June is Pride Month, and the LGBTQIA+ community celebrates it vigorously. There are many reasons behind the celebration, from love to defiance, that make June a particularly important month in the community.
First, Pride is a celebration of love in many forms. While most people immediately jump to romantic love, there’s love in the community, found families, friend groups, and more. Those are what make the hard days worth it.
Pride is also a celebration of life, both that we’ve made it to another one and of those we lost in the past year. This year, in particular, there were many attacks on the community, including over 500 introduced laws at the state level in the United States aimed at erasing or restricting our lives.
With statistics like that as well as the general strain of being a political talking point and target, Pride is a reminder that we are here, we are alive, and despite it all, we have a reason to celebrate.
Celebrating Pride is also an act of defiance, whether big or small. There are so many restrictions out there; historically, there have been even more. It’s equivalent to “We are here, and we will not be hidden.”
Another aspect of Pride is the history. The first Pride was a riot, an unplanned act of defiance. Today, we commemorate it as the turning point in our fight to be free, equal citizens, no matter where we are on the globe.
Pride is a lot of things, but it’s certainly more than many make it out to be. There’s a reason it seems so vibrant and over the top from the outside. Everyone has their own reasons, but we are united as a community.
Happy Pride!
Ally Options for Pride:
- Turn up to Pride (respectfully!)
- Educate Yourself on Current Issues
- Learn LGBTQIA2S+ History
- Donate to LGBTQIA2S+ Organizations