Pride is the one time of year where every brand celebrates the loves of all of it consumers…
To queer people however, pride is the time of the year where they can feel accepted, because at the end of the day the fight is all over and everyone is all progressive and that, however being a queer individual I can say that there is no way that this is true.
So what really is pride? It’s whatever you want it to be.
If you’re an LGBTQ+ individual, it can be the time where you celebrate the strides that have been made to making the world more inclusive, or it can be the time where you rebel against the heteronormative ways that have been forced upon you. If you are an ally (a person who identifies as heterosexual, but is supportive of the LGBTQ+ movement) then you can celebrate how the world has improved for the people or community that you care about.
And if you are a homophobe (if so, why are you reading this article?) you can claim it is entirely unfair that your love is not celebrated for one month a year. If you are someone who wants straight pride and you have been able to get to this point in this article, please leave thinking just one thing - be grateful that your history does not require you to have a straight pride.
Attending the pride event in Silloth gave me two rather conflicting emotions. The first was the overarching sense of joy, the fact that a small town in Cumbria could have a pride event and be just as inclusive and loving as we’ve come to see in non rural areas, made me feel as though the world really was shifting.
The second emotion was jealousy, the feeling that other places and other people should and in fact could be doing more, we could be more inclusive and more loving however we simply aren’t doing doing enough.
Speaking to the many people who attended the event I was able to discuss the what pride meant to them and how pride was important. From discussing it with people who attended the event they were enthused by the fact that a small town like Silloth could host an event like this highlighting queer people and their lives.
Being at the event was incredible as someone who identifies as queer and who lives in Cumbria the representation in this area is lacking, however on the day being queer meant nothing, looking different was nothing to be ashamed of. The event itself reminded me of a carnival or a festival, however it seemed to just be celebrating love and the many different forms that it takes. Joe Bell You can find more out about Silloth Pride 2020 here.
