Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

It’s not a label exclusive to binary women. It is a lesbian inclusive, trans inclusive, nonbinary inclusive, genderqueer inclusive, agender inclusive, sexuality inclusive term. We are all a family under one dyke umbrella.

Pittsburgh’s Dyke March history stretches back to 2006. I recently put together a timeline of that history, culminating in the 13th march in 2019. In 2024, another set of organizers put together than 14th march. While I was unable to attend, I followed closely and was so pleased by the evolution of the dyke identity right around TERF’s and other exclusionary members of our community, to sweep up all of the folx who share these ideals.

I find myself at 53 wanting to lecture and ‘educate’ younger queer woman about our history in Pittsburgh. Then I remember how I felt when I was in my 30’s on the receiving end of that treatment. It isn’t helpful unless it is sought out. I’m glad I had that realization because it helps me to focus on listening and learning. There’s a lot to be learned in all directions.

This event seems like it was terrific, well-executed, and impactful. I’m proud to add it to the Dyke March History timeline. And hope that we can all work hard to understand the history of lesbians, dykes, and other queer women in this region – did you know there were two incarations of the Lesbian Avengers, founders of the Dyke March? I’ll save that for anothere post.

So much to learn … so much to do.

I embedded a public Instagram album of photos from the 2024 march at the end of this post.

Your Name: Cosmic 

Your Pronouns: they/them 

How do you describe the identity of the Pittsburgh Dyke March?

There is no one identity of the dyke march and that’s what makes it so different from other pride events, dynamic, and refreshing. The identity of the dyke march was anyone who felt as though they identified as a dyke. The planning committee itself had a bunch of people who self identified as dykes and lesbians. I, myself, am a nonbinary person who identifies as pansexual. The march had participants from many different backgrounds. There were plenty of people repping the lesbian pride flags and shirts of course but we also saw pansexual, asexual, bisexual flags and more. It’s not just a single thing which is nice because there can be so much pressure to squeeze yourself into a box and thats not what we want. We wanted everyone to feel free to come and express themselves however they saw fit. 

Accessibility seems to be a last concern when planning when it should encompass all the planning you do.

What is a dyke? Who is under that umbrella? 

The word is commonly considered to be a derogatory slur but has been reclaimed and used positively by the LGBTQIA+ community, particularly the lesbian community. It is entirely a personal choice if a person would like to identify as a dyke. People who are cishet should not be using the term or calling anyone else a dyke, as that would be inflammatory. There is a misconception that dyke refers to masculine aligned people when this isn’t true. Anyone can fall under the umbrella of dyke. It’s not a label exclusive to binary women. It is a lesbian inclusive, trans inclusive, nonbinary inclusive, genderqueer inclusive, agender inclusive, sexuality inclusive term. We are all a family under one dyke umbrella. 

For our readers’ historical perspective, the first Pittsburgh Dyke March took place in 2006 and continued through 2019. The national first Dyke March was in 1993 the evening before the National March on Washington, organized in part by the Lesbian Avengers. What motivated you to revitalize this institution here in Pittsburgh in 2024? 

It was really important to have something in Pittsburgh centered for dykes created by dykes. Especially when you consider the corporatization of Pride. There was also very clearly a need coming from the community. There are not many sapphic spaces for the folks here in Pittsburgh and if you go to any sapphic events and speak to any of the people there, they would tell you the same thing: Pittsburgh needs more sapphic centered spaces. Now that restrictions regarding Covid have begun to lift, it seemed like a perfect time to pick up the march.

How did you structure the organizing and decision-making? When did you start planning? 

Planning this year was on a tight schedule. We started in April. I am very proud of what we were able to accomplish in such a short time with limited resources, especially considering the march was only just being revitalized this year. When organizing an event like this, it is really important that none of the work falls on one person. That would be impossible. Organizing and decision- making was a democratic process. Decisions were made as a group as much as possible. For more urgent decisions, it would have been discussed in a partnered or group setting so that, again, no one person was responsible for the whole ask. 

Have you participated in other dyke marches, either here or in other cities? If so, what lessons did you bring to this local march? 

There were a number of people in organizing that have participated in other Dyke Marches across the country, for example, the marches in NYC and locally here in Pittsburgh. There were also a number of people that have never been to or even necessarily knew the history of the marches but wanted to be involved in their community. Then there were people that participated in Pride marches as well. 

This created an interesting mix. Those that were newer could lean on those with the experience and relationships that were created by those that have done this before. It was a fair mix. We also connected with a number of city dyke marches. For example, we had a lot of ongoing communication with the folks in Boston, New York and Philly. These were people that had been doing the work and were also currently planning their own Dyke March at the time so it was really helpful to be able to lean on those cities for support. 

