Gay Pride is a series of exciting events that happen in small and big cities all over the world to commemorate and celebrate being gay in a world that’s traditionally straight. The events have their roots in New York after the Stonewall riots when gays fought and pushed back in protest of police brutality.
Since that time, we celebrate Gay Pride throughout the month of June all over the world. It’s a celebration of liberty, life, and love within the LGBTQI community and isn’t all about partying and parades. Gay Pride is about the ability of the gay community finally belonging and being visible to the world.
Gay Pride is fundamentally about spreading hope. It is about reflecting in faith that not only will things get better but they’ll keep improving because as a community, we will never forget the battles we’ve been through and the lives that have been lost and subsequent pain that we suffered. All these events have continued to lead us into more battles for the attainment of equal rights all over the world.
Even if in places like the U.S the LGBTQI community continues to enjoy equal rights, it’s vital that we do not forget other places such as here in India, where belonging to this community results in a lot of stigma. Let’s not forget places such as Russia, Singapore, Kenya, or Uganda where being a part of the LGBTQ community is criminalized and where you could face severe actions if you display LGBTQ actions. Below, we highlight some of the reasons why pride matters.
- We Need To Be Seen
When you take a look at our world, you can clearly see that it was build around heterosexual privilege. This sends a message that it’s fine for a hetero politician to kiss his partner in public but it’s not OK if a gay professional sportsman does the same with his same sex partner on T.V. This kind of double standard must stop and Gay Pride can help.
In the same breadth, one of the most significant results of Gay Pride is same sex marriage rights. When we all come together to celebrate Gay Pride, there are more discussions around LGBTQ and we can be seen for who we are; real people. Fathers, sons, mothers, daughters, leaders. Celebrating Gay Pride allows us to be more than just a shadow and people can take as seriously.
- Personal Acceptance, And Building Confidence in LGBTQ Youth
One of the most meaningful experiences you will ever have in your life as a member of the LGBTQ community is attending a Pride Parade. Being a part of the parade isn’t only about fun. It’s about declaring that you’ve accepted yourself as you are and are no longer OK with hiding who you are. It is an empowering feeling that’ll leave you in awe of the community you belong to.
Gay Pride encourages responsibility and caring even for our LGBTQ youth so they can build confidence. It’s about showing that you care for the community you belong to and that expressing this is vital to you. it’s about empowering a community to spit on shame and celebrating yourself as an individual.
Conclusion
There’s a lot to learn in a Gay Parade. And just because we set aside one month of the year to celebrate Gay Pride doesn’t mean that we should remain hidden the rest of the year. Let’s keep taking care of each other, continue our community activism, and take pride in each other and ourselves as individuals.
