By Nick Birko-Dolder, Junior Communications Consultant
It’s Pride month, where, for a whole 30-days, brands and businesses plaster rainbows all over their merchandise, workplaces do a drag bingo event, and we talk about what makes us different and celebrate our shared perception of ‘Pride’.
But what is Pride? As a queer person, as much as I welcome straight people's newfound obsession with glitter, drag queens and their use of the term ‘yas queen’ (most of the time), I find myself asking, what has Pride become and what is its purpose in a modern day context?
The Stonewall Riots were a series of spontaneous demonstrations by members of the LGBTQ+ community in response to a police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City, on June 28, 1969 - spearheaded by two trans women of colour.
These riots are widely considered a pivotal event in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, marking the start of the modern gay liberation movement. The impact of the Stonewall Riots on Pride is profound; they inspired the first Pride marches, which commemorate the uprising and celebrate LGBTQ+ identity, rights, and community.
These events have since grown into annual Pride celebrations worldwide, promoting “visibility, equality, and solidarity”. But much like the perfect greenwashing campaign - the reality for queer people is very different to the picture painted by big brands during pride month.
The UK, which once used to be one of Europe’s most welcoming places to be gay, has seen a 462% increase in sexual orientation hate crime reports since 2012 - with last year noting the highest rate of attacks on transgender people on record - with an 11% rise in transphobic hate crime, all of which has been fuelled by a sustained and extremist anti-trans rhetoric.
With the current state of our political domain being incredibly hostile towards LGBTQIA people, and a complex debate ongoing around transgender rights, ‘allies’ should consider, amongst the high jinks, that Pride is as much a celebration as it is a protest.
To help become more aware of the journey LGBTQIA+ people have been through, you need to understand the journey to Pride. And remember, Pride month may be in June, but accepting and respecting LGBTQIA people is an all year round activity.
Businesses should be ensuring they are informed on issues impacting their LGBTQIA colleagues, such as checking in on their preferred pronouns or how they choose to identify. The main rule of thumb here is, if you dont know - politley ask!
To help start a level of awareness this Pride month, check your awareness below on ten significant events in the UK, defining LGBTQIA history, following the Stonewall riots in 1969, through to present day. Once you’ve had the chance to read through these key milestones in LGBTQIA history, ask yourself, is Pride just a party, or should it also be a protest?
1972: The first Pride was held in London, attracting approximately 2,000 participants.
1975: The Liberal Democrats become the first UK political party to support LGBT rights, passing a motion at conference to support ‘full equality for homosexuals’, including equalising the age of consent
1980: The first UK case of AIDS was recorded
1988: UK Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, introduces Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988. The Act states that a local authority "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship".
1992: World Health Organisation declassifies same-sex attraction as a mental illness.
1999: The Admiral Duncan, a gay pub in Soho, is bombed by former British National Party member, David Copeland. The attack kills three people and wounds at least 70.
2003: Section 28 is repealed in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, lifting the ban on local authorities from ‘the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality’.
2004: The Civil Partnership Act 2004 is passed, granting civil partnership in the United Kingdom - giving same-sex couples the same rights and responsibilities as married straight couples in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
2013: Marriage (Same-Sex Couples) Act is passed in England and Wales.
2021: The Government announces plans to legislate to ban conversion therapy, as well as setting up a new fund to increase the support available for survivors.
