Dominion’s Opinions: What is Pride to you?

What is Pride to you?

For me, I think back to Marsha and Sylvia, the brave men and women of ACT UP, and so many others, all of whom remind me that Pride is a PROTEST! It is a vocal, visible, and sometimes uncomfortable reminder to society and the system that our voices will not be silenced, that our perceptions of the world are legitimate, and that our concerns are valid and deserved to be addressed. Pride exists so that we all may be heard, and it reminds the world that if you do not listen, we will confront you, and keep confronting you until you HEAR US and ACT!

The world reminds us every day that the need for protect remains extant. In Florida, the existence of LGBTQ people cannot even be discussed in school. Jurisdictions around the United States have signaled that gay rights are their next target, should Roe vs. Wade be rolled back. Gun violence remains a threat to every person, regardless of orientation or gender identity/expression. Because of all that, I think we should use Pride to highlight the causes near and dear to our heart.

Remember that we stand on the shoulders of giants. When you proudly walk the streets in your eyeliner and glitter and high heels, you walk in the platformed footsteps of gay and femme boys long gone for whom that same eyeliner and heels was not a costume for the day, but an urgent expression of who they were that they could not hide. Never forget that when you take your PrEP pill or your HIV meds, you live the dream of those who marched and died for the government, drug companies, and society to hear their pain and take action in the early days of the AIDS crisis.

Likewise, consider that we are the giants upon whose shoulder others will stand, though we may never know them. While you are marching in the parade or on your way to brunch with your good Judys, there is a kid who will see you living your best queer life and see themselves in you. You will reflect back to them the life they want to live. When you post pics (not THOSE pics) to Instagram and Twitter, someone who lives in a places where you REALLY can’t say gay will see them and know that a better life is possible. They will see in you what a life without the constant fear of being outed looks like.

Pride is also a CELEBRATION! I get to spend time with chosen family. My favorite memories of Pride start with the impromptu street party that is the waiting area for the parade to step off. It’s the one time a year when everyone from the collective queer family is together in one place with a single purpose. There’s laugher, music, more than a little flirting, and lots of… beverages. Pride is a chance to see and spend time with all the many members of our tribe, from the Dykes on Bikes, to the Leatherfolk, to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, to, well, everyone. There is something about being in that crowd of people that is just energizing (or perhaps it’s the… beverages).

This year, more than any other, Pride will be a reminder for me that WE ARE HERE! We have all spent the past 30 months living through the collective trauma of the pandemic, and we owe ourselves this moment. We should be extra loud, extra glittery, extra gay, if for no other reason than we haven’t been able to fully do it for the past couple of years.

I will also celebrate for those who can’t. So many of our siblings suffered in this pandemic. Too many died, or lost their job, or suffered from depression, or had their lives altered in irreversible ways. I’m going to grab a friend who’s still afraid to come out and re-introduce them to the world this Pride month. I am going to scream myself hoarse for those whose voices were silenced.

This month, I challenge you to step out of you comfort zone and do something you haven’t done before. March in a parade or protest, volunteer, go to gay film festival or concert, support your local queer businesses. There are a million ways to be gay and a million and one ways to support other gays!