Tag Archives: LGBT Pride Month

7 Things Every Lesbian Should Do This Pride Season

If you haven’t had the pleasure of attending your local Pride celebration, you’re missing a part of the quintessential queer experience. Sure, it feels a bit silly, but historically speaking, all the color and festivities come from a place of demanding equality, and as such it’s something everyone should participate in at least once in your life.

Not everyone is cut out to head the front float, though, and that’s okay. So what are some of the other things you can do to help support the queer community this Pride season?


1. Attend a parade.

You don’t have to be a part of the parade to have some fun with it. There are so many fun and interesting people at Pride celebrations, and there is no shortage of excitement to be had. It’s even an excuse to don your most ridiculous outfits, if you choose. Why not go all out?

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2. Support local queer-owned businesses.

Statistically speaking, out lesbians probably make less money than almost anyone else, and that’s sort of a problem. Queer-owned businesses are a huge wrench in this statistic, because queer business owners tend to be more likely to pay their queer employees fairly. It might take a bit of searching, but you’ll most likely find one or two in your local community, and even more if you live in a thriving “gay” metropolis such as San Francisco or Toronto.

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3. Visit some of the most gay-friendly cities.

Not everyone has the budget to travel to Tel Aviv, which is considered the undisputed queer capital of the world, despite the surrounding area’s tense views toward the gay community. But there are 11 cities around the world that have been rated as “the most gay-friendly” – chances are, one is close enough for you to make a trip. If you have the chance, definitely try to visit a Pride celebration in the city you visit – it’s sure to be an unforgettable vacation.

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4. Come out, if you haven’t done so already.

Let me preface this by saying that you should not come out if it is dangerous for you to do so. If you are living with parents who won’t approve and you don’t have a way to support yourself if things go sour, it’s almost essential that you stay in the closet, and I completely understand that. But if you’re living on your own, or can reasonably afford to do so, coming out gives you a feeling of strength and freedom that you can’t imagine until you’ve actually experienced it.

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5. Start a queer-themed blog.

Most blogs aren’t a huge success, but it can be super freeing to have a place on the internet where you can be completely and unapologetically yourself – and if you haven’t come out to your friends and family yet, it can be really difficult to find that place outside of the internet. Opening a blog is one way to make sure you can be yourself. And, if/when you do come out, you can always share the links to the fun queer resources you’ve built up there. (Hint: I recommend Tumblr.)

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6. Read up on queer issues.

I’ll admit – up until about a year ago, I didn’t really care much about queer news. (I think it was the 40 text messages I got when marriage equality passed here in the US that got me interested – all of my straight friends knew before I did! How embarrassing.) If you’re not already up on the queer issues around the world, it’s a good time to start – Pride season means that they’ll be covered in more mainstream news outlets than they would the rest of the year, and this can make it a lot easier to get started.

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7. Take shamelessly cheesy pictures with your BFFs.

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Whether your friends are gay, bi, straight, or whatever, truly this is meant to be a time of celebration – and what better way to celebrate than with your best friends? These are people you choose to have in your life to support you, so why not have a fun day out on the town and enjoy each other’s company? If they’re willing, it can be fun to take them to a Pride parade with you, especially if you’re worried about feeling out-of-place, but keep in mind that they, too, might feel out of place.


What other Pride season ideas do you have? Drop them in the comments below!

26 Million People Across the World Turn Their Facebook Profiles into Rainbows

If you went on Facebook over the weekend you may have seen friends’ profile pictures turned multi-coloured.

In fact over 26 million people across the world turned their Facebook profiles into rainbows to support the LGBT pride and after last week’s landmark Supreme Court decision, which cleared the way for same-sex marriage across the US. 

The company introduced a rainbow filter tool that allowed user to simply change their profiles, and so far the rainbow photos received more than half a billion likes and comments, and the momentum shows no sign of slowing down.

Among the millions were a number of familiar faces, with stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Elizabeth Banks, and Arianna Huffington taking part.

Arnold Schwarzenegger had a particularly memorable encounter with an anti-gay fan:

Turkish Police Fire a Water Cannon and Rubber Bullets at Istanbul LGBT Pride March (Video)

Thousands of men, women and children gathered in Istanbul’s historic Taksim Square on Sunday for the annual gay pride festival only to face water cannons, rubber bullets and tear gas.

“Where are you, my love?” sang one group of LGBT rights activists, waving rainbow flags and holding hands, swaying to the popular Turkish love song. “I am here, my love!”

Moments later, Turkish riot police aimed a water cannon into a crowd of people sending them running for safety as water pounded them from behind. Belongings flew off with the force of the water as people struggled to stay on their feet — a scene that caused several young police officers to laugh openly, mocking the drenched protesters.

