By: Noeka Nimmervoll, Staff Writer and Zainab Salam, Opinions Editor
Like many other communities, the queer community experiences marginalization that intersects with various social issues. Some of those issues are related to mental health, poverty, race, and physical ability. Because systems of oppression politicize queer and trans existence, the community’s activism must be rooted in a broader fight for justice.
The term “queer agenda” has been used for fearmongering to deepen distrust of queer and trans folk, and spread the idea that the goal of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community is to coerce people into joining their so-called “deviant” lifestyles. However, the real queer agenda is a powerful commitment to social justice: dismantling systems that harm all marginalized people. This commitment is strongly mirrored in queer advocacy for Palestine: queer people on Turtle Island and in occupied Palestinian territories unite to fight for a future where people don’t experience inhumanity, and all humans are treated with respect.
Political engagement from the 2SLGBTQIA+ community is not born from luxury but need. For sidelined communities, it’s not a choice but a necessity that drives involvement in politics. If proposed policies threaten your rights or deprive you of them, you’re more incentivized to speak up because your welfare is on the line. The fight for 2SLGBTQIA+ rights in Canada has been long, and it’s not over. It was only 20 years ago when gay marriage was legalized. Since then, the community has witnessed increased positive representation in the media, leading to a boom in visibility, followed by some public acceptance. However, even today, 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals are still more vulnerable to issues such as workplace harassment, poverty, and houselessness.
People everywhere deserve to live in safety and dignity. Pro-Palestinian queer activists understand that their activism cannot come at the expense of other marginalized communities. For example, during Pride this year, there were multiple calls to boycott Pride parades across the country and their sponsors due to concerns over their complicity in funding Israel’s genocide against Palestinians. The mission for human rights is furthered by Queers in Palestine, a coalition of queer groups in occupied Palestinian territories, sharing their voices, and advocating for solidarity stances from others around the world. With the ongoing genocide, Queers 4 Palestine Toronto rallies in solidarity for the freedom of the Palestinian people who face ethnic cleansing at the hands of a settler-colonial regime. The struggles of the two communities may look different, but they overlap in many places.
There are some critical voices that accuse queer solidarity with Palestinians of being contradictory, but such critiques miss the point of true justice-based activism. The claim that it’s hypocritical for the 2SLGBTQIA+ community to be advocating for Palestinians due to the homophobia there is incredibly illogical. The dismissal of queer solidarity with Palestinians on the basis of Palestinian homophobia is a clear attempt at pinkwashing. The unfortunate reality is that queer individuals face discrimination in most spaces worldwide. And the advocacy for queer rights and protection is only furthered in the fight for a better world. The argument also disregards the lives of queer Palestinians that are jeopardized through Israeli violence. It’s clear that pinkwashing erases queerness in Palestinian spaces, while using queer lives and rights as a tool to further settler-colonial violence on stolen land.
“Queer solidarity is grounded in the recognition of shared struggle and an unwavering commitment to human rights.”
This sentiment of human rights demonstrates that the 2SLGBTQIA+ community knows what privileges they have gained and the ones that remain barred from them; and just as importantly, they know when others don’t have the rights they deserve.
The 2SLGBTQIA+ community has long been present in occupied Palestinian territories, and queer individuals are strong activists for equality because they know what it means to live without it. The fight for equality does not end when all 2SLGBTQIA+ issues have been solved and they are treated as equal — it ends when all people are treated as equal. Solidarity is not about shared identities, but shared values. Liberation for one means liberation for all.
Strong voices emerge from the queer and trans communities that urge for the use of whatever privilege one possesses to uplift other marginalized communities — to continue their mission of a just world. Ultimately, queer liberation is inseparable from the liberation of all oppressed peoples. Queer rights are Palestinian rights are human rights — and until all humans are seen and treated as equal, there is work to be done.
