ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A recent community survey showed that 48% of LGBTQ individuals in the Rochester area feel unsafe in public. Members of the Roc Drag Me to Brunch drag group expressed why some individuals may feel unsafe and how the community can help.

For drag queens like Aggy Dune, the venue is one of the most important parts of the show, but not for reasons you may think.

“We choose our venues for Drag Me to Brunch based on the safety for not only our guests but also ourselves,” said Dune, a member of Rochester’s Drag Me to Brunch drag group.  

For many members of the LGBTQ community, safety is always a top concern. A recent community survey from the Levine Center to End Hate showed that many LGBTQ individuals in the greater Rochester area don’t feel safe in public.  

“Our findings were not surprising but certainly distressing,” said Karen Elam, executive director of the Levine Center to End Hate. “Half of them said that they feared verbal attack and nearly half said that they fear physical attack and a third said that they felt that discrimination has increased over the past couple of years.”

“Just this week here at the Lake House they had posted a reel on their social media about their upcoming show and that was met with a lot of hate and a lot of very negative comments online,” Dune said. “Which was very surprising for us because we always found Rochester to be a very welcoming and open community.”

It’s something Dune still believes, even though she says there is still work to be done.

“One of the data points that we really were pleased to see is that over 60% of the LGBTQ community find that Rochester is a welcoming place,” Elam said. “What is most important is for people to be able to see that there is action, there is progress.”

It’s progress that gives individuals the space to be seen and heard despite the discrimination against them.

“Visibility does matter and so we can’t back down, we’re not going to hide, we’re not going to go back in the closet,” Dune said. “As a matter of fact I hate to say it but the more you push, the more fabulous we’re going to become, so we want to be out there as an example to other people in our community to let them know that there are safe places out there for you.”