It was in the fight against this demeaning assumption that we forged a vision of gay liberation some two generations ago. Facing incredible pressure to conform, conceal and repress our difference, our struggle was against not segregation or exclusion so much as self-erasure, the internalization of shame, the denial of our very existence. Yet even as we began to come out, we often chose to "cover" the extent of our difference in an effort to avoid sticking out rather than to insist on it in pursuit of truly being free.The age of Trump, which has already unleashed a wave of hate crimes, will bring a whole new level of pressure to cover as a way to minimize our vulnerability to genuine harm, either by the government or the public. Now is the time to remind ourselves that there is no true liberty without insisting on the freedom to be, and express, who we really are. In the face of those who will demand that we repress our queerness, what's most important for the future of queer lives under Trump is that we continue to come out, stay out, and show that we exist. Short of doing that, we'll only ever enjoy our rights under the condition that we "cover" who we really are, and those aren't rights or freedoms at all.Of course, this challenge is nothing new for LGBTQ Americans, and we can look to our own history for guidance even in this unprecedented age. Queer people have always faced the choice of whether to assimilate as the price for acceptance or to insist on our right to be different. With the triumph of marriage equality, it often appears that the LGBTQ movement opted for assimilation over liberation. While there's truth to this, it is also true that nearly every major issue and policy our movement has tackled advanced not just our right to be like everybody else, but this broader ideal of expressive freedom—and not just for LGBTQ people, but for all Americans.Now is the time to remind ourselves that there is no true liberty without insisting on the freedom to be, and express, who we really are.
Keeping gay people silent and invisible—as war heroes and ordinary civilians—was key to preventing our advances. The creation of the closet reinforced the belief that, at best, we didn't exist, and at worst, we were a lurking threat to everything virtuous and worthwhile.
The good news is this: If these expressive freedoms are vulnerable to reversal, they are ultimately extremely difficult to roll back. Where LGBTQ people have, by policy, been able to come out and share their stories of authentically-lived lives, it will be impossible to put the toothpaste back in the tube. LGBTQ troops who are out of the closet today can't very well be stuffed back into it, which would require that their unit mates unlearn things they already know. Attempting to unmarry couples or sever ties between parents and children is beneath all but the most vile of the "family values" cohort. Even trying to block further advances will be increasingly tough, given the number of Americans from all backgrounds and political affiliations who now know and love someone who is LGBTQ.The same is true for numerous other vulnerable minorities who share with LGBTQ people an identity that is constituted, in part, through freedom of expression. Trump's rise has stirred fear among people of faith, particularly Muslims, who can stick out by virtue of simply adhering to expected customs of dress; undocumented immigrants who have refused to keep their legal status a shameful secret; women who have been victims of sexual assault and have bravely found their voice in sharing their pain; those living with HIV and other illnesses whose stigmas linger in the face of silence; even liberal journalists and professors whose explicit targeting seeks to expunge their ideas from the light of day.What's needed now is solidarity among all these groups who prize and rely on expressive liberty for a life that's worth living. We've spent too many hundreds of years being forced to pretend we were something we're not; we all know how repressive, demeaning and inimical that was to the genuine pursuit of happiness. What's also needed is a redoubling of our own commitment to combatting our fear, to fighting the urge to repress or to pass or to cover, even when dangers confront us. If the LGBTQ movement (and its compatriots) have given the world anything worth protecting, it's been this invaluable contribution to the Enlightenment ideal that individuals must be truly free to be themselves, and the unforgettable lesson that silence, indeed, equals death.This article is part of the VICE series The New Queer. Read the rest of the package here.What's needed now is solidarity among all these groups who prize and rely on expressive liberty for a life that's worth living. We've spent too many hundreds of years being forced to pretend we were something we're not.