Matt Brooks explains why Pride Matters to him.
“There are two remarks that one sometimes hears about Pride events, both in Brighton and elsewhere. They go along the lines of “We have won all our rights – we no longer need Pride” and “Pride is a freakshow and doesn’t represent me”. These ideas sadden me, because they drive at the very heart of exactly why Pride does matter, now more than ever.
“The UK was recently named as the best country in Europe in which to be gay. We can justly be proud of our nation’s tolerance and its translation into legal protection of our rights. I remember growing up in the 80s with almost no gay role models in the media, feeling truly as if I were not just the only gay in the village, but in the entire county of Kent. The change in this regard has been exhilaratingly rapid. However, it’s easy to sit back and think that with the advent of gay marriage, we have come as far as we can, that the fight is over. It isn’t. There are people on our streets, in our own country, who would take away everything that we and our predecessors have fought for over decades. There are people out there who would beat us up or kill us. Where we are now is not a natural end-state; it’s a position that we must continue to stand up for, or risk losing in the onslaught of opposition.
“For me, visibility is absolutely everything. Our opponents cannot deny that we exist when they see us in large numbers, even for only one day a year. They cannot deny that we are human when they see us with our friends and families. They can no longer believe in gay stereotypes when they see every different kind of gay person, from ordinary people next door to outrageous drag queens in feathers and heels. They cannot think that we will shrink back and hide when they see that we do not need anyone else’s permission to be who we are, no matter how flamboyant. Yes, Pride is a freakshow, and long may it last!”
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