Who we are
DIY Pride Reading are trans-inclusive, intersectional, anti-racist, anti-capitalist folks who have come together to organise a Pride we can actually be proud of.
We came together in 2024 to form DIY Pride Reading, taking inspiration and guidance from the many alternative Prides across the UK as well as from the LAD Fund and Queers for Palestine. We ran an all-day event on 31 August—the same day as Reading Pride—to offer an alternative space for queers who wanted to boycott the event and to build community beyond Pride. We raised over £1070 for Medical Aid for Palestine, Care for Gaza and local gender affirming care. We brought together over 30 volunteers and creatives for the all-ages event, running collaborative workshops and activities during the day and an over-18s cabaret in the evening. Our founding members are members of the Reading queer community. Some are involved in or lead a range of local queer groups including Double Okay, Dogmouth Theatre, Reading Sapphics Social, Reading Queer Poetry Circle, Reading Queer Social.
We will release our manifesto shortly, which will provide further information on why we are, what we believe and what we want to achieve.