Pride Month

I stumbled upon this on my partners Facebook page. It was odd to find because he claims to be one of those, "I hate Facebook!" kind of people. It speaks to why he, and how we might all,  celebrate Pride Month.  As a wide reach of individuals that make up the GLBT community, it seems to be a call to arms for of why we really need to celebrate Pride Month. 

Pride is being oneself to the core, embracing it in the face of all others at all times. Pride is not being afraid to acknowledge any part of oneself; even within the circle of those supposedly like you! Pride is not forgetting who you are and where you came from, and especially those who's shoulders you ride upon. Those who got you where you are now and today. Pride is cherishing every beautiful, graceful, powerful, positive, fantastic, passion filled, negative, dark part of oneself; all of it.

Now It seems we are in danger of losing our community. The community that made Pride marches a strong force for change. Maybe because we might be more concerned with mainstreaming than in being who we were intended to be.... we are slowly but surely giving up that which makes us unique in our own culture of life....slowly but surely taming that which made us wild, different, fantastic, colorful, edgy, creative, brilliant, scary, interesting, weird, queer, elegant, intimidating, masculine, piggishly sexual, promiscuous, spiritual, respectful towards each other, underground, non-conforming, brave, rebellious, freeks, hot, progressive, creative individuals.

Oh yes, we are moving forward, yet in our strides to normalize our sexuality in the view of society, we may be in loosing our community.  Is this so we can live in the burbs in our washed out colored two story houses, drive our hondas, wear our khaki shorts and polos, feminize so we don't scare the straight men, traditionalize our way of living and having relationships, criticizing those of our own kind, if they don't live the "right" kind of relationship? We polarize ourselves between those who are hiv+ and those who are hiv- with great ignorance of how to live together through all of it. We have divided our subcultures against each other further than ever before, and diluted their uniqueness at the same time. Our youth have no connection to our more mature men and women. Destroying mentoring and guidance, or respect for those who marched when it wasn't a celebration, but an act of defiance. 

What is pride to me? Being a damn proud gay man, I reject the mainstream with my eyes wide open! I want my rights and respect in society just like anyone else, but dammit I'm not giving up being a mature, muscular, masculine, edgy, homo because it is innate as my color, my race, my being. I thank God for it everyday. My soul will continue to love all forms of gay, my beautiful lipsticks and butch lesbians, my drag queens, bears, leathermen, transgenders, my homo friends with kids and hondas, my oversexed homo friends, my swishy friends, my butch men, all of it, all of it, all of it. Don't you dare, don't you dare try to adjust the color of all of it! Don't you dare try to normalize or whitewash it......I want it all. That's pride, loving it all. Happy Pride everyone....get out there and be yourself and offend someone!