Pride is an event that is needed more than ever.

The month of pride is much more than seeing your favourite artists perform on a stage in your local town or going to a drag brunch with your huns of a weekend with a rainbow flag painted on your cheek, until we as a community are seen as equal, the fight will continue and the road ahead is longer than most people think.

There are 64 countries TODAY that homosexuality is a crime and in some cases punishable by death. 32 bills, this year, have been filed in numerous states in America that would see the art form of drag being performed and put in the same category as “adult movie theatres” and “strip clubs” with moves also being made to even outlaw the art form.

Imagine being a young queer person seeing these facts, scared for their own future, thinking that they were at fault for simply being authentically who they want to be? We have an obligation as human beings to protect these people and educate ourselves and those around us about the LGBTQ+ community.

You may think that these issues don’t effect us as we in the UK have moved far ahead of any of these crazy bills and laws in far away places. You’d be wrong.

Monthly I still get homophobic language shouted at me on my high street/ on the tube on the way to work. People still feel it acceptable to ask me when first being introduced to me “are you gay?”

Until we live in a world where “coming out” to our friends and family is something that isn’t deemed necessary and trans people aren’t still under attack on our streets, Pride is still very much something that is needed here in the UK.

So what can you do?

-Educate yourselves on the correct pronouns to use when speaking to people from the LGBTQ+ community

-Educate yourself on signs that someone around you may be struggling with their own journey. Whether that be sexual orientation / gender etc and what you can do to help said person. This link is a good start

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/lgbtqia-mental-health/supporting-someone-who-is-lgbtqia/

Being gay in my opinion isn’t a choice and for a long time something that I would have done anything to change.

Today as I write this as a 32 year old man it’s something I wouldn’t change for the world. Being a part of such a diverse/ open/ loving and creative community that I get to call my chosen family is a part of my life I count my lucky stars everyday that I am a part. I wish I could tell 12 year old me, confused, scared and worried for my future that it will all be ok, because it’s more than ok, it’s pretty bloody fabulous x