Portland Dyke March Reportback

anonymous submission –

Below is the text of a reportback from an anarchist contingent at the 2026 Portland Dyke March, along with two different fliers calling for an anarchist presence that circulated ahead of time. Both of the calls for an anarchist presence at the march circulated in physical form as well as electronically. I encountered the reportback in the form of a handbill that was distributed at a recent semi-public social event. The calls for anarchist intervention at the dyke march and the physical reportback follow a spirited discussion at a recent infonight presentation on the repression of anarchists in Indonesia – people talked about the need to live publicly and unapologetically as anarchists, how to communicate our ideas to others outside of an insular milieu, and how to do so without watering down those ideas in order to appeal to respectability.

I believe that the dyke march intervention, this year’s similar May Day intervention, and the physical distribution of the dyke march reportback offer useful experiments in communicating anarchist ideas and action both through written propaganda and propaganda of the deed. As anarchists we aim not to recruit or convert or build a party, but rather to act according to our desires, open up possibilities for revolt, and find others who are also looking for ways to tear this world apart.

The text of the reportback reads,

Two different calls were put out for there to be a queer anarchist contingent at the Portland 2026 Dyke March. We wanted to share an account and analysis of our experiences, and why we chose to participate.
The march began with a rally. While the speakers were recruiting for their socialist party and advocating for more “rights” from the state, we were handing out zines and talking to people in the crowd. The dykes were excited to take zines such as Toward the Queerest Insurrection, At Daggers Drawn, Camover Portland 2026, and Gays, Crazies, and Motherfuckers. We also offered t-shirts and instructions for how to wear them as masks for those who were interested. As the rally turned into the permitted march, we took to the front with a banner that rear “Pride Was Will Be A Riot.” We broke the monotony and tameness of the chants that the protest organizers prepared with a few of our own, like “Suck the strap, attack, attack, attack!” and “Bottoms, tops, we all hate cops!” and “Pride was a riot, let’s get rowdy!”
As the march passed by the waterfront, we encountered a group of christian nationalists who had gathered to protest pride. They had a sound system setup and were singing about god and sin. Two dykes jumped forward right away and kissed in front of them. The protest marshals tried to usher the march along, but we split off and crashed their party. We knocked over their sound systems and yeeted their speakers, and some of those from the march joined in too, kicking over their signs and getting in their faces! When the march reached the permitted end, many dykes, including us, carried on, as the cops and organizers flailed trying to figure out how to regain control.
We have heard plenty of talk from comrades who are disenchanted about participating in marches and demonstrations. Certainly, we can sympathize, but, especially in moments of unprecedented repression, we have to step it up. We know it sucks when a liberal decides that they don’t like a queer vandal and gets physical about it. It sucks when you’re fighting both the cops AND the crowd. However, there are also beautiful moments where a bloc reminds people that they can do more than just hold a sign and shout to the wind.
Our battle for freedom and against the existent must not be a private war, in which we see ourselves as distinct and separate from everyone else. The reflex to do our own thing and turn away from those who do not share our ideas is a tempting one, but it is a position of retreat, in which we lose potential accomplices and divorce ourselves from real social conflict.
Small acts at demos and protests can show others what is possible and expand the collective imagination. Sometimes all it takes is seeing someone else strike first to remind, or to learn for the first time, that another form of engagement is possible. And the most beautiful thing about this opening, which is fundamentally an exploration of a different way of relating (to the state, to property, to self…), is that it doesn’t go away when the event wraps up. These moments build up, both individually and collectively, to form the memory which will bolster the revolts to come.
In moments where hopelessness and nihilism plagues so many queers, acting free is a bright black flame to show another way to all those crushed by the world around us. In short, demonstrations like this are an opportunity to show that we’re here, and that the state will not scare us into hiding away – we’re always going to be fighting back. A demonstration can be a chance to share zines, handbills, and tools with people that can reveal new ideas and pathways that before were unknown, or intentionally misrepresented. It can also be a place to spread subversion and allow others to experiment with a different way of relating to the world.
For these queer anarchists, anarchy is a force that guides us and lives within us, and we want these ideas to spread like an uncontrollable blaze.