I've spent the better part of the week trying to wrap my head around all the emotions from this Pride month. On Grace Changes Things, I strive to offer support, resources, education and hope to families of trans kids and all those who want to learn more. My aspirational goal is to provide light in the midst of the darkness we've been experiencing. Grace Changes Things promises to be a soft place to land. Sometimes, that's harder than I imagined.
I look forward to Pride every year. It's like a giant rainbow hug. I tend to shed a lot of happy tears, touched by the show of support and the celebratory nature of Pride festivities.
This year hit different.
In a year when more than 500 pieces of legislation were launched at LGBTQ+ people, and when in my home state of Ohio, the gender affirming care ban became law and trans athletes were banned from competition, I couldn't help but feel that Pride was especially performative this year. Ew. I watched some of the largest companies in the globe participate in our marches and parades, but when asked to flex their muscles to protect trans kids...crickets.
This past week alone, the Ohio legislature continued playing games with kids' lives, bypassing procedural rule in order to ban bathroom use for trans kids and adults. Read more about that here. Also of note, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee announced that, if elected, he will defund any school showing support of trans kids on Day 1. Of all the problems facing our country and our world--THIS is his #1 priority??
Sigh.
And, as a poignant exclamation point to the final week of Pride, our daughter gathered all of her documents to obtain a passport (not a small feat for a trans person). Her exit strategy is nearly finalized. If that seems like an overreaction, read up on what's already happened in Florida--a state she can't even travel to because it's illegal for her to use the women's restroom or to list female on her state identification.
So yeah, I'm struggling to feel the warm and fuzzies. And I know I'm not alone.
As much as I didn't want to write about negativity on the last day of Pride, I also know that I promised honesty. Our families deserve at least that. A child's journey to living as their authentic self is beautiful and inspiring. But it's also incredibly challenging and is often filled with landmines. I want to help make a family's transition plan as easy as possible, but I also want to prepare them as best I can.
PRIDE month celebrates and commemorates who we are, who we love, and how far we've come. It's an important, visible reminder that we're not going anywhere--LGBTQ+ people and families can't be erased. But it's also rife with PREJUDICE. And so much hate.
I'll admit, I get caught up in the celebratory aspect of Pride month as much as anyone. We fly a Progress Pride flag, I wear a rainbow watch band, paint my toes in rainbow colors, have a rainbow purse strap, and show off my colorful rainbow earrings (my collection of rainbow jewelry is quite extensive). I'm literally dripping in rainbows throughout June. But that doesn't mean I pack it all away June 30.
Now, more than ever, we need to remember that the Pride movement isn't just one month--it's all year long. We need allyship July through May too. We need you to do more than show up to a parade waving your rainbow flag. More than decorating a float, draping employees in free pride swag and blasting Born This Way from your speakers. We need you to show up in C-suites and state capitols as well. Proudly, loudly and loyally support the LGBTQ+ community. Pick up the phone and call your elected officials. Tell them you don't want to do business in a state that targets your employees and customers.
As corporate America lessens its support (read more here), the Pride movement feels precarious at best. It only continues if we stand up to those trying to shut it down. There are roughly 340 million people in the United States. Only 7.6% are LGBTQ+. Math isn't my strong suit, but that's not enough to effect significant change. LGBTQ+ equality rests on all of us.
In the words of the one who started it all, "No pride for some of us without liberation for all of us."