There's still this idea floating around that queer joy is just “extra”. Something you earn after the protest signs are recycled and politicians stop debating your existence. But that’s bullshit. Queer joy has always been political, especially when the world tells you your body, your love, your gender and your voice are too much. When your entire existence is treated as a problem, it is nothing short of a radical act to be joyful.
We’ve cried. We’ve marched. We’ve buried people we should never have lost. We survived Section 28 and moral panics, and now we're dealing with politicians more interested in scoring votes than protecting people. Just a few years ago, in 2021, hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people rose by 41 per cent in the UK over just 12 months. Yet, we dance. We fall in love. We make art. We headline festivals. We get played on the radio. We build families, chosen or otherwise. We dream of futures we never had a language for. That isn’t fluff; it's survival.
