Hasta La Ideas

Throughout recent history—from the 1940s to the ’70s and ’80s—Halloween has been a vehicle for queer people to embrace who they are. Case in point: Greenwich Village Halloween Parade. In its first year in 1976, the parade drew 160 attendees who were predominately Black trans folk, drag queens and other people in the LGBTQ+ community. As a celebration of all things different and taboo, the holiday made breaking homophobic laws (like not being allowed to dress in drag) not only acceptable but expected. Because of this, Halloween often acted as an awakening for drag queens. The event, writes journalist Abby Moss for i-D, is “often called ‘gay Christmas,’” because it invites liberation with friends and chosen family as opposed to the festive season which could include interacting with homophobic family members. “For people who don’t fit into traditional heteronormative roles, Christmas can [be] exhausting at best; at worst, triggering. Halloween, on the other hand, remains a queer playground,” continues Moss. Read more at i-D.

Image courtesy of Walter Leporati/Getty Images