Pride 365 in Plymouth

Pride month is incredibly important!  Visibility is incredibly important!

In the Plymouth and Devon, there has been a tendency in the past to think that LGBTQ+ lives are mostly lived in London and other larger cities like Brighton or Manchester.  The growing profile of June as Pride month enables far more visibility for LGBTQ+ communities living across the region and also provides the opportunity for individuals, communities, institutions and businesses to step forward and declare themselves allies to the LGBTQ+ community.

There is a common misconception that Pride must be a UK wide organisation putting on events and working across the UK.  This is incorrect, while certainly larger Prides such as London Pride have their own degree of organisation and infrastructure, most Prides happen in the smaller localities because a group of people come together to make something happen.  Pride’s happen now in places like Plymouth, Dartmouth, Teignmouth, Exmouth, Tavistock and many more because people care enough to make something happen in their own community.

Pride is a more than just an event though, it’s a movement, a movement that began with a flash of anger at unfair treatment in a bar called Stonewall in New York city back in 1969.  People decided they were tired of the stigma and shame that others were trying to attach to how they lived their lives, who they fell in love with and how they expressed who they were.  Since then, people have challenged that shame by living their lives with Pride.  The annual events are a large part of that but also people need to be proud of who they are every day of the year . . . not just in June or on the day of your local Pride. 

As a result, at the Pride in Plymouth Community Trust we’ve been talking about Pride 365 for a number of months now.  Telling people that they need to be proud of who they are every day and we’ve found that message is being well received in both schools and businesses.  What helps create this sense of Pride is creating a sense of both history and heritage.  It’s so important for young people growing up and realising they are LGBTQ+ to then realise that there are many that have come before them.  Brave, bold people who stood up to oppression and made some changes.  There is still much work to do particularly when we look outside of the UK or consider some of the current attacks on the Trans community but, if we look at the lives of those who came before us, we’ll see that there is much more that connects us than separates us.

If you’re part of the wonderful Rainbow Community then please, if you can, do your bit for being visible for those who are following in your footsteps and, if you’re not, then don’t let that stop you being an ally.  Over time, if not already, someone you love and care about will be part of this community so stand by them in every way you can.  Challenge discrimination and attend your nearest pride which will be being put on by wonderful members of your own community to help make a difference.

Happy Pride Month!

Dr Alan Butler

Pride in Plymouth Community Trust @prideinplymouth