As this year's LGBTQ+ Pride Month comes to an end, it's a good time to consider: The concepts of "pride" as a hardcore value and "pride" as a tool for queer liberation are more related than you think.
Part of what I love about the hardcore shows I go to is how welcoming they are of the queer community. They are places where my friends and I can feel safe to totally be ourselves and that means the world to us. Thank you for everything you've done over the years to fight for that ❤️ happy pride! 🏳️🌈
I remember the most remarkable and awe inspiring moments for me was when I discovered hardcore in 1992 and came across the 411 seven inch that included the song “those Homophobic”. I remember being so amazed that a community that I just discovered where creating a forum of discussion about subjects that I seemed at the time nobody else were talking about. I’m pride to say that hXc opened my eyes and changed my life for the better.
"Hardcore empowered me to embrace my 'freak' status on the outside, even when I was unable to share everything that was going on with me on the inside."
Yes yes yes, absolutely this. A lot of the bullying and harassment I got was homophobic, just by virtue of me not checking every box on the Real Man Checklist, and though I can't appreciate what it's like to actually be queer under those conditions, the constant undercurrent of potential violence, the constant threat assessment, yeah, I remember that.
And that G.L.O.S.S. demo is criminally overlooked. Absolutely incendiary compared to the standard tough-guy posturing.
This was an absolutely wonderful, inspiring, important piece of writing. You summed up perfectly how many of us (queer or otherwise) feel about the hardcore world and community. Thank you so much.
Excellent column as always! Another important (more punk than hc) band worth celebrating for their queer pride is the punk band Team Dresch and their offshoot projects Kaia, the Butchies, etc. Hate the Christian Right is such a banger.
Hardcore has been such an incredible place for discussion, curiosity, values and understanding. Though there are certainly kids we grew up with who lacked patience to listen and learn, I believe the world would be a better place had politicians grown up in the scene with us as well.
Part of what I love about the hardcore shows I go to is how welcoming they are of the queer community. They are places where my friends and I can feel safe to totally be ourselves and that means the world to us. Thank you for everything you've done over the years to fight for that ❤️ happy pride! 🏳️🌈
I remember the most remarkable and awe inspiring moments for me was when I discovered hardcore in 1992 and came across the 411 seven inch that included the song “those Homophobic”. I remember being so amazed that a community that I just discovered where creating a forum of discussion about subjects that I seemed at the time nobody else were talking about. I’m pride to say that hXc opened my eyes and changed my life for the better.
That 411 song was definitely ahead of the curve.
"Hardcore empowered me to embrace my 'freak' status on the outside, even when I was unable to share everything that was going on with me on the inside."
Yes yes yes, absolutely this. A lot of the bullying and harassment I got was homophobic, just by virtue of me not checking every box on the Real Man Checklist, and though I can't appreciate what it's like to actually be queer under those conditions, the constant undercurrent of potential violence, the constant threat assessment, yeah, I remember that.
And that G.L.O.S.S. demo is criminally overlooked. Absolutely incendiary compared to the standard tough-guy posturing.
This was an absolutely wonderful, inspiring, important piece of writing. You summed up perfectly how many of us (queer or otherwise) feel about the hardcore world and community. Thank you so much.
Excellent column as always! Another important (more punk than hc) band worth celebrating for their queer pride is the punk band Team Dresch and their offshoot projects Kaia, the Butchies, etc. Hate the Christian Right is such a banger.
I'm so thankful you are writing this newsletter every week :')
Hardcore has been such an incredible place for discussion, curiosity, values and understanding. Though there are certainly kids we grew up with who lacked patience to listen and learn, I believe the world would be a better place had politicians grown up in the scene with us as well.