What you need to know about Pride
Starting with the Stonewall Uprising in June 1969, Pride Month commemorates and celebrates LGBTQIA+ activism and culture through the years. Here's what you need to know.
When did Pride start?
Pride is celebrated in June, as that was the month when the Stonewall riots took place. The Stonewall riots were significant protests in the US on June 28, 1969. It became a catalyst for an emerging gay rights movement for people in America and around the world. The nation's first Gay Pride marches were held a year after the Stonewall riots.
Did you know? An American lady called Brenda Howard is known as 'The Mother of Pride' after organizing the first-ever Gay Pride march.
What is Pride month about?
Pride month is about acceptance, equality, celebrating the work of LGBTQIA+ people, education in LGBTQIA+ history, and raising awareness of issues affecting the LGBTQIA+ community.
It also calls for people to remember how damaging homophobia is.
What happens during Pride month?
During Pride month, colorful parades, concerts, and marches usually occur. The rainbow flag symbolizing the LGBTQIA+ community can be seen across Pride marches worldwide.
Why is the movement called 'Pride'?
The suggestion to call the movement 'Pride' came from L. Craig Schoonmaker, who in 2015 said: "A lot of people were very repressed. They were conflicted internally and didn't know how to come out and be proud. That's how the movement was most useful, because they thought, 'Maybe I should be proud." – L. Craig Schoonmaker.
Essentially, Pride is all about being proud of who you are no matter who you love.
What is the origin of the Pride flag?
In 1978, artist and designer Gilbert Baker were commissioned by San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk — one of the first openly gay elected officials in the US — to make a flag for the city's upcoming Pride celebrations.
Baker, a prominent gay rights activist, took inspiration from the rainbow to reflect the many groups within the gay community, with six distinct colors in use, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.
Over the last few years, activists worldwide have adopted 'The Progress Flag' as their symbol for the community. Designed by Daniel Quasar in 2018, it features black and brown stripes to represent people of color and baby blue, pink and white to include the trans flag in its design.
Who celebrates Pride?
Pride events welcome everyone who feels their sexual identity fits outside the heterosexual mainstream. It's also a celebration that many allies from outside the LGBTQIA + community join. There are plenty of opportunities for individuals to show support, observe, listen, and be educated.
What does LGBTQIA+ stand for?
Pride is a celebration of people coming together in love and friendship to show how far LGBTQIA+ rights have come and how there's still work to be done in some places. LGBT+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. The QIA stands for queer, intersex, and asexual. Queer is a term for non-straight people; intersex refers to those whose sex is not clearly defined because of genetic, hormonal, or biological differences; and asexual describes those who don't experience sexual attraction.
These terms may also include gender-fluid people or those whose gender identity shifts over time or depending on the situation. The + is an inclusive symbol to mean 'and others' to include people of all identities.