I remember (with the help of a trip through my photo album) the day Florence + the Machine’s “High As Hope” dropped. The first track floats into my mind every time its titular month begins, and I remember walking along the Lachine Canal and going to a queer book club in June. I saw in a tumblr post once someone pointing out the last line of this verse:
I hear your heart beating in your chest
Florence + the Machine, “June” from High As Hope
The world slows till there’s nothing left
Skyscrapers look on like great, unblinking giants
In those heavy days in June
When love became an act of defiance
And how that’s why we celebrate Pride in June. (Well, most of us; Montréal’s comes later, otherwise how would so many lucrative Pride tourism dollars be earned and spent?) The Stonewall Riots took place on the evening of June 28, 1969; the first Pride marches took place one year later in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Spring fades to summer in a show of rainbows and flags and solidarity.
I’ve got some defiance to express, however. I’ve been seeing promotional materials created with AI, and workshops on how to use it to boost your small business, and I am fucking tired of it. For my massage business to function, I primarily leverage this website, which requires:
- Editing and updating, which I do myself
- Writing these blog entries, which I do myself
- Graphic design, which I hire a queer local graphic designer for
- Translation, which I trade massage to a queer local translator for
That’s four jobs, and potentially four local workers who need to make four incomes to take care of their manifold financial responsibilities. I have no qualms about taking on the work myself when I am qualified to produce work that gets the results I want. However, I categorically refuse to outsource to a machine or a prompter when there are talented individuals I can make arrangements with (preferably: to pay them their rate).
When you see AI out in the wild, you can let people know what you think about it. Social media managers are reading your comments, and the folks making business decisions should hear how it makes their business look: like they don’t have a marketing budget and don’t respect artistic talent.
Graphic designers don’t just create eye-catching images, they also have a background and experience that enables them to understand what you’re looking for and how to best connect with your audience. Translators and writers understand the nuances of the languages they’re working with, and can offer better revisions based on the flavour and tenor of your message. As I’ve mentioned before, they have bills to pay, but they’re sadly losing contracts to AI prompters (which is as real a job to my eye as “landlord”).
This Pride season, support your local queers (especially queers of colour, drag queens, and trans folks!), and support human-generated art. Be loud when you see AI and let people know that artistic talent deserves financial remuneration. Montreal has a reputation as a city of artists, but we all know rent has gotten ridiculous with no remedy in sight; let’s not starve artists out of this city.
The next line in that Florence song? “Hold on to each other.” Repeated multiple times. Hold on to each other.
Hold on to each other.
In continued support of marginalized groups, I offer a discount on my services to clients who are:
- BIPOC
- Queer
- Fat
- Neurominoric
If you belong to any of these groups, use promo code PINKPURPLE any time of the year for 40% off your session. But especially during “those heavy days in June.” Love as an act of defiance.
Hold on to each other.
60-minute massage
For relaxation, regular maintenance, or targeting a specific issue. Depending on your situation, we may limit our time to specific areas.
1 hour90-minute massage
For advanced relaxation, profound maintenance, or targeting multiple issues. This session is also ideal for a full body treatment.
1 hour 30 minutes