Pride Month: A Celebration of Love
June is Pride Month! It is a time dedicated to supporting and celebrating the LGBTQ+ community and its history. Whether you identify as Queer yourself or are an ally, everyone can join this celebration of love.
Pride is about fight for rights, acceptance, love, and expression. It's a moment, not just a parade. It reminds us of painful history queer people have had and it gives hope for the future. It unites such a diverse community and makes it a family, with a bond so strong no law can push down.
Why is Pride Month celebrated?
Pride is celebrated every year in June in honour of the Stonewall Uprising, which took place in 1969 in Manhattan. Pride month actually started as a riot. It was a riot against the police brutality! A riot against unjust society! A riot for equal rights!
On 27th June, 1969, police went violent against the queer people outside Stonewall, a gay bar in New York City. They were beating and hurling them in police car to throw them behind the bars. But Marsha P Johnson, a black trans-woman, showed courage for everyone present there, and threw the first brick for the riot. The brick on which tomorrow's entire movement for rights stood!
Next was drink, glasses, and anything they could find. They fought back until police had to step back. Marsha, a black drag queen, and Sylvia, a Latin trans-gender woman: without the fight back of these activists, gay liberation might have gone at a much slower pace.
Next day, people painted posters and raised voices on streets. They motivated others to come out, because visibility was the way. People had to see that their community is everywhere; one of them is the guy who works at the office, the person who delivers newspaper, their friend, their siblings, their children, and even their parents.
The voice for coming out became a march on streets and the first pride was paraded down the street of New York City.
How to be a better ally to your queer friend?
It is time that straight people show support for their queer friends, relatives and co-workers. Little things such as accompanying their loved ones in their first pride parade or hanging up a rainbow flag can mean a lot.
Here are some ways to be an ally to them:-
- It takes courage for them to come out. Don’t assume that if they came out to you, then they want you to share it with other people. After all it’s their story to tell.
- If you hear someone make a crude comment or homophobic joke, then let them know that you don’t appreciate it.
- Don’t support businesses with discriminatory policies.
- Learn to accept. Respect their gender, pronouns, and expression even if they seem unorthodox.
- Be open to learn, listen and educate yourself about LGBTQ+ community. Give emotional support to them.
In addition to recognizing the long fight for equal rights in the LGBTQ+ community, pride is meant to be a celebration of all that the community has accomplished till yet.
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Great post!
ReplyDeleteSo informative 👏👏