Global Pride Day

As you might have noticed on Connect or across various social media platforms, it’s Pride Month or as I prefer to call it, Pride Season, since Pride is celebrated at different times for various cities/countries. However, today, 27th June, is the Global Pride Day :rainbow_flag: and I wanted to take this opportunity to talk a little bit about Pride!

Firstly, for those who don’t know, I’m gay. Ask me in person and I’ll probably make a joke and squirm away from answering the question. But hiding behind a screen and keyboard, it’s much easier to write the closet away. :sweat_smile: Anyway, I was definitely born this way and as much as it is me, I don’t really subscribe to labels since I want folks to know me as me not what you think I should be like just because I’m gay…or a geek…or a gamer…or whatever.

What is Pride?

  • Pride is a celebration of the LGBT+ community; acknowledging the challenges of the past, appreciating the sacrifices made for equality and recognition, and to constantly educate within and outside the community that there’s still much to be done.
  • LGBT stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender, and was used in the 1990s. Since then, the term has grown to LGBTQIA (Queer, Intersex, Asexual) and even more. For simplicity, the term LGBT+ is used quite often where the ‘plus’ is to include all the other terms.

Who celebrates Pride?

  • Obviously, the majority of the LGBT+ community celebrates Pride.
  • But, anybody can celebrate Pride. You don’t have to be part of the LGBT+ community to celebrate Pride. A lot of friends, family members and supporters come to celebrate Pride.
  • And if you’re on the fence, go read up about it, speak to folks and try to understand why. Ultimately, it’s about universal love and equality.

When is Pride?

  • Pride Month is in June to acknowledge the Stonewall Riots that also took place in the same month.
  • But Pride is celebrated at different times and you can check out this site to see when Pride is celebrated in different parts of the world.
  • In Manchester (UK), we celebrate Pride during the Summer Bank Holiday Weekend which is the last weekend in August. The main celebrations will be from Friday to Monday during the bank holiday but there will also be numerous events held throughout the month of August.

Why should we celebrate Pride? (this is my personal answer)

  • I was born this way, but civilisation has evolved where in quite a lot places, it is not considered normal to be gay and there is still a lot of discrimination, persecution and violence towards the LGBT+ community.
  • I’ve spent 20 years in the UK where it’s more tolerant and accepting but despite having a lot of gay friends here, I still have a lot of underlying issues: I still struggle to open up to people and I still get anxious and avoid talking about myself for fear of having to come out. A lot of my introvertness stems from this.
  • It’s not a nice feeling to have all these insecurities and self-doubts, or to have to live a secret double life and I would not wish this on anybody else. So, it’s very important to me that we should celebrate Pride and to stand up and be counted.
  • In August, Manchester undergoes a beautiful transformation in preparation for celebrating Pride: a lot of shops start to hang rainbow flags or have special banners out with positive messages of love and equality. For that one month, it may sound silly, but I feel absolutely normal, loved and accepted. I can’t quite put it down into words, but it’s special.

Where is Pride?

  • Pride is everywhere!
  • No matter what your situation may be, always be proud of who you are. You may be able to shout it out from the tallest building, or you can only do so in a quiet prayer. Whatever it may be, be strong and know that you are part of a larger global community that understands, appreciates and loves you for everything that you are!

How is Pride celebrated?

  • I can only speak from my experience here in the UK but Pride is celebrated in many forms. You can find out more about Manchester’s celebrations here.
  • The main celebration starts with the Pride Parade that starts on one end of the city and snakes it way to Manchester’s Gay Village. The Gay Village is a neighbourhood that’s filled with bars, restaurants and shops that are gay centric. It’s a safe place for the LGBT+ community to hang out.
  • In the Gay Village, there will be streat parties, stalls, fun fairs, and music stages. There’s a section filled with charities that support the community and there will also be stalls set up to educate the community. At the music stages, there would be singers/performers from all over to provide entertainment throughout the 4 day weekend.
  • Across the city, many bars/restaurants will organise gay centric events. It may be quite cliché but those are usually karaoke nights or cocktail parties.
  • Also, throughout the month of August, the local arts council will organise many gay themed exhibitions, shows, movie screenings, book readings etc.
  • On the last day of the 4 day weekend, a candlelit vigil is held to remember those who lost their lives to HIV, to continue to fight the stigma that it has and to give strength to those living with HIV.

I hope the above will give you an idea of what Pride celebrations are all about. I have also been very fortunate to celebrate Pride in other cities beside Manchester and I’ll share with you some photos of them.

Helsinki Pride, Finland

  • I was actually here for a badminton competition (part of a wider Gay Games), my very first international match actually; I got a bronze in single (Group D) and gold in doubles (Group C). And I only realised a few days before that it coincided with their Pride celebrations!
  • All participants in the Gay Games got to take part in the parade and march down the streets of Helsinki! Pretty sweet!

