At the end of the Rainbow

Hi Everyone,

As I'm sure you are aware, the people of the UK almost unanimously come out to celebrate the key workers and the NHS every Thursday evening at 8pm, and as the son of a nurse with a career spanning several different roles across over a decade, I clap with them.

There have been countless 'good deeds' and attempts from many to show thanks to those who are risking their lives, just over the last few days I have seen the family of a person I went to school with create a 'pod stop' where passing key or NHS workers are provided with a selection from a range of coffees, biscuits, and snacks they may desire on their commute.

However, this unchallenged worship of NHS workers in leading to something far more sinister.

Now, I could talk for hours on the hypocrisy of the Tory government showing their (pro bono) support for NHS workers, but the conversation that we need to have right now is more urgent.

In the picture above, Matt Hancock is showing his support for the NHS, whilst wearing one of their rainbow badges which were initially introduced in March 2019, in support of LGBT+ patients.

"LGBT+ Pride is not a public holiday. It is every day of our lives."

The rainbow flag as we know it today is a variation of that which was designed in 1978 by Gilbert Baker. It was designed specifically for the San Francisco Pride of that year, so that the all-encompassing symbol of LGBT+ people was no longer the pink triangle branded to us by the Nazis. Although the rainbow itself is an image of nature and is owned by no-one, the flag is owned by someone.

The capitalist commercialisation of the pride flag is widely discussed and many have accepted the way that corporations will superficially acknowledge LGBT+ people for the pre-allocated weeks in a year where it is profitable - when large city Pride events attract large crowds and their large wallets. Eventually, once we find ourselves in autumn and Halloween buzz begins, the majority of these companies quietly deconstruct their pride promotions and move on to the next public holiday. Because that what is it to them: a marketing campaign towards an event. But LGBT+ Pride is not a public holiday. It is every day of our lives.

So that leads me to where we are now: two weeks away from June, Global pride month. Within our current circumstances, all major pride celebrations across the UK have been cancelled leaving many disheartened and in a worse condition than they already are, particularly the LGBT+ youth who are trapped with unaccepting and abusive families. I am no stranger to casual and widespread uses of the rainbow flag which dilute its meaning, the University I attended released updated lanyard in 2018 with the rainbow flag over its former burgundy in relation to the University branding.

Allow me to assure you that LGBT+ erasure is violence.

And now, the rainbow flag has become a symbol of the NHS during the biggest crisis of our generation.

This re-purposing of the rainbow flag, whether intentional or not, serves as a form of LGBT+ erasure peddled by the conservative government at a time where our rights are at threat of being rapidly repealed and they are unwilling to defend the rights of Transgender people in particular. I wish there was a way to draw attention to the rise of homophobic attacks within quarantined households that is silently occurring.

The government has achieved this through the NHS, who it is unthinkable to criticise and near impossible to do so without instant backlash. Above are a fleet of buses in Plymouth where actual Pride buses, which likely would have been rolled out in around a fortnight if not for the lockdown, have been repurposed in support of the NHS.

This is a repulsive display of ignorance at best, and violent erasure at worst. And allow me to assure you that LGBT+ erasure is violence. The rainbow was a strategic choice for the Thank You NHS campaign and regardless of its intentions, the result is clear: LGBT+ people are being silenced by the reclamation of the Pride flag, and the social barriers that come with it being attached to the omnibenevolence of the NHS.

I am asking that this re-purposing of the rainbow flag ends on May 31st at the very latest because even though we aren't out there spending money on outfits and hotels, LGBT+ people still exist and Pride month needs to continue as a beacon to those who are the most vulnerable. To erase Pride month is an act of discrimination and doing so in the name of an organisation above criticism is a twisted act of violence against the community.

Thank you,

'Til the next one.

Naz