Pride as Resistance: Why LGBTQIA2S+ Symbols Won't Save Trans Lives

Oh yeah, we see it every year. June rolls around and suddenly every corporate logo gets a rainbow makeover. Don't get me wrong—visibility matters. But what does it really mean to support LGBTQIA2S+ folks beyond the colorful packaging?

The Difference Between Performance and Practice

I appreciate when businesses show support, but there's a world of difference between slapping a rainbow on your Instagram story and actually creating spaces where queer and trans people feel genuinely safe, seen, and celebrated. Real allyship isn't seasonal—it's a daily practice rooted in action, not aesthetics.

When I think about the LGBTQIA2S+ folks I know and those I’ve met for their Reiki sessions or grief support, they're not just looking for someone who has a pride flag in their window (though that doesn't hurt). They're seeking practitioners who understand the unique stressors our community faces, who won't make assumptions about their bodies or relationships, and who recognize that healing often means unpacking layers of societal harm.

What True Support Actually Looks Like

Year-round visibility and advocacy. This means speaking up when it's not Pride month, supporting LGBTQIA2S+-owned businesses consistently, and educating yourself about the issues affecting our community—especially those facing the most marginalization like trans folks, BIPOC queer people, and LGBTQIA2S+ individuals experiencing homelessness.

Creating policies that protect. If you're a business owner, what are your actual policies around discrimination? Do your forms include options for chosen names and pronouns? Have you trained your staff on inclusive language? These details matter more than any rainbow decoration ever could.

Understanding intersectionality. Our community isn't a monolith. A wealthy white gay man and a Black trans woman face very different challenges. Real support means recognizing these differences and addressing the specific needs of the most vulnerable among us.

In Healing Spaces, Specificity Matters

Creating truly affirming spaces means getting specific about what safety looks like. It's asking about pronouns without making a big production of it. It's understanding that someone's relationship to their body might be complicated by gender dysphoria or past trauma. It's recognizing that coming out is often an ongoing process, not a one-time event.

LGBTQIA2S+ folks dealing with grief—whether from suicide loss, family rejection, or losing chosen family—face a unique challenge. They often don’t have the luxury to separate mourning their loss from processing the deeper wound of societal messages that told them they were wrong for existing. And that's not something you can address with surface-level support.

The Power of Chosen Family

One thing that never fails to move me is witnessing the incredible resilience and love within our community. We create families from friends, we hold each other through losses that cisgender, heterosexual folks might not understand, and we find ways to celebrate our authentic selves even when the world tells us not to.

This Pride month, I'm thinking about all the found families who've held space for each other's becoming. The drag mothers who taught baby queers how to walk in heels and self-respect. The elder lesbians who kept our history alive through the hardest times. The trans folks who paved the way for younger generations to live more openly.

When I think of the concept of chosen family, I recall how moved I have felt hearing how Rev. Elia Singer, my dear friend and colleague, speaks about it.

They say, “I am only because of the beloveds I have chosen and who in return have chosen me.  These profound intimacies weave the very fabric of, thread by thread, our commitments to joyous and deeply intentional liberation.” (ig:@queeringceremony, queeringceremony.com.)

The Urgency of This Moment

Pride is celebration, yes—and I'm here for that joy. But let us not forget that Pride was born from resistance, and we desperately need that energy now. Trans people, especially kids, are under legislative attack nationwide. We've seen a horrifying surge of anti-trans bills targeting everything from healthcare to basic dignity. This isn't abstract politics—real lives are hanging in the balance.

And here's the thing about fascism—it doesn't stop with one group. What they're doing to trans folks right now? It's a template. If it works, if people stay silent, if allies don't use their privilege to fight back, they'll use the same playbook on the next group, and the next. History has shown us this pattern over and over again.

Pride as Resistance = Intention AND Action

Here’s what I'm asking—of myself and anyone reading this: Let's move beyond performance of allyship toward something deeper AND more urgent. Let's create spaces where LGBTQIA2S+ people don't just survive but thrive, AND let's actively fight the systems trying to erase us.

You’ve likely seen it all over social media, and I am echoing the call: if you truly care about us, here's how you can turn that care into action RIGHT NOW:

Use Your Voice Where It Counts:

• FiveCalls makes it incredibly easy to contact your representatives about specific legislation. They literally give you the script and the phone numbers.

• ResistBot lets you text "RESIST" to 50409 and send letters to your representatives without even making a phone call.

• Follow national organizations like the ACLU, Human Rights Campaign, SONG (Southerners on New Ground), Transgender Law Center, and National Center for Transgender Equality to stay informed about urgent actions.

• For Western NC/Asheville folks: Equality NC, Trans Lifeline, WNCAP, Campaign for Southern Equality, Blue Ridge Pride, and PFLAG Asheville.

Use Your Privilege:

• If you're cisgender, speak up when people make anti-queer and/or transphobic comments—don't leave it to queer and trans people to defend themselves constantly.

• If you have financial resources, please donate to organizations providing direct support to trans people, especially trans youth.

• If you have a platform (social media, workplace, community groups), use it to amplify trans voices and share accurate information.

• Vote in EVERY election—local, state, and federal. These anti-trans bills are passing at the state level.

Other Ways to Fight Back:

• Supporting LGBTQIA2S+ mental health initiatives

• Advocating for inclusive healthcare practices in your community

• Amplifying queer and trans voices in your field

• Examining your own biases and doing the inner work

• Standing up when you witness discrimination—every single time
  

A Blessing for Our Community

As we move through this Pride season, may we not forget that our liberation is bound up together. May we continue to care for one another with the fierce tenderness that has always been our strength. And may we channel our love into action that protects the most vulnerable among us.

To our trans family: you are sacred, you are loved, and you deserve to exist freely and safely. To our allies: this is your moment to prove that your support goes deeper than a rainbow logo. The time for quiet allyship is over.

The rainbow isn't just bright colors. It's a symbol that after the storm, beauty emerges. And in times like these, we have to fight the storm first.

In fierce love and unwavering solidarity, Marshall

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If you're looking for LGBTQIA2S+-affirming Reiki or grief support, I'm here. And if you're a fellow practitioner wanting to create more inclusive healing spaces, let's talk. We rise together—and we fight together.