It was just one of many assaults Sunday against peaceful gay pride participants, reportedly the first time in 13 years that the annual festival was forcefully dispersed.

Many people expressed confusion as to why the peaceful parade was blocked by police forces after more than a decade of successful gay pride marches. Just the week before, on June 21, a smaller transgender pride parade took place in roughly the same location without encountering police force.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ-TBLiij6c

Despite being squashed by police forces, Sunday’s pride festival was one of hope and acceptance for Turkey’s LGBT community and its growing group of allies. Even after police dispersed crowds from Taksim Square, people poured into side streets singing, dancing and chanting.

The UK’s Capital Gets Ready for London Pride 2015

Thousands of people are expected to turn out in the UK’s capital today, for one of the world’s largest LGBT festivals.

This year the London Pride march has taken on the theme of ‘heroes’ and will celebrate those who have made the biggest difference to the LGBT community.

The parade begins at Baker Street at 1pm and moves through Oxford Street, which is closed for the event, before finishing at Whitehall at 4.30pm.

More than 250 group will be taking part in the parade with prizes for the best costumes and best campaign group.

As well as the parade there is also three musical venues taking place from 1pm.

Entertainers include Blue, Britain’s Got Talent winners Collabro and Rebecca Ferguson, who will appear on the main stage in Trafalgar Square from 1pm – 8pm.

There will also be a Women’s Stage in Dean Street and a Cabaret Stage in Wardour Street.

The annual parade marks the end of a week of Pride events and celebrations.

The route:

  • The Parade assembles on Baker Street at 1pm
  • It turns left into Oxford Street, past Selfridges, Bond Street Underground Station
  • At Oxford Circus it turns right into Regent Street and continues down to Piccadilly Circus
  • Then down Lower Regent Street and into Waterloo Place, then left into Pall Mall, heading right into Cockspur Street and across the south-western end of Trafalgar Square
  • It turns into Whitehall, before ending at Whitehall Place at about 4.30pm

The parade starts at 1pm and ends at 4.30pm

The Parade:

  • More than 15,000 spectators are expected to join the party
  • The theme of this year’s parade is Pride Heroes
  • It features more than 250 community groups, dancers and performers
  • Individuals cannot join the Parade unless they are in a registered group
  • There is a suggested donation of £3 for Trafalgar Square participants

Pride Garden to Support Stonewall Wins Gold Prize from Royal Horticultural Society

Gardeners Amanda Miller and Emma Harvey were joined by Celebrity Masterchef’s Christopher Biggins this week to unveil their Pride themed garden at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. The display has been created to support Stonewall’s work and raise awareness of equality for LGBT people.

The Stonewall Garden was unveiled to critical acclaim as Flower Show judges awarded the designers a gold prize for their vision of celebrating Pride and LGBT equality.

‘We were so excited to be able to support Stonewall and their work. The fact that we received a Gold award for the garden is such an incredible honour. We’ve worked so hard to bring this concept to life and we hope that the thousands of visitors will enjoy the work and be inspired to get involved and support Stonewall.’

Amanda Miller

The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, run by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), is the largest flower show in the world. The show features spectacular gardens and displays from participants from all over the world. The Stonewall Garden features in the prominent ‘Inspire’ area of the Flower Show where more than 300,000 visitors are expected throughout the week.

The garden has been inspired by the designers own experiences and the difficulties that she faced growing up as a lesbian in a small country town. The stunning garden shows visitors how breaking down the wall of ignorance – in the form of homophobia, biphobia and transphobia – reveals a Pride we can all celebrate.

‘At Stonewall we’re always keen to get involved with new events and projects. This is definitely a first for Stonewall and it’s inspiring to see people wanting to support our work in different ways. The Stonewall Garden will be seen by thousands of people this week – many of whom won’t have been engaged with our work before. We hope it can be a great way to raise awareness of the need to stamp out prejudice and homophobia.’

Catherine Bosworth, Stonewall’s Director of Fundraising

 

30,000 Revellers Gather for Pride in London – #freedomto

An amazing 30,000 people took part in the Pride parade yesterday in central London.

The Parade was lead by gay actor Sir Ian McKellen who marched with Stonewall, and together they set off from Baker Street, travelling along Oxford Street, Piccadilly Circus, Pall Mall and down to Trafalgar Square before ending at Whitehall.

London Pride is a celebration that the whole capital can be proud of. It’s inspirational to see so many thousands of people not just celebrating everything we’ve achieved as a community but also continuing to fight for LGBT equality here in Britain and around the world.”