Oakland Pride, California, USA

  • I was in San Francisco for the Local Guides Summit 2016 and was there a few days earlier. I was looking for things to do and found out that Oakland was celebrating their Pride and went over to watch the parade!
  • It was quite family oriented and had a lot of kids and family members joining in the march which was really nice to see.

Provincetown Pride, Massachusetts, USA

  • For a change, I actually did know that Pride was taking place! My friends and I wanted to see what it was like in America so a group of about 10 of us went over to Provincetown which is a very popular gay coastal town just outside Boston.
  • It was definitely quite different to the European celebrations and it was very much like the Mardi Gras festival that I have seen on TV, where folks would toss bead necklaces at revelers.
  • My highlight of the trip was actually going whale watching and wow…what an experience!

Manchester Pride, UK

  • Last but not least, Manchester Pride that I’ve watched year after year after year.
  • To help build up my courage and get over my fear of being gay, a few years back, I volunteered to be a parade marshal. That was quite fun and I got to see the charitable side of Pride.
  • Since then, I’ve marched twice at the parade with my badminton club.

And I’ve put together some clips that I recorded from Manchester Pride 2019. I made the recordings in a quite impromptu way and then I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with them. Perhaps, the fear got the better of me. But, at least, it’s done now to share with you all!

Anyway, this is my experience and understanding of Pride. I hope you’ve enjoyed it and got to see one aspect of who I am. If you’ve never had a gay friend or met a gay person…well, I guess, here I am! I hope that you can realise that I am no different from anybody else. Maybe just slightly better looking. :kissing_heart: I’m kidding!

And if you have any positive stories to tell, please feel free to share them in the comments below! Perhaps, you’ve watched a Pride parade in your city and it was different to what I’ve shown here. We are here to share our differences and hopefully, celebrate them in a safe space too!

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@AdrianLunsong

Seriously I’m never know more untill read your post today about LGBTQ .

honestly in my place especially Sukabumi Indonesia ,speaking about LGBTQ is something controversy and always arguing never ending , there still exists, few of them I know but LGBTQ never show their self .

By the way as you said and I know this is not my question only , much of friends same , our big question w -h- y gay always handsome ?

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@AdrianLunsong Take my congratulations with your holiday. I see it’s important for you. It’s great that you accept yourself and can find the friends which think similar. The main for everybody is to stay yourself and to be happy. The way against all is difficult.

But like you are hiding behind the screen and keyboard, let me to say my opinion, staying safe behind my computer also.

LGBT isn’t widespread in my country, at least they are not open, and I like it. Nowadays LGBT often becomes a trend, a fashion. You say you was born in this way, so it’s your nature and the part of you. But it’s not a secret that some young people become gays because it’s cool, they can feel themselves unique, maybe as the way against the society, as the way of their independence expression. Not because they are really such.

There are a lot of advertising of LGBT everywhere nowadays. Almost no TV series stays without some gay now.

I think this LGBT popularization is dangerous.

And I am really afraid that one day it would be ashamed to be a usual, natural, it would be regarded as outdated.

And we, usual heterosexuals, would stand for our rights like you stand for yours now.

Always remember about this, please.

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@AdrianLunsong

About Global Pride day, I am seeing this for the first time. I don’t know there is a day set outside for LGBTQ because in my country there is nothing like such. There’s no doubt that LGBTQ is becoming prevalent nowadays unlike before. But yet still in my community it is actually seen as a taboo.

Many years ago when I was in high school many people who turn out to have different sexual orientation were expelled from school and since then others started to become more secretive like you said “you hide behind the screen of your computer”.

From the testimonies of many LGBTQ students, they were introduced to it, they weren’t born like that. Some said it was from the kind of clips and movies they see when they were little and some because of the kind of environment and people they grew up with.

In Nigeria, LGBTQ is an offense punishable by law up to 14years imprisonment, yet I haven’t read in the newspapers or seen in the news when one has been convicted. So it might just be a trend.

It is nice many people might be like this and are coming out.

I just want to say also that I am straight.

Best regards.

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@Nyainurjanah In Malaysia, it is also the same. I did a quick search online and came across this page from Wikipedia. You can see why very few people in our countries would want to be identified as LGBT+.

On a lighter note and at the risk of offending my gay friends, not every gay person I know is handsome! :rofl: Like everyone else, we come in all shapes and sizes: tall, short, fat, slim, dark skinned, fair skinned… and everything in between. Physical beauty can be two things I suppose. Natural beauty that comes from genetics or ‘manufactured’ beauty that comes from eating well, exercising, personal grooming etc. Some of my friends care about looking at their best all the time. A lot of my friends don’t and we’re just as lazy as everyone else about the ‘manufactured’ beauty. :sweat_smile:

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@OlgaKlimchik Thanks for understanding why Pride is important for me and all the LGBT+ community.

