And when LGBTQ+ people are ignored, it is hard for people to see us as equal. When the majority (read: straight bigots and passive-aggressive haters) speaks, we are ignored. Religions, businesses, media, and sports teams throw stones or avoid us all together. They see and disapprove of our differences. Many people can’t or don’t want to see that. So much of what I and other queer people do and who we are represents the best of humanity in this world. I cannot rightfully express the overwhelming feelings of acceptance and love and pride.
I am moved to tears each time we march in the parade and are cheered for being who we are. But when we are at a Pride event, they see families like ours all day long.
And as they get older, they are starting to notice their differences when they compare themselves to their friends’ families and to the families in their books and cartoons. I am continuously replacing a figure and inserting myself into a picture that does not exist. It’s the same with books and advertisements. Gay characters appear as tokens and clichés.
The genres are different, the sexuality is the same. Shopping for gifts for my partner means sifting through stereotypical and gendered products and images of men and women smiling at each other like lovesick fools as if love only exists for male-female presenting couples.ĭesigning a family Christmas card on a popular photo site means looking at stock images of straight people and their kids. LGBTQ+ people are severely underrepresented - a fact that frustrates, maddens, and disappoints me.
FUCK GAY PRIDE MONTH FULL
However, most days and months out of the year are reserved for heteronormative messages and images for and full of cisgender straight folks. Let me be very clear: Every month - heck, every day, every minute - should celebrate sexual diversity, with a focus on equal rights and self-affirmation. I do not fit into any box, but with the queer community, I fit right in. It may take family members longer to accept our truth, if at all.Īnd it feels like it is taking forever for society as a whole to accept people like me. Sometimes it takes a long time for LGBTQ+ people to accept themselves and to know where they fit in. Pride is not just about equality it is about acceptance. We harness the momentum of the sometimes stalled equal rights movement and show off our pride. We thank the ones who have come before us and remind the younger generations behind us that there is still so much more work to be done. We blast the world with visual reminders of our beautiful love and our gorgeous families. We flood social media with rainbows and hashtags. We come out of closets, propose to the ones we love, and push our babies in strollers. We are united by the colors of the rainbow and feel the strength of our community. We wave our flags, show our hearts, and demand equality with a fevered need to be accepted. We put aside our fears and remember the brave people who stood up to hate after the policed raided The Stonewall Inn in New York City in 1968. These privileges are taken for granted.Įvery June, LGBTQ+ people take to the streets. No one hates people because they are straight. Straight people don’t have to defend their relationships, plead for rights, or worry about their rights and protections being taken away. Straight people don’t look around to see if it’s okay to hold the hand of someone they love. They don’t need to fight for their right to get married or to have children. Here’s why: I t’s because every fucking day is, by default, straight pride. It drives me absolutely batshit bonkers when someone says: Why do we need a whole month to celebrate queer people? Or Why isn’t there straight pride month?