The lessons we brought (to our local march) are: More planning, network, connections, community 

You placed great emphasis on accessibility, more so than many much larger events do. Why was all of this so important to organizers? How did you access the resources you needed? 

We really wanted to make sure that anyone that wanted to come to or participate in the dyke march, actually had the opportunity to do so. There are so many local city events that do not have proper precautions for those of us that are at an increased risk if they attend. Accessibility seems to be a last concern when planning when it should encompass all the planning you do. Without proper planning for accessibility, you end up leaving out entire groups of people, and that is not what pride or the march is about. We really wanted to ensure as much as possible that this was a safe space where everyone felt comfortable. We wanted to make sure that immunocompromised, differently abled, and anyone else at an increased risk was at the forefront of planning. If that means masking up, even in an outdoor setting, then that is what we do. If it means organizing and providing rides, then that is what we will do. Little things like that make sure that everyone is included.

We really just wanted as many people to be able to participate if they wanted to. If we could assist in any barriers to people coming, then we were happy to do that. We relied heavily on our community for resources. As mentioned, planning was on a tight schedule this year so we didn’t have a ton of time. We relied on members from the community who have planned similar sized events in the past and their connections as well as utilizing any personal connections the organizing committee happened to have. 

Describe the moment the Dyke March began and the moment it ended?

If you ask any of the people involved in organizing, the Dyke March began the moment we woke up that day. As a group, we had so much communication the day before and the day of that it seems to have blurred into one. The march itself did not officially start until we stepped foot in that parking lot. It was all over in a flash. People started showing up by the dozens very quickly long before our walk off time. It was incredible. The dyke march was not over until the last person packed their car and left the parking lot, which happened to be the folks who were fundraising. We made sure to have folks there til the last second for anyone who wanted to hang around and revel in all the dyke glory. 

Pride has changed dramatically since 2006 when the Dyke March kicked off in Pittsburgh. Often, that dynamic was hostile or antagonistic for various reasons, usually tied to corporate or colonialism. Now we have hundreds of local Pride festivals – Lawrenceville, Wilkinsburg, Millvale, Greenfield, Northside, Mt. Lebanon to name a few close to Pittsburgh. How does this year’s Dyke March connect with this year’s Prides? 

This years Dyke March took place smack in the middle of all the different pride events happening throughout the city during the month of June. This definitely worked in our favor. We were able to promote our march during pride festivals and reach an audience we might not have otherwise been able to. There are a number of people that were involved in planning that have attended pride events in the past as well so it provided more insight into what works and what doesn’t for large crowds. I really want to emphasize that this year’s march would not have been possible without the resources and support we received from our community. This is created by and for dykes. This pride celebration rejects the corporatization and pinkwashing of pride. Depending on the brand, pride can come off as though it is pandering to a certain audience, remaining silent on issues to please a client base, different things like that. We made it very clear via our social media where we stood on capitalizing off of pride. 

Historically, Pride would not be what it is today without the contributions of lesbians, especially lesbians of color.

Tell us about the folx who showed up to the march. 

The people of Pittsburgh definitely showed up for the march. There were so many people that came out to support. We had attendees that were really young, like children and teens, and then we had people that were older adults. Some of us were talking with folks in the crowd and it seemed like we reached into a good bit of the neighborhoods here because we had people from Penn Hills, Lawrenceville, Oakland, Millvale, Wilkinsburg, Squirrel Hill, McKeesport, all over.

We wanted to cast a wide net to be able to grab the attention of all dykes in Pittsburgh’s neighboring areas. The representation was all over the place in the best way. There were countless lesbian pride flags followed by the LGBTQ+ flag and bisexual flag. There were plenty of trans and nonbinary people in the crowd as well showing off their pride. There were also a lot of allies. There were so many people that mentioned only coming because their friend wanted them to and that’s amazing! It was a beautiful thing to see all the folks show up their authentic selves. It was certainly a colorful day. 

While we had people that levied all over, this year’s march was primarily Caucasian and that is something that we are going to work hard to change for the next march. We really want to make sure that we are reaching all demographics of people so that everyone feels safe and included. This is intended to be a space for all people to come celebrate their pride. 

There’s a (mis) perception that Pittsburgh is a terrific place to be gay and lesbian. What are your thoughts on this? 

This is a multi- faceted question that is going to be answered differently depending on who you are talking to. I identify as a nonbinary, pansexual, person of color and my response might be different from someone who identifies as a white, gay man. Intersectionality is crucial to consider when asking about the lived experiences of someone living in Pittsburgh. I will start with the negatives and then end on positives. As mentioned, depending on your identity, Pittsburgh can be inclusive of your identity and feel like a very welcoming, safe space for you. I have not seen this be the case for my trans or sapphic friends particularly. Do not get it confused, Pittsburgh has a history of transphobia and gender- based violence and discrimination for many people. This can even come from places that cater to the LGBTQ+ community specifically as well. And this is of course doubled down if you are a person of color. 