Gays have existed for a very long time. With more gay representation in the media, it is helping people see that it is not something abnormal or to be ashamed about. And for the younger generation, it is perhaps giving them more courage to be openly gay. Sadly, I can’t speak for the younger generation as I’m old now :sweat_smile: but the younger generation, both gays and straight, are quite different to me too with their weird obsession with social media.

I can honestly say though that folks don’t choose to be gay just to look cool or fashionable. Being gay runs the constant risk of being bullied at school, getting disowned by their family, getting spat at by their neighbours, losing their jobs at work, getting seriously hurt by thugs, not getting equal access to healthcare or even judicial system, and so much more. When you have all these persecution existing, nobody would ever choose to be gay just because it was trendy to do so.

And you don’t have anything to fear about heterosexuality being outdated! Being gay is not something that will spread and suddenly everyone wants to be gay! Remember, this is not some trend or fashion that folks will want to try because it’s cool. You are born straight. You are born gay. You are born bisexual. You are born transgender. You are born queer. You are born who you are. This is the fundamental point about being gay. I certainly never woke up one day and decided that I wanted to be gay. Just as you never did the same and chose to be straight. Also, the LGBT+ community is not asking for more rights than anyone else. We are asking for equal rights, to be treated just the same as you are. Not more. Not less. Just equal.

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@AdrianLunsong It really takes a lot of courage to open up about it,

I have my friends who are Lesbians but it took them 2-3 years to open up about it,

they face a lot of insecurity and fear of being judged and family pressure are some of the most important factor that affect them, I am more happy to see this post and would love to know more on how can I help LGBTQ community!

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@Austinelewex To be honest, this is the first time that I’m aware of the Global Pride Day! :sweat_smile: I wanted to write a post and do a video about Pride Month but it took me longer than I expected to edit the video. I had only completed the video on Thursday and in writing the draft for this post, I found out that 27th June is Global Pride Day! So, just lucky coincidence.

In Malaysia (where I’m from), we also have strict laws against the LGBT+ community and it’s also quite a taboo to talk about it since there’s still a lot of discrimination and negativity towards it. I’ve heard so many times the same “reasons” given by folks for “being gay”: that they were influenced by media or friends etc. My honest opinion, I certainly don’t believe what they say about being gay because of media/friends/etc. They say that to escape getting a harsher punishment. In a system that does not give equal rights and goes out to persecute them, there’s no way they would want to admit to being gay because they are just that way!

Also, in Malaysia it is against the law to show any LGBT+ person in the news hence it’s not something that is even mentioned at all. The only time you will ever see anything in the news is when someone is caught and is sentenced to prison or given lashes! And it will be some short article tucked in the corner of the newspaper. So, just because you don’t see it in the news, don’t think that the gay community does not exist or that there’s no equal rights issue.

I have a fair number of gay friends here in the UK and nobody I know is gay because they chose to be. With all the persecution, discrimination, risk of violence and inequalities against the LGBT+ community, this is not a lifestyle that we chose because it’s fun, cool, trendy, fashionable etc. It is just who we are. Just like you didn’t choose your heterosexuality, I didn’t choose my homosexuality.

I hope that explains it well. I’m not the best debating things like this! :sweat_smile:

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Thanks @AdrianLunsong for well explanation .

Stereotype gay is handsome men ,six pack ,glowing face and still s I n g l e ,the joking is when girls find this type of men should be careful for falling in love because high risk and broken heart , because suspect gay ha ha ha

Let me tell my real story about LGBTQ ,my friend at office she is lesbian but always

appearance like a man , so I called her "Pak ,Kang " ( sir or bro ) for many years ,she never protest or correct ,untill one day my other friend told me in behind the true,actually I want apologize about my mistakes but little bit worried she is offended so for now I called her name only without bro or sir .

By the way again in the video you swing in the air without screaming ? Even recorded vlog your self How can be , that’s so damn high ?

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I have no words. The post is amazing, @AdrianLunsong !

Amsterdam is my favorite city to celebrate Pride so far. I also had a wonderful time in Nice, but the walk along the canal of Amsterdam and the music scenes that can be found in every corner of the city is what enchanted me. Nevertheless, Pride is a wonderful celebration by itself, but I do enjoy the parades that come with it. :slightly_smiling_face: Thanks for sharing!

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Hey @AdrianLunsong ,

Many kudos for writing this one! :sunglasses:

Unfortunately, so far I’ve never attended such parades and I really would like to do attend one day.