Ruth Hunt, Stonewall’s Acting Chief Executive

With the incredible Eurovision winner Conchita Wurst then headlining the celebrations, with Sinitta, Heather Peace and Sam Bailey also joining in at the big stage at Trafagal Square, the event took over the capital.

This year’s theme was “#freedomto“, and participants were encouraged to send in “selfies” which could feature as advertisements on the Tube network, organisers said.

We have had a record number of attendees this year, with over 30 floats and 210 groups. The atmosphere has been amazing. The rain could not dampen the spirit, and people think it has been the best Pride.”

Michael Salter, chair of Pride in London

American Apparel Show Support for LGBT Pride Month Once Again

GLAAD and American Apparel, have announced a renewal of their annual pride partnership with a newly designed t-shirt to be released in conjunction with LGBT Pride Month.

Fifteen percent of all net sales will benefit GLAAD’s work to rewrite the script for LGBT equality.

The shirts, which are now available online and in stores across the nation, can be viewed here: http://store.americanapparel.net/screen-printed-unisex-power-washed-t-shirt-out-pride_2011spout

“American Apparel has always been a passionate ally of the LGBTQI community. From our now iconic “Legalize Gay!” and “GAY O.K.” tag lines and our ongoing partnership with GLAAD, American Apparel is committed for the long haul.”

Dov Charney, founder and CEO of American Apparel.

“Pride is not only about celebrating all that LGBT people and families have achieved but also a time when we should all reflect on the next steps to create a world where everyone can live a life they love,”

GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis.

For more information or to join GLAAD and American Apparel at the NYC Pride march, visit www.glaad.org/pride.

Our Pick of the Pink Parties – #LGBTPrideMonth

Summer’s here and LGBTQ Pride events all over the world are getting ready to kick off! Wherever you are, wherever you want to go, from San Francisco to the Canary Islands, you’ll have a fantabulosa time.

Here’s our guide to the greatest Pink Parties around the globe.


The Original and Still the Best

San Francisco enjoyed its very first Pride in 1970 just a year after the Stonewall Riots changed attitudes to LGBTs forever. It has grown to be a massive festival since then – perhaps the world’s biggest.


Sexy Spanish Style

Spain’s hottest gay spot, the Yumbo Centre in Gran Canaria hosts the busy and flamboyant Gay Pride Maspalomas every May, but is a favourite hangout of LGBTs all the year round.


Nordic Pleasures

Stockholm Pride has long been the biggest gay party in Scandinavia. Almost the whole city turns up for the fun and the highlight has to be the announcement of Mr Gay Sweden. Swing by there in August if you can!


The Big Pink Apple

Although this year’s New York Pride is unlikely to be as frenzied as 2011’s (the year gay marriage was legalised in the state), it’ll still be a fantastic experience. From PVC parties to bear pubs, kitsch palaces to country dancing jamborees – NY has it all!


Seaside Shindig

Britain can lay claim to several first-rate Pride events, but the one that everyone’s talking about this year has to be Brighton’s. The colourful and multifarious procession works its way from the historic pier, through the streets and into Preston Park, which is jam-packed with great music, entertainment and food tents. Unmissable!


Raunchy Riverdance

Antwerp might not be Europe’s biggest city but it sure knows how to put on a Pride party. The August White Party involves thousands of revellers dressed in white and dnacing on the banks of the river until sunset. It’s a beautiful experience that welcomes everyone – LGBT or straight.

Obama Announces June ‘LGBT Pride Month’ is in Honour of Stonewall Riots

President Barack Obama has announced that June will be recognised nationally as LGBT Pride Month, in honour of the 45th Anniversary of the Stonewall riots.

“I, Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2014 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month.

I call upon the people of the United States to eliminate prejudice everywhere it exists, and to celebrate the great diversity of the American people.

This month, as we mark 45 years since the patrons of the Stonewall Inn defied an unjust policy and awakened a nascent movement, let us honor every brave leader who stood up, sat in, and came out, as well as the allies who supported them along the way. Following their example, let each of us speak for tolerance, justice, and dignity, because if hearts and minds continue to change over time, laws will too.

As progress spreads from State to State, as justice is delivered in the courtroom, and as more of our fellow Americans are treated with dignity and respect, our Nation becomes not only more accepting, but more equal as well.

During Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month, we celebrate victories that have affirmed freedom and fairness, and we recommit ourselves to completing the work that remains.

In many places around the globe, LGBT people face persecution, arrest, or even state-sponsored execution. This is unacceptable. The United States calls on every nation to join us in defending the universal human rights of our LGBT brothers and sisters.”

President Barack Obama

In the statement the President also called out Republicans in Congress for stalling ENDA, which would afford protections to LGBT people in employment.