by Pink&Black Helsinki collective, in June 2023.

content

invitation
manifesto
what to bring
accessibility
call for contributions

 

INVITATION

we do not take pride in capitalist exploitation of queer culture
we refuse to celebrate assimilationist state projects who co-opt, control, and suffocate queer resistance.

this year, we invite you join us on a communal picnic to celebrate Queer Pleasure over pride.

time: Friday 30 June, 5–9 pm
place: Kaisaniemi park

this picnic is dedicated to pleasure, embodiment, co-creation, and gathering forces.
this is a collaborative, antiauthotarian, do-it-yourself/together event, by queers and for queers.

instead of marching, we stay still to make this event more accessible for elders, kids, disabled and chronically ill folks and anyone in need of rest and grounding.

the dresscode is Queer Pleasure: this can mean your sexiest queer fashion, favourite kinky streetwear, or your coziest  pajamas and softest pillow. the dresscode is voluntary and open to YOUR interpretation.

we invite you to stay present and embodied, and to embrace the theme “Pleasure” in whichever way feels right to you in this time and (public park) place.

MANIFESTO

we are all in danger

the past days, months, and years have been a constant flow of bad news for queers, marginalized groups of all kinds, and life on planet earth. the imperialist wars against displaced people continue in ukraine, rojava, palestine, and around the world. capitalist conditions continue to over-work the lower classes beyond their limits. colonizing, stealing and extractivist destruction of indigenous lands never ended, in Sapmi or elsewhere. governments in europe and in so-called america continue spiraling from neo-liberal pseudo-democracies towards patriotic police states, day-by-day less subtle about their hostilility towards queers, women, the disabled and racialized people.

as of today the finnish government is plotting a mass-scale austerity project to keep us busy surviving. so busy, they hope, that their escalation of violence to control state borders, marginalised bodies and everyone’s means of living will go unnoticed among all other atrocities. we know by experience, from history and present, that liberalism is not liberation, and the capitalist state system is the precondition from which fascist control politics will arise and escalate.

we are in danger and we need to do something about it

our alienation and disembodiment is the requirement for the dominant way of life. the systems that seek to control us work hard to keep us cut off from our bodies, needs, desires, autonomy, the lands and waters we inhabit with other beings, and each other.

the systems that control us would like us to accept
surveillance over safety
security over justice
policing over accountability
competition over care
in-fighting over solidarity
pinkwashing over queer love and rage
consumption over resistance
dissociation over healing
domestication over liberation

reformist and unimaginative, institutional lgbt politics have a long history of prioritising state acceptance over solidarity, and respectability politics over queer pleasure.

we have always been here

but it is about time we refuse to cooperate

this event is a braver space

we will always be in danger unless we stick together.
in the words of our wise and radikal elders:
an army of lovers cannot lose.

this is a queer event for queer people and by queer people:
— for dykes, fags, bi, butches, femmes, kings and queens, genderqueers, trans and intersex folks, two spirits, drag mothers, tricksters and pros, grrrls with dicks and bois with clits, enbies and undecided —

if you are not part of this community please respect this and act accordingly: consider how you can support this event without making it about you or your gaze, and without taking space from a queer experience.

parks are not safe spaces. we cannot guarantee that no harm takes place in the park we gather. we therefor call for a braver space and a following code of ethics:

• We make sure people know that this is a queer event and ask them to read this code of ethics and braver space. We reach out to organisers if we need help with this.
• To our best ability, we offer each other mutual aid and support, and stand up for others in case of harrassment or threat. We ask for help in situations that we cannot handle alone.
• We respect everyone’s autonomy, identity, and boundaries. We hear people’s stories instead of making assumptions about their gender, identity, history, background. Racist, sexist, homo- or tranphobic, or ableist behaviour is not welcome.
• We ask for consent before touching others or their belongings (especially mobility aids), as well as for taking photos. We respect our own boundaries and needs as well as others’.
• We offer seats and space to rest for those who need them. We keep in mind that chronic pain, illness, and disability is not always visible.
• We do not assume that everyone shares the same first language or language skills. We accomodate to language diversity and help with language needs the best we can.
• No fat shaming or judgemental food talk. Food at this event is all about pleasure.
• We refuse to participate in slutshaming, kink shaming, erasure of queer desire, and exclusion of sex workers from queer culture and sexual politics. We stand for sex workers’ rights to autonomy, income, safety, and worker organizing.
• We believe that there is enough room in the park for everyone in the community: that is, for people of all ages and for expressions of queer sexuality / desire (in the form of dresscode, poetics, drawings, flirtations, discussions…). We ask that adults offer children the age-appropriate context and conversation that they deserve. Children, like adults, always have a say in when to exit the space.
• We stay sober enough to stay accountable and non-intrusive.
• No authoritarian symbols, no party-political speeches or slogans, no pinkwashing.
• As organisers, we recognize how dangerous and precarious police intervention can be to marginalized people, and to victims of harm as well as those who do harm. We do everything in our capacity to navigate conflict and harm in ways that prioritise support for victims over policing, punishment, deportation, and systemic violence.

what to bring

blankets, comfort items,
water, sun protection,
food to share,
hand disinfectant, cups, bowls, and cutlery, to manage health risks
games, crafts, sketchbooks
instruments, art, …
— this event is a co-creation by all of us.

Welcome!

ACCESSIBILITY

Pathways in the park are wide sandy pedestrian roads.

Kaisaniemi park has both rolling hills and flat grass areas. Our picnic will be located on a flat grass area with trees around to provide some shade. There is a children’s playground located roughly in the centre of the park.

Nearby public toilets are located in Kaisaniemenranta & Varsapuistikko.

 

In case possible speeches, performances and other contributions include sensitive or explicit content, we will announce this in a brief content description. You are free to leave the area and return according to your needs.

Organisers will bring a handful of camping chairs (with back and arm rests) for those who need them.

 

call for contributions

this event is a co-creation by all of us.
your contribution (food, speech, song, you name it) is welcome.
Shout out your offerings in the facebook event, or write us an email!

 

With love & rage,
Pink&Black Helsinki collective + friends
contact: pinkkimustahelsinki[at]riseup.net