Let me start this post off by saying this post is going to upset both sides. So if you're easily offended you may want to click out now before your feelbads get hurt.
As we enter Pride Month, I see a flood of posts & advertisements of love, rainbow, and acceptance. However, these are also followed by posts of hatred, disgusting misinterpretations, and so much of the "God doesn't love you". Whether its religion, old beliefs, or just hatred, they are close behind the LGBT Pride posts.
Why I'm Disappointed.
I'll start off with as proud as I am of coming out as a member of the LGBT community, I am disappointed in what they have become. The alphabet soup has gone rogue and there is a large number of us who aren't okay with it. I know our gay ancestors, those who laid the groundwork for us to have equal rights, are not looking down with pride at what we have turned this community into. A joke.
I do not believe the wonderful gays and queens in the Stonewall Riot of 1969 ever thought we would be where we are today. I don't believe this is what they fought for. These were people who dealt with hiding in bars run by the mafia, getting poor service, crap drinks, and ran the risk of being busted and put on the sex offender registry. Please let that sink in, 1969, that was during some of your lifetimes! It was not long ago.
So as back and forth as this post is going to feel, we get Pride because we had to fight, and still continue to have to. Discrimination is still alive today.
Now to acknowledge the fad that the LGBT has drawn. It's not "cool" or "trendy" to be gay. It's who you are! So many of these young kids have started coming out as this or that because they want to be a part of the community but they are straight! They just want to "stand out" or feel cool. Stop it. It makes so many people think it's all a phase, that it is just mental illness. You're gay or you're not.
Here's a hot button... there are two genders. If you want to change it, fine. If you want to dress in drag, great! (You look fabulous darling!) But stop it with this 30-something genders. This is one thing that has made us look like an absolute joke. If you're gender fluid and want to bounce between the two, you do you! But stop with this new gender being added to the list every time we turn around. Do you know how many of these dang things are the same idea just worded differently? Knock it off. Doing this has just made people roll their eyes and not take us as a community seriously.
The one that annoys me personally is Pansexual. "It means I don't care what gender you are!" Girl, that's bisexual. IT'S THE SAME DAMN THING. Again I say... knock it off! These million-and-a-half new identities have gotten out of control. Sorry, not sorry but you're hurting our community with all these new genders and orientations.
Every time our community receives acceptance, we have to push it to the next extreme. Whether it's because we don't know how to operate without being a victim of something or we just want to see how far we can push this... It's gotten out of hand. Let's focus on the issues we have at hand instead of seeing how many new genders and orientations we can come up with. Let's focus on the kids thrown out of their homes for coming out, our gay/trans homeless community, and the suicide rates our community faces. Let's focus on what is important.
The chaos has opened up for sick groups to try to say the are also part of a group. None of us accept this bull of "minor-attracted". You are a pedophile and not a part of our community. When we started this chaos, it leaves it open to others to try to join that have no business being a part of our community.
So, now back to the other side of things.
Why Pride?
Until we don't face hatred and discrimination for who we love, we get to celebrate being strong and proud of who we are in the face of diversity. I've never heard of someone being denied something because they were straight. I've never had to sit by while people talk about how much they hate straight people. I don't hear how disgusting the straights are.
This is why we get Pride.
Just this last year, I had a "friend", cutting my hair at their salon. They work across from the wonderful Bread and Circus restaurant, a well-known safe place for gays. They proudly fly pride flags and make a point to show they are a safe place for everyone. Well, this "friend" is a very open, hateful homophobe. I tried giving him multiple chances, but he would always bring up how much he hated the "f**s" and "d***s" across the street. I'd remind him I was one of those and he'd say it was different... My assumption was it was okay because I'm a pretty white girl he found attractive.
This is why we get Pride.
Until this type of hatred is so prevalent, we get to stay loud and proud. Until we aren't denied rights for who we love, we get Pride.
So here are the 7 reasons why Pride is important to me.
It's the one month we get to celebrate who we are, loudly and proudly! It's the month we can be loudly gay because we've earned it. We celebrate each other, we show love to each other. It gives a place of acceptance.
We get to celebrate our triumphs and the rough road many of us traveled. Whether its the internal struggles we faced before coming out, the guts it took to come out, the backlash after the fact, or the struggles we face today. We celebrate ourselves and each other. We celebrate the rough road we traveled to get here.
It's a celebration of love!! The warm feeling of being at a Pride celebration cannot be beat.
It's a place where many can find resources and receive education. Knowing where to go when things get tough as someone of the LGBT community is crucial!
Pride is a great place to make friends and connect with others who are like you! People who can understand your struggles. People who will love you for who you are.
We get to remember and celebrate our amazing founders like Marsha P Johnson, the famous queen who played a crucial role in the Stonewall Riot. Those who laid the groundwork for us to have acceptance one day.
It's f***ing fun! Let's face it, Pride is a blast. The colors, the people, the activities! If you haven't gone, you should.
With all this said, can we just love one another? Can you take a step back and stop hating? I challenge you to show love instead of hate this Pride season.
Now that I've offended both sides, thanks for reading!
-M
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