Update 29/06/21: I’ve added the live-stream video of @Globe_trotter_Ish 's meet-up at the bottom of this post! Enjoy!
It’s been monumentally busy here (has it ever not been?!) and I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to post about Pride Month, which is the whole month of June. Pride Month basically kicks off a whole summer of celebrations, Pride Parades, fundraisers and more to throw a spotlight on the LGBTQIA+ community and the work still needed to bring equality to all.
With the pandemic still raging on, a lot of the Pride Parades that were scheduled for June have moved to later months so Pride Month has been a bit of a quieter affair. I do see some shops displaying the rainbow flags but historically, Pride celebrations go into full swing in August for us folks in Manchester and that’s where the whole city is covered in rainbow colours!
Last year, I shared about my experiences with Pride Parades! And you can also check out some recent (and from last year) LGBT related posts here:
- Local Guides contributions spotlight: USA
- Photos of rainbow crosswalks taken by Local Guides around the world
- These Local Guides champion inclusivity on Google Maps
This year, I just wanted to cover some basic info! For instance, how do you refer to the community and what do the letters mean? Also, why is there a new flag and do the colours stand for anything?
Disclaimer: I identify as gay but I don’t come built with all the knowledge about the LGBTQIA+ community. I, too, have to research and educate myself and there’s a lot to read up on! What’s really awesome is that there are many free videos (documentaries) released in the past few weeks for Pride Month that you can watch online to learn about the history, the fight for equal rights and what the future holds. There are also videos that explain what it is like to be gay in today’s world to understand the challenges that the community faces.
Well, different places use different terms. For instance, LGBT is a very common term to refer to the gay community. But over the years, the community wanted to show further inclusion, so you may see LGBTQ used or LGBTQ+ or even LGBT+. Recently, I’ve seen LGBTQIA and LGBTQIA+ used a fair bit. It takes a bit of getting used to since I’ve always used LGBT but I’m now trying to remind myself to use LGBTQIA+ instead since, as far as I’m aware, that’s the most inclusive way to refer to the gay community.
So, this is what LGBTQIA+ stands for:
- L = Lesbian
- G = Gay
- B = Bisexual
- T = Transgender
- Q = Queer and/or Questioning
- I = Intersex
- A = Asexual and/or Ally
-
- = Plus = to include non-normative gender identity or sexual orientation.
Do note that the term “gay” can be used loosely in a gender neutral way e.g. “the gay community” also refers to “the LGBTQIA+ community”. And if you want to read more about what the various terms refer to as well (and there’s even more that I haven’t covered) you can find out at this page. It is actually a pretty good page because I know probably just a quarter of what’s there! 
Next up, let’s talk about the Rainbow Flag 
! It has a very fascinating history: it started out with 8 strips of colours, then dropped to 7 and then to 6 (for symmetrical reasons! 
). And then more colours were added recently to show more inclusion and there’s the whole debate about whether to include “black” and “brown” because the original colours were not meant to be linked to race so some in the community were opposed to include racial elements. Like everything else in this world, it’s not easy trying to represent everyone!
The traditional 8 colours and their meanings are:
- hot pink = sex
- red = life
- orange = healing
- yellow = sunlight
- green = nature
- turquoise = magic/art
- indigo = serenity
- violet = spirit
If you’re thinking, “Whoa! That’s bizarre!”, you have to appreciate the context and when the original flag was designed! The flag made its debut in 1978. So the seventies! And yes, the hippie seventies! Hence, there are elements of the hippie movement and thinking that went into the meanings.
Eventually, hot pink and turquoise were dropped to the remaining six that you probably have seen quite a bit!
The latest iteration is what is known as the Progress Pride flag which is the one you see above that I used as the backdrop to my cover photo! It introduced a chevron with the colours black, brown, light blue, pink and white.
Black and brown stripes represented the marginalised people of colour. But it is also used to represent those living with HIV/AIDS or those who have been lost to the disease. The light blue, pink and white stripes represent the trans community. Traditionally, the colours light blue and pink were used to represent whether a baby is a boy or a girl. The white colour represented people who are transitioning from one sex to another. But it is also used to represent intersex and those who are non-binary.
And unsurprisingly, there’s a new variation to the flag this year that puts more prominence to the intersex community.
You can read up on the flag’s history here.
And if you’re wondering what’s the fuss over some letters and flag(s), well it’s about acknowledgement and representation. When you’re a marginalised minority that’s been persecuted and prejudiced against, a symbol and an identity goes a long way to make you feel that you belong!
I hope that you’ve found this post educational and I am also excited to mention that @Globe_trotter_Ish is hosting a virtual meet-up this Sunday (27th June) to talk about inclusivity in Google Maps and I’m the lucky guest speaker! You can check out the Meet-ups tab to find the meet-up or you can go directly to this link for further details and to sign up! Happy Pride Month !!
Happy Pride month 