Pride Month is over; celebrating Pride is not. 

I’m generally skeptical of the value of statements online. It seems altogether too easy to let one’s actions start and stop at posting. But, all the same, it costs nothing to reaffirm a core value. 

Art is political in the same way everything in our lives is political. I am inseparable from the economic and cultural forces that shaped me.  So, too, are the books that any era publishes.

Not every overlooked novel is a masterpiece, but how many are overlooked because readers were uncomfortable with a socially transgressive theme, character or outcome? 

Art is many things. Remembrance, memorial, argument, interrogation, investigation. It’s also connection. When you read a book you resonate with, it’s a little reminder that other people have trod where you now tread. You are not alone. 

And while art will not save us — will not stop genocidal, industrial state cruelty — it can build connection. Connection builds community; community has the power of collective action. Pride started when people fought back together.

So, consume transgressive art. Find communities that you can support—and that can support you. Fight homophobia and transphobia. Stand up for yourself. Stand up for your friends, your family, and your neighbors.