June is Pride month.
So all month long cheddar news is shining a
light on the queer trailblazers who are changing the game
in different industries.
Baker Machado sat down with Sara Burke, editor in chief of them,
a digital LGBT Q plus magazine owned by
Burke explained what makes them different from other media aimed
at the queer community. Take a look
from the very beginning.
The intention was to create a platform that had a foundation
of inclusivity and intersectionality across the entire LGBT Q plus spectrum,
right?
So really to tell those stories and to represent those people
who maybe didn't necessarily feel heard yet even within queer media.
So that has been kind of the core of I think what
has allowed them to grow such a loyal and engaged audience,
right?
If you go to the Instagram, it really feels like a community.
People are debating, people are affirming each other, they're king,
they're telling
jokes,
that kind of thing.
Have you sort of seen the evolution of
this publication sort of change over the years?
And where do you want to sort of take them
to me
being queer is so much more than an identity and a label, right?
It's truly a daily act of rebellion.
And we have to every single day break the mold to just to be ourselves, right?
Just to move through the world as who we are.
And that really
creates a kind of innovation and resourcefulness necessarily and innately,
right?
And I really believe that LGBT Q plus people because of that, in part,
have always been at the forefront of cultural change, of political change,
of defining what it means to be human, you know, for everyone, right?
So beyond, you know, telling
the crucial stories that need to be told, celebrating our joy,
I'm also very focused on wanting to celebrate
the influence that queer people have beyond just,
you know, within our own community.
On the flip side, we're seeing more anti LGBT Q legislation being passed
than I think most of us have ever seen in our lifetimes, especially now in 2023.
Do you almost feel like at this moment, these,
these stories are even more paramount now to be telling because of
all of this anti LGBT Q laws we're seeing being passed.
Absolutely, absolutely. I mean, there's also
so much noise right now, right?
And to be honest, it feels like there's a real lack of unity,
so much of what we talk about and what I try to nurture in us as a
team is thinking about how do we cut through
the noise and make sure that we're always keeping
our readers
in mind in terms of what they actually need to hear
right now and what's actually gonna feel useful
to them in terms of
how we're all gonna get through this together.
What does Pride Month mean specifically to you?
We've seen quite a bit of wavering on the part of um
corporations, right, in terms of support for the LGBT Q plus community, this pride
and
that's been really, really disheartening.
But I think it's also brought us back, right, as a reminder to
the root of pride, which is one obviously a riot, a protest for our rights, which is
more necessary than it has been
in a long time this year, right?
But also a celebration of how we are our own best allies, right?
We are here to support each other.
Um and as useful as it is to have, you know,
other people at our back to have big companies, you know, taking a stand for us,
ultimately,
what we really need to rely on is each other.
And I think that that's really, really
something beautiful to celebrate.
All right,
thanks to Baker Machado with then editor in chief Sarah Burke for that interview.