Why I love PRIDE

So, over the past week, as I have slowly ramped up to over-the-moon excited about attending the Baltimore Gay Pride Parade & Block Party this weekend, I’ve definitely seen some raised eyebrows, and occasionally been flat-out asked why I, a woman happily married to a man with a beautiful biological son to show for it,  love Pride so much.

For starters, never assume someone married to a person of the opposite sex is heterosexual.  Those of you that follow me on Facebook know that I posted an article earlier this week about a gay man happily married to his soul mate- a woman.  Sexuality comes in many shades, and is often fluid.  This is especially important for my clinician friends to remember- yes, you may confuse or even mildly offend a client by asking about his or her sexual orientation when there’s clearly a band on the left ring finger or the client has just referred to an opposite-sex fiancée, but you may also open the door for someone who really needs to talk about their deceiving appearance.

Secondly, I care so much about Pride because I care so much about equal rights.  Sure, they’re always listed in the paper as Gay Rights, but when it comes to marriage equality, adoption rights, next-of-kin and end of life rights, etc., we are in fact talking about equal rights.  The LGBT community is not asking for more rights than their heterosexual counterparts- they are simply asking for the same rights.

But those are both reasons why I care about supporting the LGBT community so much in general.  Here’s why I specifically love PRIDE:

PRIDE is about love.

It’s that simple.  Pride is about love.  Other parades celebrate honor, glory, freedom or victory.  Those things are celebrated at Pride too, but unlike all those other parades, at Gay Pride, love and acceptance are front and center.  At every Gay Pride parade I’ve ever attended, the group that gets the loudest cheers is the group from PFLAG (Parents & Friends of Lesbians and Gays), who are all carrying signs saying how much they love and accept their gay children.  The crowd is packed with people from the LGBT community and their supporters, and there is love everywhere.  Hugs for old friends.  Hugs for new friends.  Messages of support and encouragement for those newly out of the closet, or those thinking about coming out soon.  Cheers of support for the brave people who are on the forefront of the Gay Rights movement.  It’s a place where people who are feeling shamed, silenced and hidden by their families and society in general can feel safe to stand up and say, “This is me, exactly as I was made, and I am proud of who I am!” and be greeted by nothing but love, support and open arms.

That is why I love PRIDE.