Just wanted to say always be proud and keep head high! We are all human beings and anyone deserves to be loved. :rainbow:

P.S.: I also find it quite hard to keep the good shape, there are so many delicious things out there that are quite tempting. :sweat_smile:

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Thanks for sharing this post, @AdrianLunsong ! I could hear your voice and laugh in every word, as it was authentically you, then again, I’ve had the pleasure of hanging out with you in person. :slightly_smiling_face:

It’s so beautiful to see how Pride is celebrated around the world and whoa, you’ve been everywhere!

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@AdrianLunsong thank you for penning a detailed post as usual. Aside explaining the reason for the Pride Day, you made good effort to let people be proud of themselves.

I know about Global Pride Day and other international commemorations but because the law does not allow it in Nigeria I tend not to partake like other events.

And there’s a Disability Pride Month too. We should all be proud for the opportunity of being alive.

Cheers

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@AdrianLunsong so proud of you. Just be yourself and enjoy this life.

Where I live, Michigan, there is a big parade to celebrate LGBT month. Maybe next year I will take some photos.

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Hey my friend @AdrianLunsong , this is a great super amazing post, seriously :blush: !

I really appreciate your way of freely writing about yourself and in general about the LGBT community, indeed having too much difficulties in this society. I love to see all prides you have joined, wow that’s a lot in many different places! And I just see yourself as I know you personally in this writing which makes me happy because I personally don’t care about anything than YOU as Adrian, the great person and friend I met at Connect Live and I wish to meet again.

Kudos for this great community post :kissing_heart: .

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How wonderful!! @AdrianLunsong Let’s celebrate this!

Meanwhile, according to Aussie, New Zealand is

on track to elect the ‘gayest parliament in the world’

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What an amazing, comprehensive, very personal post @AdrianLunsong ! :rainbow_flag:

Coming out and being comfortable are personal. I can say from my experience s I have my gut telling me, but I wait until the person tells me their sexual or gender preferences.

I am fortunate to live in an area that being LGBTQ is what it is. It is no big deal. No issues.

I have lesbian neighbors my kids came up on their own to call them auntie (which I think comes from anyone they see as adults as auntie, uncle, grandma, or grandpa) and love waving and talking to them when we see them.

It goes back to being a kid and raising kids, kids are not born with biases or hatred in them. That is learned behavior from their environment.

I remember my mom’s coworkers and when AIDS was a pandemic. They were all very supportive during that decade because her office lost many coworkers.

The AIDS Quilt was an amazing sight when to see when it used to go on tour. All that love and creativity stitched into each square (representing a person who passed away).

I remember when the SF Pride Parade was not as corporate as it is now. Homemade floats. It wasn’t as big or as elaborate. It has always welcomed everyone, straight, gay, trans, families, kids, drag queens, etc.

The first time I saw NY Pride Parade I was with my mother. We bumped into it and we had a good time. She still talks about it when the conversation about visiting NY comes up.

Hopefully, with the Taiwan government approving gay marriage few years back, this will change attitudes and open gender and sexual equality discussions in Asia.

Cheers,

Karen

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Amazing!!! @AdrianLunsong

I want to share with you the virtual celebration of this year 2020 in my city Barranquilla, colombia.

I wanted to participate for the 1st time in Pride day celebration in my city, but due to the pandemic it was hosted virtually. I didn´t decide to participe in the previous one because I was struggling with my feelings and emotions. Since I came out I’m loving the way I am more and more.

ThIs event was organized by https://www.facebook.com/mesalgbtibarranquilla

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@FalguniP Thanks very much for your comments! Yes, in close knit families or communities, the fear of coming out is very real! It is also very mentally exhausting and traumatising worrying about it all too, which is why it’s so important that we celebrate Pride to show that the LGBT+ community is there and we should be comfortable to talk about the challenges and find ways to make it easier for everyone.

As to how to help the LGBT+ community? Good question! It’s really hard to advice because it depends on how open your country/community is about it and the worry for me is the risk of getting into trouble with the (antiquated) laws. I guess, the minimal that we can do is to educate ourselves about the LGBT+ community to stop the stigma/stereotype views and be supportive/understanding of them. You could sit down with your friends one day and just have a chat about it to hear their side of the story. :blush:

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@Nyainurjanah I think we should all be vary of guys with six pack!! It might mean that they prefer to spend more time at the gym than spending it with us! :rofl:

Being aware of what you say is a good step in the right direction. If you know your friend well, maybe you could sit down with her and talk about it: just explain that you aren’t sure if you’ve accidentally offended her by calling her by those nicknames. Communication is a good way to start! As always, be open and understanding.

And yes, the ride is actually very scary especially when trying to do a video at the same time because one hand was holding very tightly to the chair, and the other to the phone in case I dropped it! Because I wanted to get the video right, I didn’t have time to panic too much!! :sweat_smile:

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