Stitched by Hand
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LISTENING: to some jams
FEELING: better :)
SEEING: my rainbow flag begging to be hung outside
This week, I published a story with Atmos and HEATED on the ways fossil fuel billionaires are funneling their dollars to right-wing groups pushing anti-trans rhetoric. I encourage y'all to read the piece in full, but here's a little excerpt.
An independent analysis of 45 right-wing groups advocating against trans rights found that 80% have received donations from fossil fuel companies or billionaires. The analysis, conducted by two independent researchers in 2023 and not peer-reviewed, was shared exclusively with Atmos and HEATED. Through a qualitative search, the researchers identified 45 groups advancing anti-trans lobbying, events, and publications and checked reports about their donor disclosures for fossil fuel funding.
Wild, right? This type of analysis is especially needed during Pride. And during the heartbreaking ICE raids in our cities. I wanted to dive deeper into the climate x LGBTQ+ connections, so I called up Vanessa Raditz, a queer climate justice researcher and educator.
Welcome to Possibilities, a creative climate newsletter on the possibilities that lie where crisis meets community. Iām Yessenia Funes, and it's Pride, baby!
A conversation with Raditz a few years ago now led me to this data on fossil fuel dollars and anti-trans legislation. They also shared something in a separate conversation last year that has stuck with me, especially during this month when rainbow flags are flying everywhere.
"Waving plastic polyester flags with dyes that have polluted the waters somewhere I know queer people are living is such a pain for me to witness and also is an injustice to the memory of our ancestors and the very creative ways they showed their pride and made amazing art outside of consumerism," they said.
No shade to our flags. I love mine! But what if we gathered in ritual to dye our own? And not the mainstream red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple flag. What if we set aside time with our community to dye a trans flag in baby blues and pinks? And what if we connected back to the earth while we're at it?
That's what Raditz and I got into.
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This interview has been lightly condensed and edited.
YESSENIA FUNES: In these times, what does Pride mean to you?
VANESSA RADITZ: Oh, Pride is a time for us to sit with our elders and remember our history and how we got to the moment that we're in now. Even with the rollback of so many of the wins of the past 50 years, Pride is an opportunity to remember that things have been worse. We don't have to start from scratch. We have a wealth of fabulous knowledge to draw upon.
YF: Beautiful. So much of your work is about connecting queer issues with the climate crisis, building those bridges. Do you see any opportunities during the month of Pride to uplift those intersections and connections?
VR: Absolutely. Pride is a time for us to gather together, not just in the big public parades and festivals although a good party is a really great way to raise the spirits. Queers for Climate Justice, a group I helped start, we've been encouraging people to use this as a time to gather with your pod ā the people you care for who care for you ā and to start planning for fire season on the West Coast or hurricane season on the East Coast. It's a good time to think seasonally.
The idea of gathering people together to hand dye their own flags is part of this reclamation of the creativity, the arts, the DIY ethos of a lot of the early queer movement.
YF: That sounds really smart ā to do disaster prep during more community and fun time.
VR: Yeah, exactly, and to make a routine out of preparedness. To recognize the planet we're on and what it's going through ā and what that reality means for us.