I went to a lot of events this month, but one had a large impact on me. It was a rally in support of several LGBTQ community members who were beat up in the South Side, and targeted for non normative gender presentation. This is the third rally for LGBTQ folks who have experienced targeted violence that I have attended in as many years.
The most recent incident occured in the southside at the bar, Margaritaville. Two studs (masculine presenting African American lesbians) were frequently verbally harassed by a group of (presumably) straight men with disparaging comments to the point that the studs and the folks they were with stayed off the dance floor because the men who had been giving them trouble were there. Finally one of the aggressors stepped right in front of Jourdyns face in an intimidating manner, and Jourdyn (a previous winner of the Black Pride Pageant) said that she did not want any trouble, and the man punched her in the face. A fight broke out, which was quickly broken up. After all parties were removed from the bar the aggresors punched Jourdyn in the face again, and things escalated. In the end Jourdyn, and one of her friends, a femme woman, both needed hospitalization for their injuries.
