Welcome to Faded Denim Pride

Happy Pride!

I haven't been super active this month celebrating. Work is unusually busy and personal writing has been hard to accomplish on my personal time. I did briefly go into DC last week, but I was there to celebrate the first day of summer at the Smithsonian. I haven't even watched "Angels in America" (mostly because I have no idea where my DVDs are - and no I won't rent or buy it online). I have been reading Hungerstone by Kat Dunn, which is an updated take on Carmilla  - one of the earliest examples of vampires and sex (particularly feminine sexuality) in the Western cannon.

However, there was one item I recalled that I wanted to look up for Pride.

Several months ago, I published a blog post featuring my Antarctica travel journal for 11 November, 2025. Within that entry, I included the following paragraphs: 

"We sat with W.A.R, Su, and SN at lunch. I again had a sandwich with salad. We talked a bit about LGBTQIA+ history. Su had gone to Virginia Tech and were part of the Denim Protest. The LGBT+ alliance and allies wore denim in solidarity for gay rights during a week in January 1979. At the time, the school and community retaliated against the students. Virginia Tech recently celebrated the 45th anniversary."

I recall thinking about how it might make an interesting blog post for Pride Month. Fast forward six months, and I am sitting down to write this post. I go to look up the Denim Day Protest and I get barely anything. The key words Denim Day are most often associated with an event in April that raises awareness on sexual assault. 

I tried a couple of different search options and even used AI (ugh!) to help aid my search. Not even a wiki page popped up. 

The one of the few webpages that I saw mention it was a post on the Virginia Tech Alumni Relations site. It confirms that between January 15-19th, 1979, a small number of Gay Student Alliance members wore all denim and that they "endured ridicule, taunting, verbal and physical assaults."

The post was from 2019 or the 40th anniversary of the original protest. 

I did a little more digging and was able to find a timeline of LGBTQ+ History at Virginia Tech which includes a little more information on the Denim Day Protest. The website has transcripts to interviews from people who participated and records of responses to the protest.

I'm disappointed that I hadn't written more of that conversation down. I remember that she went into great detail about what lead up to the protest and the community's and school's brutal response to the handful of students who were trying to live their lives. She had explained why they had chosen denim and what it meant to the community in the 1970s.

I didn't record any of it. I thought there'd be more information on the Internet. Wikipedia has an article on everything. Why wouldn't it have an article on this one protest?

At least there is an archive being created on the LGBTQ+ history at Virginia Tech. I can read what other people remember from 40 years ago that I wasn't able to capture from one conversation at the bottom of the world. 

But the limited information is still disheartening. 

Part of why there might not be as much information is that a lot of LGBTQ+ history from before the 1990s has been lost. Between differing ideas on what it meant to be LBGTQ+ through the centuries (see the ancient Greeks and Romans for some of the best examples), relatives burning queer family members' personal writings to prevent scandals, and the huge loss of a recent generation to the AIDs pandemic, LGBTQ+ history is a patchwork quilt eaten by moths. There are those who are working to dig into LGBTQ+ history and preserve it for future LBGTQ+ people (because despite what some may think, queer people have always existed and we will continue to exist without any regard to social propriety). 

However, LGBTQ+ history, like other vulnerable groups' histories, is always on the cusp of being suppressed. In 1933, The Institute of Sexology was targeted by the newly elected German government (three guesses as to who was their leader and the first two don't count). During it's just over 20 years in existence, the Institute collected and researched LGBTQ+ history. They recognized transgender and intersex individuals (though by an outdated terms) along with educating people on sexual and reproductive health.

Everything was destroyed on May 6th, 1933. The loss of research and history is still being felt.

And it's not just LBGTQ+ history being suppressed, even in the United States. Over the past year, our national parks and lands have had to remove references to slavery, violence and genocide against first nations people, and other topics deemed "not beneficial to American history" (whatever that means). Some of these places are fighting back (it's kind of hard not to mention slavery when discussing why Harper's Ferry is a National Park) and ensuring that history is preserved. 

But how much is still lost?

I wish I could provide you with a better summary of that conversation. I have vivid memories of bits and pieces of it, but memories (no matter how vivid) are fallible. I don't have that person's contact information to ask them for an interview and I'd feel a bit weird asking for a blog post. 

But if LGBTQ+ and other vulnerable groups' histories are to be preserved, it's up to the individuals to share that with the next generation. I'll hopefully never forget that conversation from 11 November, 2025 on a ship in Antarctica.  By writing this blog post, I am sharing that an event called the Denim Day Protest did happen at Virginia Tech in 1979 and the reaction to it. I am sharing current links to the sources I was able to find. I am sharing that I knew someone who was part of making history. 

Because history is happening every day. 

In our age of social media and near instant news sharing via the Internet, so much information is being preserved in the digital space. And though we like to think the Internet is forever (and in many ways it is for any embarrassing photos posted in high school or college and that poorly thought out tweet you vomited out while black out drunk at 3:00am), it isn't. The digital space is just as prone to destruction and loss as paper and stone are. Most of what is preserved on the Internet is from passionate individuals who are happy to (perhaps overshare) their interests. 

