Walking around campus this past week, you might have noticed rainbow flags, sidewalks plastered with chalk, and the anagram “LGBT” jotted everywhere. It was Pride Week! It’s no secret that there is a large population of LGBT students at Mary Baldwin, and thanks to the most popular club on campus, SOULS, queer heritage was a successful celebration! But what exactly is the significance of all of this?
1. Why do we have pride?
Pride is a time for a widely underrepresented group of people to come together and be treated with the love and acceptance they deserve. Unfortunately, society does not always comply with the idea that gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders, etc. deserve to be treated equally. Pride is a time for any minority to receive that acceptance.
2. There is more than just the L, G, B, and T.
That’s right! There are most letters to that anagram. Pride is a time to recognize ALL of the different sexualities. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, asexual, pansexual, and demisexual are just a few, but there are plenty more that you can look into with a simple internet search—and each one is just as important.
3. Bisexuality exists.
Many of you may be familiar with the term “bi-erasure,” which is the tendency to ignore or discredit bisexuals as “confused.” Although there are a few good TV shows that now include lesbians and gays in their plots, bisexuals are easily discriminated against and often times forgotten even by their own community. Lesbians and gays tend to be biased in thinking that bisexuals do not exist, because it’s difficult to comprehend that someone can truly be sexually attracted to both men and women. Pride submerges bisexuals into the community and allows other sexualities to get to know and understand them.
4. Transgenders are valid.
Transgender means that a person’s sex does not match their identified gender. It’s tough growing up in a society that tells you you’re a girl just because you have a vagina, especially when you know you’re a boy. Pride brings those individuals in and lets them know that they are valid human beings.
Overall, pride is a time to recognize and accept everyone around you. And even on a small campus like ours, pride can allow some students to discover themselves. Each pride week pushes for the everyday acceptance of the LGBT community. Just because it’s over, doesn’t mean you need to stop representing!