Pride Aroostook recently held rallies in Presque and Houlton to support trans and queer youth.
Around 11 people gathered on March 31 near the bridge on Route 1 in Presque Isle. On the same day, another group met in Houlton’s Monument Park.
Pride Aroostook organized the rallies to support and show the faces of the transgender community in Aroostook County, similar to the Two-Spirit rally in Bangor held the same day. The County group wanted to show its solidarity with the Wabanaki Two-Spirit Alliance, Queer Youth Assemble, and the Maine TransNet for International Transgender Day of Visibility, while standing against anti-trans bills that are being passed in other states.
“We stood with our transgender family and friends in support of the many antitransgender legislative bills around the country that are putting American children at risk of depression, self-harm, and suicide,” said Kate Easter, a member of the Pride Aroostook planning committee.
Kiradwen Libby worked to organize the rally with Easter through social media.
There are a lot of other problems in the world and worrying about how people dress and who they love shouldn’t be a concern, Libby said. Bodily autonomy was another reason for rallying. As a trans person, Libby wants others’ respect.
“We are very fortunate up here,” Libby said. “People as a general rule are community oriented and [Aroostook] has been very tolerant and accepting.”
Pride Aroostook members Rye Hastings (left) and Sarah McLean participate in a Pride Aroostook rally to support trans and queer youth autonomy in Presque Isle. (Paul Bagnall | The Star-Herald)
Libby moved up to Aroostook County in 2019 and has been involved with Pride Aroostook, which formed in 2021, for a little over two years.
There are people who don’t know what the lives of a trans person look like and what isn’t known is feared, Libby said. Libby hopes to meet those people and have them understand that trans people are just like everybody else.
“We deserve rights like everyone else, it seems pretty basic but unfortunately a lot of people think they can decide for other people,” said Rye Hastings, a Pride Aroostook member for the past couple of years.
Some of the issues involve trans people not getting proper healthcare and parents of trans youth being the targets of grooming accusations, Hastings said.
Grooming is manipulation used by abusers to gain access to a potential victim and coerce them to agree to be abused, according to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network.
Maine TransNet has been keeping an eye on legislation that could possibly target trans and queer people in the state, according to Hastings.
“I feel like I am doing the right thing and meeting people I feel comfortable with,” said Evangeline Weatherbee. Weatherbee held a gender dysphoria rabbit, a plush figure that represents people who may feel their biological sex doesn’t match their gender identity.
Pride Aroostook members hold a rally to support trans and queer youth autonomy in solidarity with the Wabanaki Two-Spirit Alliance, Queer Youth Assemble, and Maine Transgender Network on a cold day on March 31 in Presque Isle. (Paul Bagnall | The Star-Herald)
It was the first rally for Weatherbee, who feels like other people shouldn’t tell them how to express themselves.
Sarah McLean attended to support trans people, who need to feel safe in the community, she said.
“My perspective is that there’s an overarching system of oppression that affects anyone who is in an underprivileged, oppressed group,” McLean said.
Pride Aroostook exists to be an inclusive and safe community for all new residents to the county whether they’re allies, or identify with the transgender and queer communities, Easter said.
The group plans an April 22 drag show at the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Fort Fairfield, along with the first Aroostook County Rainbow Prom on May 19 and a fundraising gala and silent auction on May 20. Both the gala and prom will be held at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.
