Pride Month 2023: Rage & Resilience
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We hope you have already dusted off your rainbow flags and are celebrating pride month! MLY proudly supports this month-long celebration to recognize and support LGBTQ rights and honor the culture and history of the LGBTQ community. There are a lot of ways for you to get involved and learn some important history along the way - pride parades, live theater, workshops, concerts, making donations, buying our Loving LGBTQ+ book, and more!
Pride Month 2023: How It Started
On the night of June 1969 in New York City, police raided the Stonewall Inn - a gay club in Greenwich Village. The patrons of the bars fought back, starting the riots at Stonewall Inn which lasted for days. One of the leaders of the riots was a black, trans, bisexual woman, Marsha P. Johnson. Sylvia Rivera and Stormé DeLarverie, gay rights activists and drag performers, also played part in the Stonewall Riots. The group of protestors demanded safe places for LGBTQ people where they could go and be open about their sexual orientation without fear of arrest.
Pride Month was started by bisexual activist Brenda Howard, The Mother of Pride. A year after the Stonewall Riots, she organized Gay Pride March, or what we now know as the New York City Pride March. She was the catalyst behind similar parades and marches around the globe.
Rainbow Flag Flies
In 1978, Influential gay politician Harvey Milk asked a designer friend, Gilbert Baker, to design a symbol of pride for the gay community. The Original PRIDE flag was composed of eight horizontal lines: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, hot pink, and turquoise. But after the assassination of Harvey Milk on November 27, 1978, the demand for the rainbow flag greatly increased. From the late ’70s to early 2000, the six-color rainbow flag was adopted by queer culture and was used to denote LGBTQIA+ pride.
Through the years, there have been many variations on the flag. Last year the flag was altered to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Color black to represent diversity, brown to represent inclusivity, and light blue and pink, the colors of the trans pride flag were included. The design of Daniel Quasar’s Progress Pride Flag incorporates elements from both the Philadelphia flag and trans pride flag to bring focus on inclusion and progress within the community.
Celebrate Pride 2023 With Us!
We at MLY are here to support and LOVE everyone in every way. And as part of the celebration, we have interviewed our founder Ariel Saint White to talk about her experience being identified as LGBTQ since she was young.
What’s your favorite part of PRIDE?
The best part of LGBTQ is celebrating love and sexuality in all its different shades of beauty.
What is your PRIDE Story?
I’ve always identified as LGBTQ and most people wouldn’t assume this about me. I don't care much about labels one way or the other, but if anyone ever asked, they would know I'm queer.
I remember my first two major celebrity crushes when I was a little girl around 4 or 5: Atrayu from The Neverending Story, a boy close to my age, and Kelly LeBrock from Weird Science, an incarnation of the Goddess.
Even though I am a very feminine-looking woman, married to a man, I’ve always felt fluid in my sexuality, falling in love with the person more than anything else.
I think it is the spirit that makes someone beautiful. To me, gender and genitalia are not important.
In many indigenous cultures, there were those in the tribe called ‘Two Spirits.’ Two Spirits were both man and woman, feminine and masculine, and oftentimes they were shamans, teachers, and artists. Think of David Bowie and Prince; epic artists that embody both masculine and feminine aspects.
I relate to this idea of being a Two-Spirit even though to the outside world I look like a feminine woman. I feel equally connected to both masculine and feminine energies.
What words do you want to share with our community this PRIDE Month?
I want to take a moment as the founder of MLY to say that we celebrate diversity in all of its forms and flavors. We are inspired and encouraged by younger generations who are tending to explore their identity beyond the constraints and boxes of clearly defined sexuality or gender. It is beautiful when people can be fully themselves, whatever that looks like along the spectrum of expression.
While extreme control is increasing in certain parts of the world, we are still hopeful for the change ahead and celebrate the choices that consenting adults make for themselves.
At the end of the day, LOVE is the most powerful energy in the world and we will always choose love over fear.
Why My Little Yoni LOVE PRIDE Month?
Pride Month is for everyone to celebrate their unique identity and show the world who they are. The pride flag signifies the colorful activities of this month-long celebration.
My Little Yoni takes pride in celebrating this event. It allows us to meet open-minded people and learn about sexual diversity. Now, grab your rainbow flag, wear on your colorful shirt, and let’s join the fun! Let’s celebrate love, and acceptance and be an ally to your LGBTQ+ community.
Here are some ways to celebrate PRIDE Month:
- Join in a pride parade
- Attend Pride Month memorial service or workshops
- Continue to educate yourself about Pride Month
- Show appreciation to your LGBTQ+ community
- Support Pride organizations by donating
- Take this quiz to test your PRIDE knowledge!
Pride is for Everyone. Happy Pride month! 🌈
If you want to learn about the LGBTQ+ community and sexual identity, Yoni Magic: Loving LGBTQ+ is a great resource to teach your kids about the complexity of sexuality in an easily digestible way.
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How well do you know PRIDE? |
