Pride disappointment

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, June 30, 2026

As a queer woman and the Events Coordinator for Pride Month and the Queers in Wonderland Pride Party, I was deeply disappointed by the single photograph chosen to accompany the Journal’s article on Pride Month.

My disappointment is not with the individuals pictured, who are friends of mine, wonderful humans, and were contracted vendors. Rather, it is with the fact that the only image selected to represent Pride featured two heterosexual men.

Pride Month exists to celebrate, elevate, and create visibility for 2SLGBTQIA+ people and our contributions. The photograph could have featured our outstanding Queens, Kings, and Things who traveled from Portland to perform at our event, the stunning decorations that transformed Brickworks into Wonderland, our queer volunteers or attendees of the event, or the two queer women—myself and Memes Bouwman—whose countless hours of work made the celebration possible.

Instead, the only image used did not reflect the community at the heart of the event and was a prime example of reverse tokenism. The article was meant to highlight Pride Month and its events. Yet the sole image did not center the marginalized community that Pride exists to honor, and instead focused on two heterosexual men, members of a majority group. For that reason, the choice of using that single image felt like a form of erasure of the marginalized community Pride is meant to celebrate, and of the two queer women whose labor, leadership, and vision created a spectacular Pride event.

I understand that the photograph chosen was visually appealing and featured wonderful costumes. However, I also know that other photographs were available that featured our impeccable queer performers, the two organizers, and the incredible space we created. Choosing not to use one of those images felt like a glaring oversight and a wasted opportunity.

Taylor Swift’s song The Man contains the lyric, “I’m so sick of running as fast as I can / Wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man,” which resonated with me this week as I watched queer women’s labor and leadership go unrecognized in favor of a photograph that centered heterosexual men.

The planning process for this year’s events was filled with challenges. I worked tirelessly to ensure that our performers and vendors reflected, and were part of, the queer community. Certain circumstances required compromise, and we were not able to contract with a queer owned bar service. Yet our goal was always to create a celebration that centered queer voices, talent, and joy.

Given that you are a female editor; a woman in a position of power, I was additionally disappointed that the opportunity was not taken to support other women by featuring some form of our efforts, our even ourselves, in the photograph.

I want to commend Journal reporter, and author of the article, Kristina Stucki for listening to my concerns with grace, compassion, and integrity. I deeply appreciate her willingness to hear and understand why representation in this context matters. Her response demonstrated respect, and the importance of supporting other women and marginalized communities through the images chosen to tell this story.

My hope moving forward is that future editorial decisions will consider not only the visual appeal of a photograph, but also the message it conveys and the community it represents. Images tell stories just as powerfully as words, and the stories we choose to highlight matter.

Sincerely,

Megan Boe

San Juan Island