A Look at the Origin and Evolution of Pride Month

Written by Shae Rufe

Guys, it is Pride Month and I have a lot to say about it. As the resident Lesbian at NTG, and self-proclaimed expert in all things nerdy, I felt it only appropriate to pay homage to all the LGBTQA+ characters and people who make our nerdy world go round. Today I wanted to focus on Pride Month itself, how it started, how it’s evolved, and how impactful and important it has been to all of society. After all, inclusion is very important and so is education. To be honest, I was in my late teens when I learned the true origins of Pride, and I feel it’s important to keep talking about it. This month is near and dear to my heart for many reasons, but above all, Pride has helped so many of us band together and not face life alone. 
 
As I started planning my blogs for this month, I didn’t expect to be quite as open as I am about to be, but I feel it’s extremely important to talk openly about things so that others, who may be experiencing something similar, can know they’re not alone. I intended for this blog to actually be out last week, and the words failed me at the time. For many of us, coming out is a scary thing to do. Having someone close to you do it for you, can be a truly harrowing experience. I was 16 when a friend of mine outed me to my parents. It was 2002, and back then people were still getting killed for being gay, and most teens and young adults were abandoned by their family. I was lucky, my parents are kind and accepting people. Many people aren’t that lucky, however. Many people still get disowned by their families. But while it is dangerous to come out, because you don’t know how someone’s family will react, it is still important to do it. Because you have to be true to yourself and so many are able to do that now because of the brave people that fought hard for us to be proud of who we are.

That brings us to the origins of Pride. Now, a lot of memes have been going around this month about Pride. They’ve actually been going around for over a year now. Most say: “The first Pride was a Riot.” And they’re not wrong. The Stonewall Riots took place on June 28th. 1969 in Greenwich Village, New York. The Riots lasted from June 28th until July 3rd, and were a long time coming. Prior to the riots, police would often raid gay bars and clubs, or rumored gay hang outs. As we’ve seen over the past few years, police brutality is a horrific thing. On the morning of June 28th, police raided the Stonewall Inn. Accounts vary on how the riots really started. Some say someone threw a brick at police, others say it was rumors of police beating people inside the Stonewall Inn that ignited the violence outside. However, it’s one account of a woman being beaten by police and thrown into a wagon that supposedly sparked everyone into action. Many eyewitness accounts vary, but by the end of it, people were fighting against police.

Stonewall is touted as being our first Pride. From there, LGBTQA+ people banded together and started demanding equal treatment. It’s a powerful movement that is still going on today. While there had been other movements for equality in the LGBTQA+ community, none had been as successful as Stonewall. The movement spread, and we today still keep fighting for equal rights. That has since expanded to include Black Lives, Native Lives, and Asian Lives. With the rise of COVID and the subsequent police brutality cases against people of color, the redesigned Pride Flag has been going strong and strives for inclusivity of all people. These movements are extremely important; for so long as one of us is not equal, none of us are equal.

Of course Pride has been met with protests from opposing groups of varying religious backgrounds. However, the Pride Movement sill goes strong. We are just now having openly LGBTQA+ people in media more and more, and even expanding into media directed towards children. Last week, Blue’s Clues showed their support by showing how different families do exist. It’s important for kids to see those things, especially when they come from a family where they have two dads or two moms or have a transgender family member. Inclusivity is extremely important for your children to connect to and with. So far 2021 has proven to be a great year for things like that. I can only hope that the following years will continue to be even better. Without Stonewall, we wouldn’t be here today, celebrating this month. Many people fought hard to see their way of life normalized, and that fight is far from over. Major strides have been made in media to represent the LGBTQA+ community, and don’t worry, I will get into as much of that as I can next time!

Photo Credit: User ‘Another Believer’ via Wikimedia Commons. No edits were made to this image.

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