Happy Pride Month!

Every year when Pride Month comes around, we see the rainbows, parades, glitter, the merch and the corporate logos suddenly changing colors for thirty days. Queer joy matters. Visibility matters. Dancing in the street matters. Being loud, bright, soft, weird, beautiful, chosen, loved, and alive matters.

But pride is not just a party!!!!

Pride Month exists because it is still, somehow, considered controversial for people to live openly as who they are and love who they love. And it utterly ridiculous. At the center of all of this is something so simple: people want to exist. People want to love. People want to build lives, families, friendships, futures, homes, and communities without being judged and punished for it, and the fact that this is still up for debate anywhere in the world should make us all uncomfortable.

It’s easy for people to treat Pride like it belongs to the past, like it’s just a tribute to old protests, old laws, old battles, old pain. But this is not just history, around the world, LGBTQ+ people are still facing criminalization, censorship, violence, family rejection, housing discrimination, workplace discrimination, medical discrimination, and political scapegoating. In some countries, simply living as an LGBTQ+ person can be life-threatening.

That is why Pride still matters, because Pride is not just about being seen when it’s easy.It’s about being seen when people are trying to erase you.

"Tolerance"

I don’t love the word “tolerance” in this discussion. People should not have to be “tolerated” like they are an inconvenience. LGBTQ+ people deserve safety. Respect. Joy. Protection. Healthcare. Housing. Family. Marriage. Friendship. Pleasure. Faith. Art. Public life. Private peace. They deserve to be boring if they want to be boring. Fabulous if they want to be fabulous. Quiet. Loud. Masculine. Feminine. Both. Neither. Fluid. Certain. Questioning. Proud. Still figuring it out. They/we deserve the full human experience.

Not conditional acceptance. Not “I support you, but don’t talk about it.” Not “I’m fine with it, but not around children.” Not “love who you want, but don’t make a scene.”

That is not freedom. That is control dressed up as politeness.

SO YESSSS! Wear the colors and go to the events. But also, tip the drag queens, support queer artists, listen to queer voices, donate where and when you can. Protect your queer friends, and consider the impact your vote has.