Pride Month 2018 – June’s Just Getting Started
Pride Month 2018 – June’s Just Getting Started
Today officially kicks off Pride Month, which is celebrated each June to commemorate the 1969 New York City Stonewall riots — the unofficial beginning of the LGBTQ equality movement.
Pride Month might just be getting started, but people are already spreading the love with Pride Month memes and tweets to inspire activism, encourage remembrance, and promote celebration of the LGBTQ+ community today, and everyday.
More than any other month, Pride Month promotes acceptance of others and encourages you to have pride in exactly who you are. It’s a time to take stock of everything we’ve accomplished, celebrate wins and each other, and envision a future where everyone is respected and protected. “HAPPY #PRIDEMONTH! Let’s all spend the month being exactly who we are, BUT LOUDER,” writer and editor Chrissa Hardy tweeted. If you want to experience the love today, wrap yourself in these Pride Month memes and tweets. They’re guaranteed to give you all the feels.
If you’re lucky, you’ll find your soulmate. If you’re really, really, really lucky, that person will be your best friend and lend you their clothes.
I fell in love with my best friend exactly a year ago & came out as bi a few months later. Loving @theresamassony has been the best thing I've ever done in my life (even though we get our periods at the same time & strangers think we're sisters). Happy #PrideMonth everybody! ?? pic.twitter.com/bQQH1wBXOD
— Katie Corvino (@kTc0rvin0) June 1, 2018
Let’s build up love and tear down walls.
.. To be happy and safe. To be afforded the same rights, privileges, and protections offers to cis white men. To be loved, acknowledged, celebrated, and appreciated for who you are every single day of you’re life. To know that you are worth it.
I’m here, I’m queer. ✊????#PrideMonth #undocuqueer pic.twitter.com/SwDddFIX6n
— Brian De Los Santos (@bdelossantos1) June 1, 2018
Make all of your childhood Rainbow Brite dreams a reality. Seriously, it’s totally acceptable to wear everything rainbow every day this month.
When two beautiful beings like National Doughnut Day and Pride Month get married and have a baby, all is right with the world.
im gonna draw lesbians every day of pride and post them all here!!! day 1 is the OG … the one and only… ICONIC… bubbline.. ?????? pic.twitter.com/waJGHeeVr9
— emily ?( ͡°ᴥ ͡° ʋ) (@emmilions) June 1, 2018
While Pride Month is absent from the president’s list of June proclamations, National Homeownership Month, National Ocean Month and Great Outdoors Month are not.
This year alone, President Donald Trump has recognized January as National Mentoring Month, March as National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month and April as Second Chance Month. He has already declared the month of June to be National Homeownership Month, National Ocean Month, Great Outdoors Month and National Caribbean-American Heritage Month.
But one proclamation is — once again — conspicuously absent from the White House website: LGBTQ Pride Month.
At the 2016 Republican National Convention, Trump noted the Pulse nightclub shooting and became the first GOP presidential nominee to directly address the LGBTQ community from a convention podium.
“As your president, I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology,” Trump said at the time.
When running for office, Trump promised to be an LGBTQ-friendly Republican and, during Pride Month 2016, tweeted his support for the community.
At the 2016 Republican National Convention, Trump noted the Pulse nightclub shooting and became the first GOP presidential nominee to directly address the LGBTQ community from a convention podium.
“As your president, I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology,” Trump said at the time.
But after ascending to the presidency, things appear to have changed. Shortly after Trump’s inauguration, his administration removed references to LGBTQ people from a number of federal government websites.
Trump also disbanded the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, which since 1995 had advised presidents on HIV/AIDS policy. Trump did, however, declare December 1 to be World AIDS Day, though in his 2017 proclamation he did not mention the LGBTQ community, which is disproportionately impacted by the virus.
A number of the president’s appointees have also been criticized by LGBTQ advocates for their extensive records of opposing gay rights. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has a long anti-LGBTQ track record, even reiterated his opposition to same-sex marriage during his confirmation hearing in April.
In perhaps President Trump’s most direct attempt to roll back recent gains made by the LGBTQ community, he attempted in July 2017 to ban transgender people from serving “in any capacity” in the military with a series of surprise tweets.
LGBTQ Pride Month was first proclaimed by President Bill Clinton in June 1999, and then again in June 2000, though back then it was called Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. In his statement, Clinton noted that he signed the 1998 executive order that made it possible for people of any sexual orientation to work in the federal government and to receive security clearances.
