PRIDE (2014) Introduction: the rise and power of LGBT Not-for-Profit organisations

So lets start the posts with a field that I am most passionate about - the LGBT+/Queer Not-For-Profit space. Whilst the Northern Beaches outbreak was occurring, my anxiety levels increased and all I wanted to do was stay at home - and ended up finding things on Netflix to watch. Some of them raising my anxiety levels even more (Prom (2020) interestingly hit me in a very different way), some were insightful and thought provoking that my brain was abuzz with ideas.

One of the first movies that I ended up watching was the 2014 film PRIDE. Set during the times of the Miners' Strike of 1984 (or during the times of Billy Elliot (2000) as my brain recalled), in which a ragtag bunch of gays and one lesbian were roped into raising money for the miners - in which the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) would not take their money as they felt that taking charity from those that are immoral is immoral in itself. So the Gays and Lesbian(s) Support the Miners (GLSM) Campaign decided to make their donation in person - to a small mining town in southern Wales.

While watching the story unfold, it made me realise the power of Queer Not-For-Profit organisations during the times where homophobia was much more offensive and pervasive than in our current times. There are three points that I want to pull out and will be the a series of weekly posts in January released on Sundays (3, 17, 31).

• Choosing Family: The Importance of Pride Parades (03.JAN.21)

The scene in which Joe was introduced to the audience was at a London Gay Pride march - his story is why it is it important for pride parades to continue on in the future. And that everyone (especially the fourth sector of the household) has to recognise that a balance has to be met between aims and revenue.

• Advocacy and Bridging Social Capital: The Enemy of Our Enemy is Our Friend (17.JAN.21)

The alliance between the GLSM and the small mining town of Onllwyn wasn't all smooth sailing. There was an element that the GLSM I believe were banking on: That the enemy of our enemy is our friend. This allowed for the GLSM to use outsider-confrontational advocacy tactics, and through the film you can see the evolution to insider-cooperative tactics.

• Taking a Break: The Importance of Recognising Burnout (31.JAN.21)

This film was placed in the period of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Mark after seeing a previous lover recognised that he has to make time to live and love for himself. Burnout for leaders of an organisation is definitely a thing that needs to be watched out for, and I think it shouldn't always be only up for the individual to recognise - as it doesn't necessarily mean that they have left the organisation for good.

What part of the series are you most excited for or interests you the most? Let me know in the comments below!