibility to the “southern queer experiences that are so often ignored by mainstream LGBTQIQAP2+ media.”
ALXNDR notes that, overall, others have met SFQP with warm acceptance. By being intentional with the programming and spaces they create, the collective has successfully helped carve a niche for queer and trans people in a city renowned for both its diverse arts scene and its southern ideals. “Queer and trans people of color are so often left out of spaces and conversations, so we make sure to put the most marginalized in our community first,” ALXNDR says.
Upcoming SFQP events include Stonewall Sit-Down: A Community Discussion on June 29 and a SFQP Organizing Meeting on July 23.
For more information of SFQP’s festival and other year-round events, visit southernfriedqueerpride.com.
