Happy Pride!

Happy Pride!

What a weird thing to say in a way. It's not as weird as the people who say Happy Memorial Day, but it's still a little weird. 

Pride came from protest. Pride came from reaching a point where not being left alone to just BE became too much to bear. Pride was a riot. Pride was a reaction to police brutality. 

Pride is being able to stand up and say, "This is who I am." That's what Pride is. 

And so we celebrate Pride Month, or Pride Season, depending on where you live. We say Happy Pride and it sort of translates to Happy that you get to be you! Which, okay, sure. But what a real pisser that it still has to be a thing put in a month or a day or one parade or a drink special or a brand logo. Shouldn't it just be by this point? 

The origins of Pride were a push back on not being allowed to just be, and here we are, 50 years later, still pushing back. 

And this year? Wow. There is a lot to push against. Anti trans legislation popping up all over the country. Don't Say Gay flourishing through Florida. Seeing the old pedophilia trope getting dusted off and tossed out with the "GROOMER!" label.

Looking at a Supreme Court that is primed to overturn Obergefell. 

It's a lot. 

Like a lot, a lot. 

Obviously my family has a lot at stake here. It was a year ago yesterday that Katie told us she is trans. She had already started her HRT a week before that. She posted her year apart pictures this week. I can see a lot of changes in her face and in her body but it's still the change in her bearing that strikes me. She's just happier. Happy Pride, indeed.

We've also talked about the fact that I have been hesitant claim the bisexual mantel because I've only been in heterosexual relationships. I just feel like no Stonewall no Parade. But...on the other hand bisexual erasure is a thing that happens all the time (thank you, Cami, for the solid education on this). Because I can and do pass easily as just plain old hetero nobody assumes differently. Even though I've not hidden the fact that I have a crush on Charlize Theron (and Megan Rapinoe and Laverne Cox) or how watching Bound was (as cliché as this is) a real watershed moment for me. People are shocked when I say that I find all genders attractive. Even though I've been saying all along that I find all genders attractive. It's easier to discount what I say as just words and put me in the hetero box. 

Katie helped me understand that who I am with does not define who I am. And that not feeling "gay enough" is so common to bisexuals that it's just understood as normal in most queer communities. I am who I am and my husband and child are good with it, and I am as well. I've not had the challenges but I am still who I am. Who I find attractive has nothing to do with their gender. That's who I am.

So Happy Pride!

Welcome to June where corporations bring out their rainbow logos. Bigots rail against those rainbow logos and ask "where's my parade?" This June please pay attention to what else they do. The corporations and the bigots. Where are the dollars going? What laws are being rammed through Republican legislatures? What language is being used when discussing the LGBTQIA+ community? What are we at risk of losing? What is coming our way? How do we make sure we are ready to, once again, reinforce that it's not special rights, it's equal rights?

Are you ready to fight for the rights of everyone? Every. One.

Pride is Protest. 

Are you ready?

Happy Pride, everybody!