LGBTQ+ Pride events may look like loud, crowded, overstimulating gatherings of people wearing anything between titty tape and thongs to full fur outfits on the outside. That particular aspect cannot be debated but that is one layer to the onion (or rainbow) of Pride. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community I am aware that sexuality is not my sole defining quality. I am cis-male, black, gender non conforming and each of these can be divided into sublayers too. There are countless other qualities/aspects to this collection of stardust that is my life. I am a performer, thinker, (to some degree) an empath, Disney loving, musical reenacting, hard working, stilt walking, therapy going...you get the picture. I'm a multilayered hyphen of individuality, as is every single person on Earth. For a while the widespread prejudicial belief was a LGBTQ+ person could only be defined by their sexual preference and consequently fell into all subcategories that accompanied, most of which hold negative connotations. A few include being a sexual predator, mentally ill, and a social degenerate. Pictures were being painted based off of one paint stroke. Pride is the event to challenge those preconceptions not in a militant, protesting way but in a celebration of acceptance and unity. That is what I see/feel/believe at every Pride I attend. Pride is the best place to practice radical acceptance. A key element to freedom, because when I accept "what is" I waste no time bound to how things "should be" and can appreciate things "as they are". I see all of what humanity can achieve/express/create and how it can exist in this world that at times seems hellbent on non heteronormative erasure. Everyone at Pride is bringing their most authentic selves out from whatever "closet" it might be forced to reside in and live without fear of job loss, discrimination, or hate. This past weekend I shed tears walking the parade route, some caused by sweat and tears running in my eyes, and some from seeing a sea of people who each had their own stories, struggles, and desires but were connected by love and pride.
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