Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month
President Obama has issued a Proclamation designating June 2011 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists, and to celebrate the great diversity of the American people."
President Obama has issued a Proclamation designating June 2011 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. He “call[s] upon the people of the United States to eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists, and to celebrate the great diversity of the American people.”
It’s not clear whether this is a one-off or the start of an annual tradition. (Bill Clinton declared June 2000 as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, but it didn’t stick.) If so, it has precedent. There is, of course, Black History Month, celebrated each February since 1976. May has been Women’s History Month since 1987. Oddly, it has also been Jewish American Heritage Month since 2006. Then there’s National Hispanic Heritage Month, which has run from September 15 to October 15 since 1988. Which runs into National Disability Employment Awareness Month, which has been celebrated in October since 1988. That’s a huge month for recognitions, since Filipino American History Month is also celebrated in October, although not nationally.
For whatever reasons, racial, ethnic, and religious groups have either a heritage or a history; impairments generate awareness; and issues of sexuality and gender elicit pride–unless it’s the mere state of being female and feeling comfortable in that femaleness, in which case it’s merely historical.
Ask any husband trying to watch SportsCenter long enough to see how his team did while there are chores to be done. We’re already well aware of females.
During which month do we celebrate white, employed heterosexuals?
I remember being young and whining to my mom on Mothers Day, asking “Why isn’t there a Kids Day?” To which she (rightfully) said: “Every day is kids day.”
Same here.
What if the husband is married to a man, though?
June is usually when the Pride parades are held across the country, so even if it never got an “official” stamp, June would be “unofficially” Pride month anyway.
That said, an interesting thing has been happening. I’ve been going to Denver’s Pride parade for over a decade now as an official Son of a Lesbian and not only has it gotten larger, but it’s gotten more inclusive and mainstream. Several years back, you might see topless militant lesbians chanting. These days, they’re more likely to be pushing a stroller.
This is simply a bone thrown to the gay community as we enter the 2012 election cycle. They’ve been tucked off at Obama since day 1 (don’t forget, Obama is against gay marriage). Like with most things, this is just Obama making a speech, with no real action behind it.
I just want to emphasize that Pride in regards to this topic is not meant to be interpreted in pride of being LGBT, but in being out, to yourself and to the world.
It still takes a lot of courage to come out of the closet today, as it were. Perhaps not in public, in the Castro or West Hollywood, but in regards to yourself, your family, friends, loved ones, etc. It’s a big step to admit to yourself that your feelings for others, in regards to physical and emotional intimacy is not the same as the majority of persons you know or know of.
Until you’ve done it, or had a very close loved one go through it, it’s kinda difficult to understand how hard it can be. It’s the same as people who decide to have children…until you’ve actually been a parent, it’s tough to appreciate “jumping off that cliff”. And once you jump, there’s no going back.
June is tradtitionally gay pride month because it marks the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in NYC on June 28, 1969 which is considered the birthdate of the LGBT civil rights movement.
Greetings:
Oh, goody! More homosex, please.
Very Freudian there.
I kid, of course.
Like with most things, this is just Obama making a speech, with no real action behind it.
Like with most things, wingnuts are full of shit. From ABL at Balloon-Juice:
Not too long ago you seemed to be astounded that people have inflated estimates of the gay population. Whole lot of mocking of innumeracy, as I recall.
You think stuff like this helps the population’s basis for making estimates? Does it hinder it, or have no effect at all?
Between entertainment media. news media, legislative and judicial (and to some extent, executive) decisions, and very loud activists, I think the public can be forgiven for being off in their estimates.
Although they shouldn’t have been that far off.
I would like to inquire into the month representing the next caucasian, straight, honest, hard-working, American-born productive members of society so I can put on my party hat and march in their Pride Parade. Oh, never mind. I forgot there is no such thing. Imagine that.