We claim because we are, we are because we claim

The fashion industry, as well as the art, photography, theatre, literature, music, dance and film industries, among others, have been fields where the most significant expression and greatness have come from queer people who, throughout history, enjoyed admiration but not respect for their sexuality. What would House music be without the LGTBIQA+ movement? What would even heavy metal be without Judas Priest, whose frontman came out of the wardrobe much later than desired due to the social pressure of the genre? What would literature be without all those writers with female "great friends" to whom they were ardently devoted? What would poetry and playwriting be without Lorca? June is a month of celebration and visibility, but we cannot forget that it is a month of struggle and fighting. The first act of protest against cis-hetero hegemony was a brickbat in Stonewall against authority; let's never forget that. As Galicia-born trans model Ruby Carrillo says, this is not about acceptance and tolerance. It's about respect and human rights: "I think a lot about Dominique Jackson's speech at the Annual HRC National Dinner in 2019. At one point, he said, "You do not have the power to accept or tolerate me; I take that from you. You will respect me".

There are still 64 UN member countries that criminalise same-gender sex. In 6 other countries, it is punishable by death. Spain is in the fourth place of European countries where LGTBIQA+ rights are most respected (this ranking being just an aberration). However, many people still suffer discrimination, bad looks and even beatings in the underground, as happened not long ago in Barcelona when an individual kicked a trans woman several times in front of the almost passive gaze of the passengers. "The rise of transphobia and homophobia around the world is extremely worrying. The laws in Uganda and Russia and the collapse of protections in the United States are disturbing and scary," says Tasha Tilberg, queer model. Some states have banned drag as a danger to children in the US. The future in which we were all going to "come out better" and live in tolerance looks worse than expected.

"I think it is important that industries with such a large audience as the fashion industry employ gay, lesbian, bisexual, intersex and queer people for the talents we have and for what we can contribute (like any other heteronormative person) without making us conform to stereotypes that insult the collective or use us as a method to wash their face", says Luana, a model. "I also think it is necessary that young people, young children who live in closed-minded environments and children who do not know that there is freedom of expression with their identity or gender, can see LGTBIQ+ icons in networks, films, magazines or catwalks in which they can identify". Visibilisation and normalisation have been a big part of the movement's struggle since the late 1960s when ostracism, prejudice and a sometimes chosen, sometimes imposed underground environment created a specific narrative of the collective. As this storytelling was controlled by those in religious, institutional and moral power, a very negative image (of "social dangerousness" or "bums and thugs") was painted of the community. That is why it is essential to create references: "It is necessary so that children, instead of insults or bad faces, look up to people they admire", explains Luana. 

There is no single experience of the LGTBIQ+ experience, there are many, and it is undeniable that intersectionality also crosses the community, with racialised and poor people suffering the most discrimination. Rubi Carrillo says that "there is a lack of education; I have been misgendered at work several times, and they have tried to pretend it was nothing, without any kind of apology afterwards"; that is, they have made a mistake with their gender and have not given importance to the fact when it is something serious. "I know models treated as "it" in backstage shows". In a presumably advanced and avant-garde environment such as fashion, these attitudes make one question the actual scaffolding of values that reigns behind the brands. This is exactly what model Taira argues: "We need to reflect 'diversity and inclusion' not only in casting roles but also (more importantly) in who runs the industry”. Who tells the stories, how they tell them, from what perspective and in what context, where the power lies and where it is channelled to are crucial questions to be addressed; those battles that remain to be won in a world that increasingly seems to be veering towards cis-heteronormative patriarchy in its commanding positions.