Name: Egan Orion
Title: Executive Director of Seattle Pridefest
Location: Seattle, WA
What focus do you have when working with the community?
As the producers of our local Pride festivals, those of us at PrideFest this year have been heavily focused on staying afloat and being able to serve the community as we have for the last 18 years. With the economic headwinds and anti-DEI culture right now, it’s made our work a little more difficult. Normally, we use extra funds to be able to support other Pride events like Trans Pride, and we’re sad to not have the funds to do that this year. On the issue front, we are most concerned on the attack against the trans community. We see an attack on any of us as an attack on all of us. We’re also keeping an eye out on how these and broader attacks are affecting the mental health of particularly our youth, something near and dear to us.
How have you seen the LGBTQ+ community grow over the years?
Younger generations have definitely expanded the definition of LGBTQIA+ and I believe that’s had the biggest impact on the broader community. We have a big tent and we welcome everyone into it. The real ultimate goal for our movement is to create a world in which everyone can be who they authentically are, can love who they want, and within these two pillars can truly thrive, free of fear.
What do you believe we as a community need to work on to be better?
There is no one community. The LGBTQIA+ universe is really made of multiple communities, and each community needs to decide on that for itself. I think as a whole, we should do a better job of allyship within LGBTQIA+, so that no one feels sidelined or disregarded in the fight for our collective freedom.
What are the biggest challenges the LGBTQ+ community has internally?
(from my previous answer) I think as a whole, we should do a better job of allyship within LGBTQIA+, so that no one feels sidelined or disregarded in the fight for our collective freedom.
How can we minimize our own prejudices within the community?
By giving each other grace and space, we can appreciate that everyone has their journey to get to where they are and have come to it honestly and often through some hardship. Our freedoms are not part of a pie. If someone has theirs, it doesn’t take away from ours. I think fighting for our collective freedom can benefit both us individually and the group as a whole.
What impacts has our community had on your life?
I think being gay has made me more human. Coming out during the darkest days of the AIDS crisis was a piece of that. Rallying in front of the Supreme Court for same-sex marriage was the other end of that spectrum. I’ve seen cowardice and such bravery (and have acted with the same qualities at different points in my life). But ultimately, being gay has forced me to analyze and understand what it is to be human, and my fellow LGBTQIA+ travelers have taught me so much about the human condition throughout my life. I wouldn’t have traded this experience for the world.
What is one thing you are doing that can inspire others to make our community better?
Living my life, unapologetically.
What can we do to support each other more authentically with regard to the many different intersectionalities that make up our diverse community?
Creating space for everyone to have their own experience of queerness or transness is essential. Some people’s experiences are experiential, some are generational, and most of us have a mix of both. We don’t have to fully understand another person’s expression of their own experience to respect it.
Who has inspired your life and work?
It depends on the day. Some days it’s leaders like Cleve Jones who fought alongside Harvey Milk for our rights (and is still fighting today). Other days it’s a young trans artist who is taking on the world unapologetically and with such fearlessness. Some days, it’s just my 15-month-old who inspires me to be more present in both my life and my work.
What message do you have to the community that you would like to share?
We will likely always have to fight for our rights and ability to exist freely and fully (unfortunately), but by living our daily lives with dignity, honesty, and bravery, we can claim our birthright to live as we wish. Of course we don’t live our lives just for ourselves alone, but we need to care for ourselves first before we can fully show up for community.
