Consider why we have Pride Month

“But why do we have Pride Month? When is Straight Pride Month?”

I can’t believe I still see this tired, old argument.

We have Pride Month to celebrate and support the LGBTQ+ community because they are a marginalized group. For centuries, being straight has been the “default” expectation. Anyone outside of that “default” has faced the implied message from society that they don’t belong, that their true selves aren’t acceptable.

We have Pride Month because people are still bullied, harassed, and even killed for not fitting the “default” setting. According to GLAAD, 2024 averaged 2.5 anti-LGBTQ+ incidents every day, including bomb threats, vandalism, and assaults, which doesn’t even include the hate spread every day in memes, comment sections, and private messages.

We have Pride Month because we’ve made young people feel that being gay is so wrong, so unnatural and evil, that they would be better off dead than embrace that part of who they are. According to the Trevor Project, 39% of LGBTQ+ youth considered suicide in 2024, and more than one in 10 attempted suicide.

That is why the LGBTQ+ community and its allies celebrate Pride Month. That is why there are rainbows and parades everywhere, why organizations share Pride posts, why we see a prism of colors across skylines.

We have no societal subtext implying that being straight is weird. Straight relationships dominate movies, shows, and children’s books. And I’ve never heard of someone being pushed to the point of contemplating suicide because they were straight.

We don’t have Straight Pride Month because being straight is not and has never been a social crime, as should be the case with anyone’s sexual and gender orientation.

I hope for even more celebration of Pride Month and less anger about lifting up those who have been historically pushed away.

Alice Froemling

South Elgin