[Vol. 46] Pride – Why Do We Need It?
It's officially Pride month. Here's why it matters.
Happy Tuesday! Happy first day of the month of June! Happy Pride month!!
That’s right, it’s officially pride month. Whip out your rainbow flags and hike up those booty shorts, people.
P.S. search “pride month” on Google for a nice little surprise 😉
Ok, so Pride month – what is it and where did it come from? I know most of you probably already know this, but as a person who’s memory is foggy at best, I know I always appreciate the sparknotes:
What is Pride? Well, first of all, the Oxford English dictionary defines Pride as “consciousness of one's own dignity,” and honestly, that pretty much sums up what the month’s festivity’s are meant to celebrate. In the LGBTQ+ community, Pride is a celebration of our existence, a commemoration of those that came before us, and a big, wild, noisy “fuck you” to anyone that doesn’t think we should be here – all in the form of memorials, concerts, parties, and, of course, parades.
Why is Pride in June? Pride is celebrated in June to coincide with the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, which went down right here in NYC. On June 28, 1969, police raided The Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar at the time (and to this day – great dancing spot, if I may say so myself). Unfortunately, police raids on gay bars in that era were nothing unique – fortunately, this one was. This time, spurred on by leaders such as Marsha P. Johnson (a black transgender gay rights advocate), LGBTQ+ bar goers fought back and so instigated the Stonewall riots – arguably one of the biggest catalysts to the Gay Liberation Movement.
Why a whole month? According to the Library of Congress, Pride in the U.S. started as a day – Gay Pride Day – which was generally celebrated on the last Sunday of June. But, since the day was flexible to begin with, Pride events in major cities across the country soon started to span the entire month. Et voila – Pride month.
So there are all the basic questions. Now let’s move on to a harder one.
Why do we need Pride month?
It’s a question that inevitably comes up each time June rolls around. “Why is being queer something you need to celebrate?”
At face value, it seems like a pretty rational and harmless question, right?
If we lived in a vacuum of a world without homophobia, transphobia, or queerphobia in general, it would be. Like, yah, why do we have to celebrate being gay or gender-expansive? We don’t celebrate being straight or cis and those are valid identities too, so why do we set aside a whole month for the LGBTQ+?
Unfortunately, we don’t live in that vacuum world. I wish we did, but we don’t. We celebrate because we’ve grown up in a world that’s told us our identities are not valid; that they are nothing to celebrate.
“Why is being queer something you need to celebrate?”, in the context of our world, is a loaded question.
Sure, I can see it being totally genuine – especially if the person asking is willing to listen – but often times, it’s not.
It’s a question LGBTQ+ identifying people will inevitably get whenever they talk about their identity openly, regardless of what month it is.
Ellen DeGeneres’ coming out back in 1997 is a perfect example. One of my favorite videos to watch, and one I’ve watched multiple times, is her interview with Oprah that same year after she came out on her sitcom series, “Ellen”.
At some point in the interview [Time marker 2:06] Oprah asks Ellen, “Why do you think it was necessary for you to come out? Why not just let that be your business?”
Ellen’s answer? “Because it’s ok. Because it is ok.”
Gives me chills every damn time.
Not just the wording, but how she delivers it, too. She says it like she’s asserting it; like she’s trying to convince the listener – herself, even – that it’s true.
And that’s because that’s exactly what she’s having to do; what she’s had to do her entire life, I imagine.
The best way you can assert that your identity is, in fact, ok, is to celebrate it, and when we celebrate something, it’s only natural that we take pride in it.
That’s what this month is all about, I think – combating learned, collective shame with its opposite: Pride.
So to all the folks who continue to question why we’re out on the street half-naked and covered in rainbow glitter all through the month of June, I guess I envy your inability to comprehend why we need Pride.
I hope you never have to find out for yourself, but love someone who has – enough to listen to them, empathize with them, and maybe even help them apply their glitter.
That’s all.
HAPPY PRIDE MONTH, FOLKS!!
MONDAY 04/31 – Zackery’s Everywhere!
Gonna keep this one short and sweet and PRIDEFUL!
Zackery Lennon Torres (they/she), who I had the absolute pleasure of talking to in volume 44 of this newsletter, officially announced her transition via her Tik Tok Monday.
And ya’ll, it blew up.
Not only did the Tik Tok itself get thousands of likes and hundreds of comments, but Zackery’s story made the rounds on just about every entertainment news media you can think of – from People mag to New York’s own Page Six.
Page Six, you guys!!
But that’s not even the best part.
The best part has been the public reaction.
When I tell you I usually don’t check the comment section of trans-related content, I mean it, and I mean it for good reason.
As a gender-expansive person myself, I have to protect my mental health. I’ve learned that that includes steering clear of all the transphobic hate floating around out there on the internet (when I can).
This time though, I couldn’t help but take a peek – and I’m so glad I did. I’ve never seen this much love, acceptance, and support on a “coming out” type post.
Not only was it beautiful to see, but it showed how far we’ve come since the days of Ellen’s coming out in the 90’s. Thanks to people like her, the many LGBTQ+ advocates that came before her, and now, Zackery Lennon herself, I think we’re moving in the direction of a world where no one will have to choose between being loved and being who they are.
A great start to Pride 2021 :)
Find me on Instagram: @till_kaeslin
Check out the newsletter’s home on Instagram: @thatsgaynewsletter
Whew! And that was That’s Gay, Volume 46.
See you in Volume 47, folks!
Want Volume 47? Not signed up yet?
Share this newsletter and help my baby grow!