It's June- You know what that means?
Happy Pride Everyone!
Pride is such a beautiful thing. It’s about representation of an underrepresented community, about being openly who we are as a people, and overall, about accepting the differences that make us unique. It’s about being unapologetically you, which is beautiful in and of itself.
In our current world, it’s more important than ever for ‘we the people’ to come together and celebrate these things, to celebrate these differences. If we lived in a society where we all looked and acted the same, it would be a boring- colorless world. I’m proud to be a part of a community that is full of diversity, compassion, kindness, and acceptance. I want to live in a world surrounded by those people, not one surrounded by hate.
As many of you know, there are more than 417 anti-Lgbtqia+ bills being introduced into our legislation as of April this year. It’s only been 12 years since same sex marriage has been made legal here in New York State. These bills are trying to control school curriculums within the education system, making it illegal for Trans youth to get the gender affirming care they deserve, restricting freedom of expression in drag performances, and overall limiting the discussions of gender and sexuality amongst the general public. Access to health care, proper education, freedom of expression, preferred identification, and public accommodations are all forms of innate human rights that we all deserve.
Sometimes it seems hard to want to raise our heads high, to be proud about who we are when all we see is that negativity, however we cannot be silent. I’ve grown up in a small town that I always thought was safe and kind- but it wasn’t as perfect as I thought. As I stepped into who I knew I was, I heard stories from my queer peers about being called slurs on the streets, about how they were treated for just being who they are. I saw the kids in my school laugh at the mention of our GSA group that I was a part of, because it was a place where students tried to bridge the gap- to feel safe in their identities. I witnessed our signs getting torn down or vandalized, and when I talked to my friends and made what we referred to as ‘gay jokes’ I was informed by a classmate that we were making ‘people’ uncomfortable. All we had said was that people loved our ‘gay humor’, and I’ll never forget the way he looked at us, the awkward silence that filled the void as I realized how this kid I had known my whole life really saw me. We can’t shy away even if people make us feel like we have too. Reach out to friends, find safe groups where you can make a difference in your communities free of hate & judgment. It’s hard, and even if I don’t run to the rooftops and yell, I can still make strides in my day-to-day life to show who I am, to support what I believe in- and so can you. Support Queer business owners, research the bills that are attempting to be passed- remain educated. Ask people you meet about their pronouns, if they have a preferred name. Sometimes it might be something as simple as a nickname for something like ‘Cathrine’, but it goes a long way in making the people around you feel seen and understood. We’ve lived in this ‘idealistic box’ for much too long. Go out and read gay romance novels, support those authors. Go watch a movie that has a ‘nontraditional’ main character, so that we can make it traditional. It’s time to rewrite our terms of how the world sees that word.
If we keep assuming, we won’t grow. It’s time to step out of this box we’ve created in our daily world, we need to step into something bigger. So, whether you’re out, closeted, questioning, or just someone struggling to understand themselves- know that I see you, I support you, and I love you. There is always someone out there who sees that validity, even if you don’t.
(If you’d like to hear more about my personal experience or hear more about the legislation that politicians are attempting to put through into law- go check out my ‘contact’ portion of the blog and send me a message! I love talking about these things, answering questions, and overall being a support, for whoever needs it.)
Happy pride month you ‘filthy animals’,
Sending you all my love,
Lee <3
Sources/Educational Resources–
Trevor Project. ‘Facts About LGBTQ Youth Suicide.’ Trevor Project. December 15th, 2021.Facts About LGBTQ Youth Suicide | The Trevor Project
Choi, Annette. ‘Record Number of Anti-LGBTQ Bills Have Been Introduced This Year.’ CNN Politics. April 6th, 2023. Record number of anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced this year | CNN Politics
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