I was confronted on Instagram by someone asking me, "Why should we celebrate who you stick your meat into?" And it made me think, is this what people believe this is about?
Pride is not about who we want to fuck; it's about self-love and who we choose to love. It's about being able to freely express who we are and standing up against the oppression that has been placed on us since we were little kids trying to figure out who we are and why we are different.
Here’s why we celebrate Pride Month and why there isn’t a Straight Pride Month:
Your ability to love has never been questioned in modern society
Straight People: You’ve grown up in a world that rolls out the red carpet for who you are. Every TV show, song, book, children’s story, and fairy tale has always been about the princess getting the prince, the guy getting the girl. Your parents teasingly asked you if every girl you hung out with was your girlfriend. You get to hold hands and be affectionate whenever and wherever you want. Your public displays of affection are so normalized that you don't even notice them. You can kiss, hug, and hold hands whenever and wherever you please, and no one tells you to stop or says it makes them uncomfortable.
Us: We’ve grown up in a society that made us uncomfortable with who we are. We didn’t see ourselves in the movies. We didn’t hear songs about our love for others like us. When we did have a crush, we were scared to talk about it because we didn’t want our parents to hate us or try to "fix" us. When our grandma asked us when we were finally getting a girlfriend, we knew the answer would offend them. And when we try to hold hands or show affection outside our community or safe spaces, we’re met with glares, name-calling, or people asking us to stop.
Imagine being a teenager, sitting in a movie theater, seeing a love story unfold on screen that you can't relate to. All around you, couples are holding hands, leaning into each other, stealing kisses. You wish you could do the same, but you know the risk is too great. It's not just about the fear of a disapproving glance; it's about the fear of being physically attacked or verbally abused.
There aren’t laws that force you to stop being who you are
Straight People: You have it so good. Every law out there is designed to work in your favor. These laws help you adopt, ensure your next of kin is in order, provide all your healthcare needs without question, and allow you to marry who you love, divorce them, and marry someone else right after that. You’ve been able to serve in the military and give blood, and nothing is ever questioned.
Us: We have had to fight to be afforded the same rights and protections that you don’t even have to think about. We have been made to feel different, less than, and not your equal time and time again throughout modern history. Straight people have continually found ways to deprive us of the same liberties afforded to them.
Think about the monumental Supreme Court decision in 2015 that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in the U.S. Before that, we had to navigate a patchwork of state laws, some allowing us to marry, others explicitly banning it. Even now, in many parts of the world, same-sex relationships are criminalized, punishable by imprisonment or even death. In some U.S. states, laws are being proposed or enacted that chip away at our rights, targeting transgender individuals, restricting discussions of LGBTQ+ topics in schools, and making it harder for us to live openly and authentically.
You get to be you every day, unconditionally.
Straight People: You get to be you, unconditionally, every single day. You get to head to the office, go to the grocery store, eat at a restaurant, pump gas, travel, and everything in between without thinking twice if you are being your true authentic self. You get to glide through a world that accepts you for whoever you are, whether you’re an incredible person or a shitty one. As a straight man or woman, you get to live comfortably in your skin, and you’ve gotten to do that from day one. You didn’t have to hide who you were from anyone, anywhere.
Us: We had to grow into who we are, and many of us are still figuring it out. We’re continually playing different versions of ourselves, versions to keep us from standing out, looking different, being sneered at, looked down on and told we are freaks, pedophiles, groomers, demons, satan worshipers, hated by God. We were even made fun of by our friends who jokingly called us gay or faggot or dyke. We didn’t get to start discovering who we were until we left our homes, left our towns, and found our communities and safe spaces, our chosen families, and our sanctuaries.
Imagine the constant vigilance, the mental and emotional energy spent on hiding a fundamental part of who you are. Imagine the relief of finally finding a community where you can be yourself, where you don’t have to edit your thoughts or words. Imagine the joy of holding hands with your partner in public for the first time without fear.
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So why do we celebrate Pride Month? Because each and every one of us either has or will face everything I’ve mentioned above (and more). Pride Month is our time to shine, to be ourselves unapologetically, and to demand the respect and equality that we deserve all while attempting to normalize our queer culture in the mainstream. It’s a time to honor those who came before us, to celebrate the progress we’ve made, and to continue the fight for a world where everyone, regardless of who they love and how they identify, can live freely and authentically
It’s a protest against the discrimination and oppression we still face. Every rainbow flag, every parade, every story shared during Pride Month is a beacon of hope for those who are still struggling, still in the closet, still fighting to be seen and accepted. It’s a declaration that love is love, that we are all human, and that our diversity is our strength.
This Pride Month and every month, keep standing up against hate, supporting LGBTQ+ rights, and spreading love and acceptance. Be an ally: educate yourself and others, attend Pride events, donate to LGBTQ+ organizations, and speak out against discrimination. Create a world where everyone can live openly and proudly.
And to my Instagram commenter… this is why we celebrate.
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