Justice & Law
Fighting the Trump Administration's Homophobia—in Gay Hell and Around the World
6/18/2019 by Ali Marsh and Greta Baxter
There's officially a new safe place for the LGBTQ community: Gay Hell.
ahead of pride month Trump's administration put a ban on embassy's flying pride flags.
so as of today, I am now the owner of Hell, Michigan. I bought the whole town.
And my first act as owner, I have renamed my town to Gay Hell, MI.
The only flags allowed to fly are pride. pic.twitter.com/AKOcZm2Jvm
— elijah daniel (@elijahdaniel) June 17, 2019
Last night, YouTube star and gay Twitter icon Elijah Daniel announced on Twitter that he took over and renamed Hell, a city in Michigan—dubbing it "Gay Hell" and pledging to fly only pride flags in town.
This action was neither intended to just be a viral stunt for the laughs nor a way to infuriate those who support the ban—though he was successful in doing both.
"Ahead of pride month," Daniel explained, "Trump's administration put a ban on embassy's flying pride flags. So as of today, I am now the owner of Hell, Michigan. I bought the whole town. And my first act as owner, I have renamed my town to Gay Hell, MI. The only flags allowed to fly are pride."
Current State Department policy requires embassies wanting to fly another flag underneath the American flag to request permission from the State Department. Embassies raising rainbow flags during June, which marks LGBTQ Pride Month, is a tradition that has been widely approved for almost the entire decade. Obama-era regulations on pride flags simply stated that rainbow flags had to be smaller than the American flag and must fly below it.
This year, however, officials in Germany, Brazil, Latvia and Israel reported that their standard requests to fly pride flags outside U.S. embassies in their localities had been denied. And in a televised interview Monday night, Vice President Mike Pence confirmed that all U.S. embassies have officially been banned from flying the flags.
Despite the ban, U.S. embassies have still found ways to show their support—by speaking out on Twitter or displaying pride in a more creative ways, embassies across the globe made sure to send a loud and clear message of support for LGBTQ folks this month.
The United States Embassy in New Delhi is lit up in #Pride colors to celebrate #PrideMonth. #LGBTPrideMonth pic.twitter.com/v6gxzAps8a
— U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) June 4, 2019
In New Delhi, India, the U.S. embassy was lit up in rainbow lights. In Seoul, South Korea, officials hung a pride flag across the building in front of the flagpole. The U.S. Ambassador to Nepal tweeted a photo of himself along with the rest of the embassy staff dressed in rainbow attire clad with pride balloons. Diplomats in Jerusalem joined a March for Pride and Tolerance, with several ambassadors tweeting photos of themselves at various pride marches.
Today, along with the U.S. Mission in Nepal community, I join people around the world in celebrating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, & Intersex #PrideMonth, and reaffirm the U.S. commitment to defending human rights for all. #Pride2019 pic.twitter.com/5awKWtcP80
— Ambassador Randy Berry (@USAmbNepal) June 1, 2019
These acts of protest—by influential YouTubers or U.S. diplomats—are a powerful reminder that the anti-LGBTQ views of the Trump administration don't reflect the views of communities across the country and around the world. During June, and in the current political moment, they're as important as ever.
Tagged: LGBTQ
About Ali Marsh and Greta Baxter
Ali Marsh is an editorial intern at Ms. Magazine in Los Angeles. A rising senior at American University, Ali is majoring in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies with a double minor in Justice and Studio Art. She is a self-published author of a writing/film photo book based off her six months of solo backpacking across Europe. She was one of the focuses of a Vice documentary series about inspirational women, and her activism has led her to be featured in Time Magazine, i-D, New York Times, Quartz, LadyGunn, Topshop and more. She is known for her frequent live streams on Instagram where she discusses politics and current events. You can find her here Instagram
Greta Baxter is currently working as a summer editorial intern at Ms. Magazine. While majoring in Political Science and Law at Sciences Po Paris she was the anglophone culture section editor of her schools newspaper, The Sundial Press, and the head of editing and visuals of HeforShe Sciences Po. As a passionate intersectional feminist, she is especially interested how gender bias and discrimination is embedded in political and legal systems. When she is not talking about gender and looking at what steps forward and backward are being made around the world, she is probably arguing about why sweet breakfast foods are superior to savory breakfast foods. You can follow her on Twitter!
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