Pride Club Spills the Tea on LGBT Issues
By TIFFANY ORDOÑEZ
It isn’t uncommon to hear laughter coming from room 483 on Thursdays during periods 10 and 11. Peek inside to find out why and you’ll see a bunch of students sitting in a circle, transforming the film room into a safe space for queer people, one story - or joke - at a time.
“Pride Club is a place for kids in a bad situation to open up, get responses, feel like they have a place to be themselves, and receive acceptance,” said Nyasha Desanker ’22.
Here, students get the chance to vent feelings that would otherwise get repressed. And if they don’t want to get too personal, no worries! The floor is open to funny stories and sharing memes.
In one session, Stephanie Lopez ’20, the club leader, gave club members free toy worms on a string. But they didn’t pass them around in a normal fashion. Instead, they put on a show.
It was like a knight’s initiation ceremony. Club members knelt in front of Lopez to be tapped on both shoulders by the worm on the string. After this was complete, they were allowed to rise and take home their “new child.”
“You laugh a lot in here because everyone and everything is so funny,” said Desanker, recalling the experience.
The laughter is well-needed. Although the world has become more progressive concerning LGBTQ+ issues, the battle for equal rights continues. Trans people are still frequent targets of violence and, last year, the Supreme Court was divided over whether or not it should be illegal to fire someone for being gay.
Lopez (who uses they/them pronouns) wants to use the club to “teach others about the LGBTQ community and to serve as a safe place to people still in the closet.”
The club follows a strict “Vegas rule,” which means what is said in Pride Club stays in Pride Club. Everyone understands the importance of not being outed, so whatever is shared in room 483 won’t be spoken outside unless permission is given.
“Our Vegas rule not only shows respect, but how we can make anything funny,” said Desanker.
Lopez is not the original founder of the club. Two other students have led the club before, and the different voices in leadership have brought the club a multitude of perspectives.
“When Emelyn, the original founder, was leader, she taught us about consent and protective sex,” said Lopez. “And Val, the last president, taught LGBTQ+ issues through videos.”
The current iteration is more of a “free-for-all,” Joelle Gayle ’20 said. “Now it’s more like a discussion than a class.”
The “class” has even expanded its discussion topics beyond gender/queer issues.
“I really like that we can talk about politics, sexism, and racism,” said Gayle. Pride Club discusses a variety of topics that trigger the inner activists within all of us. So anyone can join without necessarily identifying as gay, bisexual, non-binary, etc. The club has an open door policy to people or all orientations and gender identities, as long as all are respectful to one another.
Gayle said that she “became more honest and open” with herself and others after attending the club.
Just like how each generation uses different slang, Ms. Elizabeth Bouiss, the club’s faculty advisor, notices how the queer community has inside jokes that those outside the circle wouldn’t understand.
“They have a unique language and self expression you wouldn’t see outside the group,” Ms. Bouiss said. “That’s why I’m glad to see this club. It’s a place where the queer and genderqueer kids can find people who speak their own language, both figuratively and literally.”
Overall, Pride Club offers a support system to those who want to feel heard by someone of their own age. It also educates people about a range of topics, so the club is fit to suit almost all needs. So why not join in on the laughter in room 418?
Club leader Stephanie Lopez ‘20 “knights” one of the club members so that they may receive a worm on a string. Photo Credit: Tiffany Ordoñez