THE UNDERGROUND PRIDE PROJECT
The Underground Pride Project works to create a safe space for queer Asian voices to find solitude, understanding, comfort, and empowerment. We hope to serve as a completely anonymous, “underground,” place where people can find refuge from the clash of the cultural stigma that surrounds queer identity and the inherent need for personal liberation. Whether it be a personal letter to yourself, a scathing political essay, or a symbolic artwork, we accept any and all forms of expression.
Asian American and Pacific Islander queer youth face heightened mental health challenges that are largely unaddressed in their personal lives and in social discourse. See here for statistics on mental health in Asian queer youth. Where there is imminent physical danger in the lives of queer youth, it is even more critical to create spaces of empowerment, from this digital world to the real one.
Not only do these statistics reflect a need for better familial support and discussions for queer youth, but they are also indicative of a need for better policy, particularly policy that protects and infuses growth in the lives of all queer folk. We hope that here, we can foster conversations that challenge empty gestures of representation and diversity and begin the work towards real community upliftment.
