Why is Pride Month Still Needed?

By Ed Rogers, Chair Ford Pride, UK

It’s a recurring question now, why is Pride Month still needed? It’s easy, as someone outside the LGBTQ+ community, to look in and say it’s not needed anymore. However, there are many reasons why Pride Month is still needed; just a cursory glance at social media will show you why.

Celebrating Pride is good for the LGBTQ+ community, wider allies, and diversity groups.

Pride month was set in June to honour those who took part in the protests, known as the Stonewall Riots, in New York back in 1969. It serves as a reminder of the fight for equal rights, the ongoing struggles of those in the LGBTQ+ community, and the persecution of LGBTQ+ people abroad. It is, however, also a celebration. A celebration of the massive progress we have made towards a more equal, inclusive, and excepting society.

Pride Month recognises everyone in the LGBTQ+ community. Sadly, there are some within that community who are just as transphobic, biphobic, or racist as those outside the community and refuse to include everyone; often forgetting that the original protest movement owes a huge debt to the trans community. It’s just as important that we don’t create additional barriers within our community that make people feel unwelcome just because they are trans, bi, black, disabled, or any combination of any part of the LGBTQ+ family.

In the UK, we have come a long way since the days when homosexuality was outlawed. Section 28 was revoked, essentially banning schools from acknowledging that LGBTQ+ people existed. Sexuality and gender reassignment are protected characteristics, same-sex marriage is now legal and recognised across the country, and the government are working on legislation to ban conversion therapy for lesbian, gay, and bi people.

Pride month is still needed because that ban doesn’t include trans people. It’s needed because, between 2016/17 and 2020/21, the number of reported hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people had more than doubled. It’s needed because drag artists receive death threats. And it’s still needed because petitions are raised to remove age-appropriate teaching about LGBTQ+ topics from the school curriculum once again.

Pride month creates a safe space for conversations, discussion and community members to be themselves, possibly after years of having to hide away every other day of the year.

Events, blogs, social media posts, celebrity interviews, and even articles such as this allow members of the LGBTQ+ community to know that there is support for them and that places like Ford are safe places to be themselves. They allow members of the community to see others like them across every part of the industry and the UK in general. And they allow others to become used to seeing that community in public, hopefully going a small way to encouraging acceptance.

So whilst there are still LGBTQ+ phobic comments made, inequality and division amongst communities, and death threats sent, Pride month is very much needed.