Pride month features

This is a super exciting piece featuring young individuals on the LGBTQ+ spectrum from across the country in attempt to create dialogue through observing the contributions and opinions of the thriving, resilient LGBTQ+ community members living among us about the significance of pride month.

Each feature was asked the same three questions:

1. What does pride month mean to you?

2. Why is pride month important & what would you like people who are not on the spectrum to know about pride month?

3. What is your favorite and least favorite thing about pride month?

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Sophia Gipson | Identifies as: Bisexual

1. "It’s a time where I'm allowed to go celebrate people who are like me and not have to come out to do it."

2. "It’s important because it’s the only time out of the year where the LGBT community can really come together and feel proud about who they are. And what I would tell people who aren’t on the spectrum is that we’re all human and we all deserve respect no matter who we love."

3. "My favorite thing is the amount of love and support that is constantly spread around. My least favorite thing about pride is how much hate ends up surfacing from those who don’t support the LGBT community."

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Julian Roy | Identifies as: Gay

1. "To me, pride month is the way that gay people can universally come together and celebrate who they are and their journey of coming out."

2. "Pride month is important to me because it makes me feel included in a community and recognized for who I am. I want people to know the importance of pride month."

3. "My favorite thing about pride month is the love and positivity it promotes. My least favorite thing about pride month is that some people label it negatively, if that makes sense."

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Jazz Singh | "I’m gay and don’t really care about gender. I can go by she or he. It doesn’t really make a difference to me."

1. "In short, to me pride is a big 'fuck you' to society. Time and time again we’re told to feel shame because we’re LGBT+. I think that pride retracts that and says 'fuck that, let’s celebrate it.'"

2. "I’d want them to understand that, depending on the environment, being LGBT+ can feel really lonely. We’re barely represented by the media, pride month isn’t even acknowledged by our own President, and there are still many countries in which you can be criminalized for having same-sex relationships. Pride is important because it lets us know that we’re not alone and we’re not wrong for loving who we love. It gives hope to someone who’s been dying to come out of the closet. It gives reassurance to someone who’s shamed for being on the spectrum. It does all of that and so much more."

3. "My favorite thing about pride is how validated it makes us feel. It celebrates the very thing that society wants us to feel like shit for. The only thing I dislike about pride is the fact that it ends. Pride shouldn’t end. We deserve to feel validated everyday of our lives, just like our cis and straight peers."

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Ali Artero| Identifies as: Bisexual

1. "I'm not sure."

2. "Pride month is important to me because as a bisexual young woman with two gay dads, having a month to recognize us, a group of people who’ve been oppressed for so many years is the least the world can do. pride month gives us a chance to be proud of who we are instead of feeling like we have to hide who we are. And to people who are on the spectrum pride month is just as important to us as Black history month or Latino history month. It’s a month that for us, is a time to be proud of who we are, and for some of us the only time we have to be proud."

3. "My favorite thing about pride month is getting to see all the people out there who are embracing or learning to embrace who they are. And getting to see people who aren't on the spectrum become more accepting of us. However my least favorite thing about pride month is pride month can get very over the top and people off the spectrum use it as a was to generalize all people on the LGBTQ+ spectrum."

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Nikolaos Perrier | Pronouns: He/Him or They/Them- "When it comes to gender, I identify as a transgender male. Even though I do use gender neutral pronouns, I still identify within the binary. When it comes to sexual and romantic attraction, I identify as omniromantic and polyamorous which means I like everybody and I like to be with multiple people at once. Polyamory is different than polygamy as the latter is much more related to religion."

1. To me, pride month is a month I can be at my happiest knowing that when I walk around in the streets, people will be more aware and open about the LGBT+ community in general. It allows me to feel more safe in my identity and celebrate it instead of hiding myself. 

2. Pride month is important because it spread more awareness about our community. On top of that people can finally be open about their identity and feel validated by our society. They can know that there are so many more people out there that understand what they are going through. To people outside the spectrum: If somebody close to you expresses themselves differently than what you expected, don’t judge them. Remember this month is all about people feeling comfortable being who they truly are. 

3. My favorite thing is definitely the joy and comfort being spread around the LGBT community, which are things I don’t usually see from people that are always so afraid of being themselves. My least favorite thing is probably the expectation that during pride month, we should all be flamboyant and extravagant, which is definitely not true and really just shows how many stereotypes there are about our community. 

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Nick Baldwin | Identifies as: Gay

1. "Pride month is a big deal to me cause since i am gay i feel all the societal pressures and such put on to queer people in the community. So this month just kinda stands out as a time where i can be me and proud of being who i am."

2. "This month is important because a lot of people on any of the spectrum don’t always fit in that well with heteros or anyone that isn’t on the spectrum. This is a month where we can all fit in and not be judged for it. This is one of the only times where we can be who we are."

3. "My favorite thing about pride month is that everyone feels more comfortable about who they are and most of us become slightly happier because of it. My least favorite thing about pride month is that i actually become extremely confused on my own identity and who i really am because I’m becoming more aware of the different possibilities of who people can be and who we can express ourselves as."

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Liberty Acosta (me!) | Identifies as: Lesbian

1. Pride month is a time that is dear to my heart. I would classify it as a month of celebrating the incredible amount of courage it takes to be queer in this life, whether you are out or in the closet. This month at times is like a breath of fresh air from the 11 other months when I’ve been holding my breath.

2. Pride is important because it gives a sort of reassurance and support, you know human emotions, things that everyone is capable of feeling, not just those on the spectrum. This month helped me to realize that I am not one of few, I am one of many. What I would ask of people who are not on the spectrum is simply this: Humanize us. The LGBTQ+ community and our pride is not as foreign as you may perceive it.

3. My favorite thing about pride month is the inclusivity that it encourages. I agree with Jazz Singh, in that my least favorite thing about pride is that it ends; I wish I wasn't so deep into a heteronormative culture where I have to hold my breath for the other 11 months.