What does Pride really mean to you?
For some, Pride Month means rainbow flags, celebrations, and openly showing their support to the LGBTQ+ community. But for others, it means so much more than that. The whole reason Pride Month exists is to raise awareness to the fact that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, and pansexual people are still treated as a marginalised group, forced to fight for equal rights, and against hate. We asked Londoners to share what Pride really means to them personally, and here are some of their answers:
1. “A reminder that there is still a lot of work to be done towards LGBTQ+ inclusion and equality.”
2. “Being and expressing myself without fear of violence or judgment from others.”
3. “Getting together and sharing positive vibes, no matter where you are from and who you love.”
4. “Living my best life unapologetically.”
5. “Marginalised LGBTQ+ groups being included in all aspects.”
6. “Seeing, loving and valuing everyone for just the way they are.”
7. “Being myself and finding likeminded people.”
8. “The freedom to love whomever, whenever.”
9. “Embracing your own and everyone else’s differences.”
10. “Freedom.”
11. “Self-love.”
12. “Acceptance.”
13. “Feeling seen and heard.”
14. “Happiness.”
15. “Home.”
16. “A sense of togetherness.”
17. “Being myself, finally.”
Fore more information on how you can support the Pride movement, check out the Pride in London website.