Community Update (6/15/2023)

Wellness

June is PRIDE month.  What does that mean?

By Joan Smith

It is exhilarating to see all the rainbow flags and clothing that are on display everywhere this month. We are in the midst of a celebration of inclusion and acceptance.

USCF LGBTQ Resource Center describes PRIDE as “an integral cultural concept within the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex (LGBTQI+) community, representing solidarity, collectivity, and identity as well as resistance to discrimination and violence.”

Most dictionaries (including Encyclopedia Britannica, Merriam-Webster, Oxford, Cambridge U., and even Wikipedia) describe the word Pride generally as a feeling that you respect yourself and deserve to be respected by other people; a sense of one’s own dignity or value. This would include everyone, despite differences in skin color, gender identity, social/ethnic background, religion, etc. In the past year, we have seen a rise of violence against people for all of these differences, and many people have suffered from the consequences.

We have learned that, what we do not understand can make us feel anxious and fearful; but educating ourselves about such things as gender identity differences can dispel the fear and help us to be more accepting and welcoming to those who are different from ourselves. Research shows us that gender identity that differs from biological sexual attributes at birth has been common throughout history, and in many cultures, where acceptance was a given.

But in our country, critics of “other-ness” shine a negative light on differences, charging that this is becoming more common than in the past.  And, while research shows us this is not true, we also know that suppression of expressing differences has been high. Do you remember when being left-handed was considered a negative, and how so many of our parents were forced to use their right hands (with their true dominant left-hands tied behind their backs)? I sure do!

Education regarding sexual identity is so vital to acceptance. Many of us have grandchildren (and children and friends) who are members of the LGBTQI+ community;  given the threats that are currently being made in some parts of the country, these individuals need our support more than ever. “It takes a Village to raise a child” is often stated, and it is so true. Annual PRIDE month is an opportune time to google definitions, organizations, events that help us learn more. There are organizations such as SMYAL that support young children and their families, acknowledging that gender identity difference is not a “choice” a child makes, but it is who they are, who they were born to be. The D.C. PRIDE parade brings together LGBTQI+ people and their families and supporters of freedom and inclusion, with love, respect, and dignity.

I love the comment in the Washington Post (June 11, 2023) by a father who felt it was important to bring his 6 year daughter to the parade to instill the importance of equality, saying “I want my daughter to grow up in a world where she doesn’t have to worry about whether anyone gets included or left out.”