“Today, more openly gay and lesbian individuals serve in senior posts throughout the Federal Government than during any other Administration,” Clinton’s June 2000 proclamation stated.
President George W. Bush declined to declare June as Pride Month, and it was not until the election of Barack Obama that the tradition started again. Obama issued a proclamation every year he was in office.
“All people deserve to live with dignity and respect, free from fear and violence, and protected against discrimination, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation,” Obama’s June 2015 proclamation read. “During Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month, we celebrate the proud legacy LGBT individuals have woven into the fabric of our Nation, we honor those who have fought to perfect our Union, and we continue our work to build a society where every child grows up knowing that their country supports them, is proud of them, and has a place for them exactly as they are.”
Later that month, when the Supreme Court ruled in the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges case and legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, President Obama ordered the White House be flooded with rainbow lights.
“Unlike the Trump administration, the Democratic Party stands with LGBTQ communities across America and around the world and we are proud to celebrate Pride Month,” Lucas Acosta, director of LGBTQ Media for the Democratic National Committee, told NBC News. “We believe that no one should face discrimination, bullying, or violence because of who they are or who they love. And we will never stop fighting for the equality every human being deserves.”
Chad Griffin, president of national LGBTQ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, said while causes like National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, which was recognized in May by the White House, are worthy of recognition, Pride Month’s absence is a red flag.
“It is clear that failing to recognize Pride Month is intentional, just as it was last year,” Griffin told NBC News. “Trump and Pence are obsessed with erasing us. But we will not be erased, and in November, the White House is due for a rude awakening on their blatant discrimination.”
This Pride Month 18 eccentric books that ought to be on your perusing list
Pride Month is officially here and that can only mean one thing: time to load up your reading list with stellar queer stories.
Of course, you should be mixing gay books into your to-be-read pile no matter what time of year, but this month, as you celebrate Pride, queer books can be the perfect way to explore the breadth and diversity of the LGBTQ community.
Fortunately for anybody looking for a great gay read, the book world is filled with a bevy of queer stories of all genres.
Whether you’re looking for a meditative poetry collection about queer identity and mental health, a deep dive into the New York City’s ballroom culture in the ’80s and ’90s, a comic about a group scouts who find themselves plagued by supernatural creatures at camp, or a coming-of-age story about a shapeshifter who is navigating life and dating, there is a queer book out there for you.
Here are some very gay and very good books you should read this Pride Month.
FIVE TOP PICKS ARE DESCRIBED IN SHORT BELOW:
Paul Takes The Form of a Mortal Girl
You’ve never read a coming-of-age story like this. Paul Takes The Form of a Mortal Girl details the adventures of Paul Polydoris, a student in Iowa City who studies queer theory. Oh, and did we mention that Paul is a shapeshifter who can change from Paul to Polly at will. On the surface, it’s an absurd sci-fi premise, but Lawlor uses it to deftly explore gender, identity, and the way we form relationships with other people as well as with ourselves.
The House of Impossible Beauties
Joseph Cassara’s The House of Impossible Beauties takes a deep dive into New York City’s ballroom culture in the ’80s and ’90s by following a group of characters, each who enter the scene for a different reason. But what stands out about the book isn’t just the novel’s vivid portrait of the past, but also Cassara’s breathtaking and unforgettable characters who are all trying to find their way
Less
Andrew Greer’s 2018 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Less starts off with a character in crisis: our protagonist Arthur is a struggling novelist, feeling existential as he approaches his 50th birthday, and, to make matters worse, he’s just received an invitation to his ex-boyfriend’s wedding. Instead of despairing, Arthur says “NOPE” and instead embarks on a haphazard literary world tour. But what sells the book is Greer’s resounding heart and humor, making this tale of romantic misadventures as funny as it is earnest
Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit
Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit follows Joanna “Jo” Gordon, an out teen who is suddenly pushed back into the closet when her evangelical father remarries, moves their family from Atlanta to Rome, Georgia, and asks Jo to hide her queer identity for her senior year. The only problem is Mary Carlson, the sister of Jo’s new friend in Rome, who Jo is falling for. The result is a heartfelt novel about coming out and discovering young love. Also, shout out to the infinitely charming title of this book!
Source: mashable.com, bustle.com, nbcnews.com
