Pride Month - what’s the point?

It was seeing posts from other people that reminded me that this month is Pride Month. My first thought was “What a shame that we still have to bang this drum”. My second thought was “Should I be supporting this movement? How should I do that?”

I was unsure if anything I did would make a difference and I'm acutely aware I’ve been 'lucky' in my life to not be (knowingly) held back in any way because of my sexuality. So I didn't wish to appear disingenuous or preachy but...I also didn’t want to ignore the sentiment of such a movement because it’s precisely this type of work that has resulted in me being able to live my life with freedom. Besides, you shouldn't need luck or privilege to minimise the level of prejudice you receive in your life.

But then came the difficulty of what to say: How do I pitch it? What’s the right balance? What do I really think? Who cares? What really is the point?? I thought of loads of things I wanted to say but they all sounded naff and parochial when compared to the deep complexity of the issue at hand.

I was just about to admit defeat and take the easy road of keeping quiet. And then I saw a post on a friend’s social media feed which made my heart sink and my eyes fill up :

“Pride is important because someone tonight still believes they’re better off dead than being gay.”

So that’s the point.

And so we have to keep trying. Thanks to all of you who are.