In this day and age, is pretty much impossible to not know that June is LGBTQ Pride Month. Parades and other rainbow-drenched festivities mark the June 28 1969 riots in New York City, when gay, trans and drag patrons of the Stonewall Inn fought back against one of numerous raids that police routinely deployed against LGBTQ establishments. They simply had enough of the targeted, cruel and violent treatment from law enforcement, who were trying to intimidate or eliminate an entire community of fellow human beings, who were just socializing together in the woefully few public establishments where they could be themselves without judgment.
The battle cry sounded by a few drag queens and bar patrons was heard all over the city, and all over the country. A silent movement that had been slowly gaining momentum over the few previous decades exploded into popular culture like a tornado, as the community ramped up its organizing of advocacy to ensure the equal rights & treatment of all LGBTQ citizens of the United States of America. In my lifetime, I have seen evolution that I never imagined would ever have taken place when I was just coming out in the late 1980s. We’ve seen waves of progress, as well as tsunamis of backlash against that progress, and it looks like we have quite a bit of pendulum-swinging left to experience in the decades ahead.
Pride Month continues to be a pivotal opportunity to keep the needle moving forward. And not just for LGBTQ people. For EVERYONE. The sheer, awesome magnitude of the numbers attending the DC Pride events on June 8 and 9 meant that it is not just LGBTQ people who are participating! Friends, family, allies, advocates of all walks of life, skin colors, and orientations came in DROVES to dance, laugh, cry, hug, and just BE. In fact, in the group of people I went to the parade with this year, I was the only gay person! I was there with one of my (straight) best friends, her (straight) husband, and their (straight) son, marching with the float hosted by the nightclub where my friends’ son worked.
And as my straight friends joyously carried flags, threw out beads and danced with reckless abandon down the parade route, I had a little epiphany. Some people around our country don’t understand why LGBTQ people must have a month to flamboyantly express “pride” in being members of the LGBTQ community. For the first time, however, I saw “pride” differently this year, thanks to the enthusiasm of my wonderful friends who were celebrating, not only with me, and for me (metaphorically speaking) for being gay, they were celebrating their own Pride in expressing their OWN authentic selves! When I am celebrating or honoring Pride Month, I AM proud! And not necessarily, or not just, that I am gay. I am proud because I am standing in the Truth of me. I am expressing myself honestly and authentically and I am proud of being able to do this! Just as my non-gay friends did for THEMSELVES last weekend.
So I say let’s expand our perspective of Pride Month celebrations. Let’s ALL celebrate our Pride of expressing our honest, authentic selves — whatever that looks like, sounds like, or feels like for YOU.
Happy Pride Month to EVERYONE!