Celebrating Pride Month!

While for some, June marks the start of summer, and for others, it marks the annual Pride Month. Overnight, companies and allies alike change social media handles and more to reflect their support of the LGBTQ+ community. Some will argue it’s simply for profit and attention. Others will argue that it’s uncalled for and shouldn’t happen at all. But most will just celebrate Pride Month for what it is… remembering and honoring those who have fought with their lives to get us to the point where we are today.

Do we have a long ways to go? Yes. Do we still have a lot of fighting? Yes again. But considering where LGBTQ+ rights stood even ten years compared to today, not to mention, decades before that, things have come quite a long way. The more we connect, and the more the world seems to get smaller every day, the more we recognize that our differences are what make the world go round. The idea of fluid sexuality becomes a more common conversation among individuals because as we grow as a society, we learn that not everything fits into this box or that box. Sexuality is especially one of those categories, because to each their own really. Some individuals lean towards this attraction while others find multiple attractions. It is our responsibility as the human race to respect and do our best to understand that not everyone is the same as we are.

Being LGBTQ+ means embracing all those around us because we should be the first to understand the hardships that our community has faced when it comes to understanding and acceptance. I don’t expect everyone to accept who we are, but I do expect them to respect that as a fellow human being, it is who I am. Bottom line.

Now, we all know that we aren’t at that point yet throughout the world. In fact, in many cases, we are watching the fight to restrict human rights increase by those who refuse to respect their fellow human beings. Voting rights. Human rights. Sexual rights. The list keeps going.

So really, what I am saying here, is that until more rights are recognized on a federal level, worldwide level, whatever level it needs to be on, I am all for Pride Month. I’m also all for companies and brands showing their support during Pride Month, even if it’s just to ultimately increase the bottom line. Because the way I see it, the more exposure to LGBTQ+ rights, lives, and more, the better chance our community has to maybe, eventually, receive the same rights as others, without having to fight for them around every corner.

So as we venture through the middle of Pride Month here, stand tall and proud whether you are LGBTQ+ or a friend of the community, because the louder our voices are together, the stronger we are as well. Happy Pride! 🌈