I don't do pride. I have never done pride, and I doubt very much if I ever will.
I am very much one of Hannah Gadsby's 'quiet gays'. I can think of very little else that I would find more mortifying than being the centre of attention because of my sexuality. If my parents had thrown me a 'coming out party' when I was a teenager I would have locked myself in a room and had a panic attack in peace. Thankfully, I have navigated my way through life without drawing unnecessary attention to myself or my sexuality.
This changes when 'pride month' rolls around. I am always caught unawares by it, and it usually takes an international banking conglomerate or Silicon Valley tech company to remind me that I can expect another few weeks of bombardment by what is perhaps best described as 'rainbow incontinence'.
Theoretically, I do understand the point of pride. Homosexuals and (perhaps to a lesser extent) bisexuals have been made to feel shame for our sexualities. Pride, as it was originally conceived, was a middle finger to those people who cast us as perverts, deviants and sinners. We are not going to be ashamed of who we are, thank you very much.
But when I look at pride events now, I don't see normal people proud of who they are, speaking truth to power and refusing to be ashamed. I see perverts gyrating in leather bondage suits. I see deviants crawling on their hands and knees dressed like dogs. I see multi-billion dollar corporations incorporating a rainbow into their logo in the hope that it'll get me to buy their product. I see Alphabet People co-opting the struggles that same-sex attracted people have faced and then speaking for us, all the while using slurs that were never theirs to claim in the first place.
But of course, as a gay man I can't say any of this. I am expected to smile politely and applaud the 'bravery' of others. This year I might be (ever so slightly) more vocal in my opposition to pride.
I can never figure out how to tag these things, but I guess it would be either 'rant' or 'discussion'.
[–]Neo_Shadow_LurkerPronouns: I/Don't/Care 20 insightful - 4 fun20 insightful - 3 fun21 insightful - 3 fun21 insightful - 4 fun - (0 children)
[–]barnarnasis this tv show my friend? 18 insightful - 1 fun18 insightful - 0 fun19 insightful - 0 fun19 insightful - 1 fun - (4 children)
[–]Bright_paintingLoad, lesbian biologist 7 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 1 fun - (1 child)
[–]barnarnasis this tv show my friend? 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun - (0 children)
[–]Neo_Shadow_LurkerPronouns: I/Don't/Care 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun - (0 children)
[–]MarkJeffersonTight defenses and we draw the line 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun - (0 children)
[–][deleted] 16 insightful - 1 fun16 insightful - 0 fun17 insightful - 0 fun17 insightful - 1 fun - (2 children)
[–]Neo_Shadow_LurkerPronouns: I/Don't/Care 9 insightful - 1 fun9 insightful - 0 fun10 insightful - 0 fun10 insightful - 1 fun - (1 child)
[–][deleted] 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun - (0 children)
[–]babystud 15 insightful - 1 fun15 insightful - 0 fun16 insightful - 0 fun16 insightful - 1 fun - (0 children)
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[–]TransspeciesUnicornI sexually identify as a mythical sparkly equine 8 insightful - 2 fun8 insightful - 1 fun9 insightful - 1 fun9 insightful - 2 fun - (0 children)
[–]reluctant_commenter 7 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 1 fun - (1 child)
[–]usehername 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun - (0 children)
[–]boypower 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun - (4 children)
[–]censorshipment 5 insightful - 5 fun5 insightful - 4 fun6 insightful - 4 fun6 insightful - 5 fun - (2 children)
[–]boypower 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun - (1 child)
[–]orangina5 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun - (0 children)
[–]Uranian 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun - (0 children)