Laura Anderson
It’s June, and that means it’s Pride Month! A time for celebrations and acceptance of what makes us all beautiful and unique, but what is Pride all about?
It’s June, and that means it’s Pride Month! A time for celebrations and acceptance of what makes us all beautiful and unique, but what is Pride all about? What is Pride?
Pride is a time of celebration and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community, a time to commemorate the riots of June 1969, and to continue protesting for LGBT rights. Its name, Pride, is an opposition to the previous social stigmas and feelings of shame that were placed upon the community, and a reminder that one’s gender identity and sexuality is something to feel proud of.
Celebrated by the LGBTQ+ community, a collection of people who do not identify as cisgender or hetrosexual, they may be transgender, gay, bisexual or another identity that falls under the queer umbrella. Allies also stand by LGBT members at pride to show their support and acceptance of the community.
Students of our school described Pride as a time of safety, and confidence to express oneself, whilst another described it as a time of love. For me, Pride is all about appreciation and acceptance, a time to express my true colours and embrace the ones I love all around me. It is a time of joy and happiness, and a celebration of how far we have come in gay rights.
The Stonewall Riots
Prior to 1967, a law in 1533 made homosexuality an act punishable by death, which would later on become punishable by imprisonment. Throughout the years, LGBT individuals have faced all sorts of stigma and stereotypes, from horrendous fabrications of gay men preying on younger boys to the AIDs epidemic.
During the year of 1969, the LGBTQ community took a stand at the Stonewall Inn gay bar. After countless raids on other gay bars across the country, it wasn’t long before Stonewall Inn too became a victim of these police raids.
On June 28th, fed up with the discrimination and harassment, after another raid, frustrated patrons and neighbourhood residents began to fight back against the police. A few moments later, a full-blown riot involving hundreds of people began.
Police and prisoners barricaded themselves in the bar, but the infuriated mob tackled this by setting the barricade alight. The fire department and a riot squad would soon arrive to calm the flames and disperse the crowd, yet protests would continue for 5 more days, sometimes consisting of up to 1000 people.
The Stonewall Riots embarked the journey towards the gay rights movement, leading to numerous gay rights organisations being created. On its one year anniversary, June 28th 1970, thousands of people flocked to the streets, marching as a parade. Their chant, “Say it loud, gay is proud” echoed through the streets of Manhattan, from Stonewall Inn to Central Park. This parade would soon become known as America’s first Pride parade.
Legalisation & Acceptance
Homosexuality was legalised in 1967 in the UK, yet we would face many more problems in the years to come. When Margaret Thatcher became prime minister in 1979, with her came Section 28. This law existed from 1988 to 2003, and set back LGBTQ rights by decades.
The law stated that schools and other forms of educations could not teach students any form of teaching that promoted the acceptance of homosexuality. This despicable law would only increase the amount of discrimination against LGBTQ+ youth, and only further isolated them from the world.
Even after the law was repealed, the effects of it would remain. As stigmas would continue to thrive throughout society, especially due to the rise of social media. Whilst those who had been damaged by the constant discrimination throughout their younger years would never recieve the apology they truly deserved.
In more current times, harmful stereotypes like overexaggerated feminine gay characitures, and brash masculine lesbians continue to thrive, blasted upon social media walls. I have heard many people in my time express that there were “too many identities'' and “everyone was making it up” or it was “too difficult to learn.”
These statements push more unheard of identities aside, and completely invalidate them. Isolating the individuals who choose to express themselves in these ways, and many are told that they simply “don’t exist”, and it’s “all in their head”, even by members of their own community.
One group who has been targeted again and again, is the transgender community. The media is riddled with transphobia, and more and more people have become less accepting of the term and the identity.
Someone who is transgender suffers from a medical condition called Gender Dysphoria, where they do not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth, their head & heart do not match their body. Therefore, they transition to help their condition and lead a much happier life.
Yet, despite its medical nature, ignorance seeps through the people who express their hatred towards something that isn’t “scientifically natural”, and society continues to buy into it.
With ridiculous legal strategies like the Trans Panic Defense, and transphobic laws being passed across America, the world for transgender youth has began to become a lot more frightening. This is why Pride is important; to continue protesting against LGBTQ+ discrimination, and stand beside the trans community.
Pride in the UK
The first UK Pride parade was held on the 1st July 1972 in London, and had just over 2000 participants. Since then, Pride has been an ongoing celebration and protest across the UK. Schools have began to open their doors to LGBTQ+ education since the repeal of Section 28 in 2003, and since Monday 14th June 2021, gay and bisexual men are now legally able to donate their blood!
In the UK, the Gender Recognition Act of 2004 has given the trans community the recognition they deserve, allowing them to acquire new birth certificates. While same sex marriage was legalised in 2013.
Gay rights in the UK has come a long way since 1533, but there is still a long way to go. The LGBTQ community will continue to fight for their rights, alongside their allies, and work towards a world where all minorities have their voice heard.
However, there are a lot of things that you can do as well! Our school has our own LGBTQ+ club, for all the queer individuals and allies of this school, known as The Rainbow Alliance, run by the lovely Mrs MacKellar.
You can email her about questions you have, and learn about the different ways you can support the community! You can talk to your openly queer peers, and learn first-hand the experiences of the LGBT community, but most importantly, support them! Listen to what they have to say, and learn about their identities and sexualities!
If you hear homophobic or transphobic comments being thrown around the classroom, speak out about it or tell a teacher, and make sure that there are consequences for these actions. Support charity organisations, like Stonewall!
Each and every single one of us has a unique way of expressing our sexuality and identity, and each and every single one of us deserves to have our voice heard. We are all valid, so let’s stop being ignorant of one another, and learn to have some pride!
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