Daily Herald opinion: A touch of history: Why Pride celebrations represent more than a nod to a single special interest
Happy Pride Month!
That simple sentiment upsets many people. It doesn’t have to.
You hear all kinds of responses to news of Pride parades, flag-raisings or festivals.
“When is the straight pride parade happening?”
“Do we really need an entire month for this?
Or, “We don’t need these public celebrations. Keep it private.”
That’s a lot of anger focused on a month that’s intended to be all about love and tolerance.
Perhaps a little historical perspective can help.
Every June, Pride Month unfolds around the world and right here in the suburbs with color, celebration and commemoration. Streets fill with rainbow flags, music and love. But beneath the festivities is the struggle, activism and hard-won visibility for LGBTQ+ people.
Pride Month commemorates the Stonewall Uprising of June 1969, a pivotal moment in LGBTQ+ history. For years, LGBTQ+ individuals were harassed, arrested and shunned simply for existing. When police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City, the community pushed back, igniting protests that galvanized a movement for LGBTQ+ rights.
Pride, then, isn’t just a party. It represents progress. It honors those who fought for the right to live and love openly, and it acknowledges the ongoing struggles many LGBTQ+ people still face around the world, from legal discrimination to violence and marginalization.
So when people ask why there isn’t a “straight parade,” the answer lies in the purpose of Pride itself — celebrating identity and asserting equality in the face of discrimination.
And the question misses the point of what Pride represents. Heterosexual people have never needed a movement to fight for the right to marry, adopt, serve openly in the military or live without fear of losing their jobs due to who they love. For the most part, relationships between men and women have been protected by society, warmly reflected in the media and embraced by social expectations. In the past — and even now — the landscape has been far different for same-sex couples.
Pride exists because LGBTQ+ people have been denied dignity and equality.
Asking why there's no “straight parade” is like asking why there's a Black History Month but no White History Month. One exists to correct the absence of recognition and justice, while the other already dominates the narrative.
The good news is, anyone bothered by Pride events doesn’t have to partake. A parade, festival or rainbow flag won’t hurt anyone, but can provide a show of respect and recognition to individuals who previously had to hide from society.
And maybe, too, these celebrations will brighten a June day with the message they spread that is meaningful for everyone — love is love. This is what Pride Month is all about.