I seem to be one of those people. 

Anyway, I hope everyone who participated had a Happy Pride. I'm going to go finish my book.

Until next week. 

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please, like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me. 

Welcome Gratefulness on the Longest Day

 It’s officially summer.

Time for a rewatch?

The season kicks off with the longest day in the northern hemisphere and the shortest in the southern hemisphere. People who live in the far north got to see the midnight sun and in a few places, the sun won’t set for another month or so.

I admit that I’m not the biggest fan of summer. I prefer the start of planting season in mid-spring and the crispness of autumn. Living where I do, the heat is accompanied by extra strength humidity. Plus, I no longer get the summer breaks I did as a kid…because I work full time.

However, there are a few things I’m grateful for during the summer season.

1) Going to the beach - as a kid, I grew up going to the sandy beaches on Lake Superior and the Jersey Shore (DTS? My Jersey friends). Both could have very cold water depending on when in the summer season I went in, but both were a staple of summer fun. I am still able to occasionally go visit - though rarely in the same year.

2) Harvesting from my garden - this is the first year in many that I have more than a balcony garden (I still have one on my deck). Since buying a house with a small yard, I’ve been excited to grow fruits, (mostly) vegetables, herbs, and flowers. Right now my peas are about at their end, so I’ll plant more in late July, but my cherry tomatoes, green beans, and strawberries are just starting to ripen. Hopefully Wilhelmina can keep the birds at bay (not really since she’s an indoor only cat. I sadly did have one tomato plant snap in half, but it’s already regrowing and might have some fruit by August.

3) Festivals - DC and surrounding areas have a ton of outdoor festivals in the summer. While I am (highly) unlikely to do anything for the 250th, I have gone to a few other festivals this year. This weekend, in honor of the solstice, the Smithsonian’s were open until 11:00pm and had a ton of programs available. The Pride festivities were also this weekend. Usually, in late in July, is the Folk Life Festival (always a fun one to attend). Music festivals are also big in DC like Kerfuffle (though that one is in May).

4) Late night walks - I admit that having it stay really bright so late messes with my sense of time, but I do love a late night after dinner walk. There’s usually a cool breeze and fireflies to light the way. The nature trails behind my house are a great place to spot ducks, deer, foxes, and the very rare bobcat and bear.

5) Summer storms - nothing, and I mean nothing, beats a summer storms. My favorite are the ones late in the evening that are mostly electrical. They zap the heat right out of the air and bring a relaxing, if hard, rain. When I used to house sit in rural Virginia, I’d have a storm every night. It was a little spooky, but also comforting (it was very warm in that house). One of my favorite memories is watching my California cousins see a thunderstorm for the first time. Where they lived in CA, thunderstorms were rare. That summer night, we pulled down the beach chairs for them to sit in the garage and watch the lightening dance across the sky.

6) Grilling and BBQ - I hope World Cup attendees are having fun trying American food (and some countries don’t think we have a cuisine) because it’s grilling and BBQ season! I finally have a grill. My aunt gave it to me last year. I’m not very good at using it by myself, but I enjoy setting it up every now and then. I hope our visitors came plenty hungry. We promise plenty of ranch.

7) Camp and Bond Fires - while I do go camping in the spring and autumn as well, summer holds my fondest memories of camping. I was 8 when my parents sent me to overnight camp for the first time (and may not have changed my socks for a week). I had a blast and at the end of each night, we’d gather around the campfire for s’mores and songs. It’s a smell I’ll never get out of my mind. Neither does the memory of all the mosquito bites I ended up with.

8) Pools and Water Parks - sadly my new neighborhood doesn’t have an outdoor pool. I joined a rec center that has an indoor pool, but that isn’t one to relax by. However, there are a few county water parks and pools I can go to. I love lounging in a lazy river or floating in a wave pool.

9) Farmer’s Markets - it is peak farmer’s market season. This week I picked up peaches, strawberries, and corn. The stalls are overflowing with fresh produce. Yes, prices are a little high - which is why I only use cash and go twice a month.

10) Socializing - summer is when most people have outdoor gatherings or plan trips to meet up with friends and family. This summer, I’ll be traveling to visit friends and family in different states. And to kick off this season, I met up with friends to go mini golfing and a backyard BBQ. I’ve also signed up for some outdoor group activities on Meetup and through my library (though there’s a waitlist for those).

So there’s ten things I’m grateful for in the summer time. What are you grateful for this time of year? Do you have plans to hang out with friends? Or maybe you’ll be at a party celebrating the 250th anniversary of the USA or the World Cup. 

Stay safe out there. Wear sunscreen (coral reef safe) and bug spray (triple check for ticks). Always have at least two liters of water on hand. And have fun!

Until the next week. If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y’all like hearing from me.