By Miss Bouvèé

Florida Pride, Keeping the Rainbow

Pride season is over, but my personal experience warrants mentioning. I will say it. I had more freedom and fun in Key West than in my own home. The city of Key West itself declared the municipality a “welcoming city” for all, including drag queens. I was encouraged to get on the stage and sing and dance. I even danced in the street and saw many of my professional drag sisters out promoting and performing. What’s more is that the locals, as well as the tourists, were overly supportive. The city is not a place, it is a vibe. They pursued freedom and empowerment for the drag performers that single handedly fuel the economy for many of the bars and spaces there. Wilton Manors should have been the example, but in the end, it was Key West for me. 

Am I thrilled with my local Wilton business and bar owners here? No. Do I respect our local leaders for the position everyone was in? Sure. Drag and cabaret are a central part of our economy here in Wilton. Being one of the few performers who live in the drag and cabaret world, it was easy to point fingers locally and to not feel supported by my employers and my community. However, I must now turn the finger out of state. 

I recently read an article about a few conventions pulling out of Orlando for reasons of “not wanting to give DeSantis any more of our money”. This, in my opinion, is a dangerous stance to take. I am hard pressed to find the times in the last two decades when and where boycotts actually work! They take large scale and consistent execution to really have an impact. When it comes down to it folks, DeSantis gets an average of 7% (state tax is 6% with local taxes varying). The other 93% goes to us, the queer owned businesses of your choice in this red state. It’s that simple. He is termed out and cannot run as governor in a few years; if you don’t come now, it’s not just him who will be gone when you decide to come back to Florida. It will be the small business that were queer owned trying to fight. 

Come to Florida; invade by the thousands and millions. We have value and worth! So do you! The pink dollar supporting the pink dollar is an essential part of the rainbow economy. Since when has political oppression been a new thing to our community? It should not immobilize us, it should motivate us. Book that ticket now and support your LGBTQI+ family trying to thrive under the oppression of this state and simply pay their employees, feed their families, and bring you joy through their business.