Now, onto the positives. Pittsburgh is certainly more inclusive than many other cities in Pennsylvania. I know many people that have moved here because of the gay scene and how many events there are (which there are a lot). I have heard of people moving here because compared to their small towns, Pittsburgh is more liberal in their thinking. I have had conversations with people that have mentioned they did not feel truly accepted until they moved here and found their community. I know people that have begun transitioning in this city, gotten their name changed, and were connected to life- saving resources here in Pittsburgh. As an educator, I know sex education is mandatory within Pittsburgh Public Schools and is actively being taught in the middle and high schools. Included in the curriculum are lessons relating to gender and sexuality and expression (SOGIE), so the youth are getting educated on the topic, which is more than what I can say about other states. There are plenty of events for you to attend as a LGBTQ+ person. I think it’s important to note that these events range from outdoor to indoor activities, sober to bar scene, exercise related, art related, nature related, etc. If you have a hobby or niche i nterest, I promise there is a Pittsburgh groupthat has LGBTQ+ members for you to join. However, there are not enough sapphic spaces! There are very few sapphic bars in the country in general and here in Pittsburgh, there are sapphic themed nights like Steel Carabiner at Blue Moon or SZR at Trace Brewing but that’s it. That is kinda why it was so important to reignite the Dyke March. In closing, Pittsburgh is not the worst when it comes to whether or not it’s a space of gay and lesbian folks but it certainly has a long way to go to ensure all people feel safe here. 

How does your event tie into the history of feminist organizing in Pittsburgh?

A Dyke March is feminist organizing. The feminist groups here in pittsburgh focus on supporting women in the workplace and in their communities and tackle women’s rights issues like reproductive justice, sex discrimination, gender- based violence, body positivity, and more. For our march, we wanted to focus on multiple different issues to really emphasize how all of our struggles are united and the need for collective liberation. During the march, we talked about abortion access, reproductive rights, fatphobia, capitalism and much more because you cannot separate any of the issues. Intersectionality highlights the ways our different identities overlap and with that, as an individual you can assess your privilege and do something! Even if that something is showing up at a Dyke March, that in and of itself is a protest. Dykehood is a protest. 

Your statement reads in part “we take up space and demand the impossible.” What does that look like for the average queer and trans person in Pittsburgh? 

I love this question. Firstly, to be queer is to be radical. Historically, Pride would not be what it is today without the contributions of lesbians, especially lesbians of color. As dykes, trans people, and queer people have seen throughout time, they have been disregarded and forced into a closet. We are privileged enough to not have to live that way anymore. We have every right to take up space the same way any one else does at pride. We demand the same space that our cishet peers are allotted. And if you are not given that space, you have to take it. To be queer and radical means to stand up against capitalism, systemic racism, homophobia, transphobia, genocide, and police brutality. It’s inclusive of queer politics. It is taking up space demanding a better world. 

Tell me about one moment that stays with you. 

It was during the land acknowledgement speech. I was standing on the side of the road just taking in the scene. Before me was so many vibrant colors, pride flags, smiles, and individuality. That is definitely what has stuck with me. Was seeing just how incredibly different each and every dyke was that showed up. It’s incredible how people show up when you actually allow them a space to be themselves. And that’s what we all deserve regardless of our gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, etc. We all deserve to be seen and celebrated. It made me happy beyond words just watching people exist in the space.

Are there alliy and accomplice organizations in this region that people should follow/connect with? 

There are plenty of great organizations we had the privilege to work with during planning. 

TransYouniting, Mask Up Pittsburgh, Prototype, Blue Moon, Critical Mass, Our Streets Collective, Club Pittsburgh. I also recommend hitting up Assemble, QMNTY Center, Buzz Me In and sisTers PGH if you are looking to get involved in your community. There are social events like Crush Hour, UHAUL Disco and Jellyfish as well if you are looking to get into more sapphic orientated spaces. 

We have every right to take up space the same way any one else does at pride. We demand the same space that our cishet peers are allotted. And if you are not given that space, you have to take it. To be queer and radical means to stand up against capitalism, systemic racism, homophobia, transphobia, genocide, and police brutality. It’s inclusive of queer politics. It is taking up space demanding a better world. 

Do you have other events planned for 2024? 

As of right now, there are no future events planned. Our organizers are taking a much needed break. However, we do want to keep the momentum going and the energy up so we do plan on hosting community events in the near future. 

Is there anything you’d like to add? 

No. Thank you for giving us a platform to share about the march! 

What are your socials? 

@ PGHDykeMarch on all socials. We are on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Thank you, Cosmic.

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