8 inspiring voices in the LGBTQ+ community on what Pride means to them

“The time I felt the most pride in being the person that I am was when I came out to the world as part of the LGBTIQA+ community. It was the feeling of having both young children and the elders of my community look to me as someone who decided to be true to herself. I felt pride in my coming out as it was something I decided to do on my own terms and timing. Although there was a level of fear with living my truth – because of the perspective I thought my immediate community would have – I still stood [by] who I am as a person. And, all in all, the impact of doing that brought me a wider community.”

“It’s hard to beat what I experience on stage and if you want me to reflect on Pride, it’s almost impossible to match the feeling. Something about what I become there – which is gloriously imprecise – makes me [feel] whole; alive. I like how safe it feels, how wild it feels and, mostly, I like to dissolve in possibilities. I like the theatrics of it; for it is merely a way to deflect the norm. I link Pride to joy. I associate Pride with a luminous, almost childlike energy. No excuses or fear. The stage teaches me every day about Pride and bouncing back in life; the memory of what I felt performing alters me; it gives me more strength, more life. I think Pride has a lot to do with creating your reality, your family, your definition of beauty, of sex and pleasure, of respect – nobody can do it for you. Pride is taking action when nobody else will; it’s a hunger to live fully in the now. The stage is nothing without you taking action and imagining how you could tell your story right. It might be the purest experience of Pride I have [experienced] so far, and the most generous one, as well – an experience of collective dreaming; a surrender. And there are still many more beautiful cracks to adorn, thanks to crazy dreamers with a story to tell.”

“There are many imprinting moments of Pride that I can recall, but I think the most valuable and memorable moment, for me, was when I first ‘came out’ at 19. I was away at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and only came home on holiday. I remember, on one occasion, running errands over Christmas with my mother and my grandmother. My mother stopped on Chancellor Avenue, at the local meat market, and ran in for the Sunday sale. My grandmother turned around from the front passenger seat to look at me, and she said, with a firmness that never required repetition, and a gentleness only a grandmother could offer, ‘I don’t care what you are, you’re mine.’

“I think Pride comes from knowing you belong to someone. To be queer, and someone’s granddaughter, made me feel safe in this world. I hold that near.”

“I came out as transgender publicly during the middle of New York Fashion Week in 2017, which I received overwhelming praise for within the fashion industry. The following year, after advocating for trans acceptance and inclusivity, I began to focus and use my voice to bring awareness to other issues plaguing the fashion industry, including sexual harassment and abuse. I spoke publicly about my personal experiences with sexual assaults I had endured at the hands of colleagues, in professional environments. I made it clear that my priority was to help make the industry become not just more diverse and accepting, but safer for everyone. I understood that changing systemic issues within fashion and modeling wouldn’t be easy, but I didn’t foresee the resistance I’d face for challenging its practices, habits and culture. I was quickly labeled ‘difficult’ and ‘dangerous’ to work with as an outspoken critic of the toxic standards that traumatized and demoralized so many. I was essentially blacklisted by half of the industry, but I never gave up or disappeared.

“Pride doesn’t always come from one’s own achievements; sometimes it comes from having strength of conviction, and standing up for what’s right and just. My pride is in my refusal to be a victim; my rejection of silence and complicity. I took a stand and paid the price, but my ultimate pride is in my integrity and dignity. I don’t regret a thing.”