Every June, Pride Month celebrates the diversity of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community. It’s a time to reflect on just how far civil rights have progressed in half a century and an opportunity to protest discrimination and violence. Australia is at the forefront of the push towards true equality and inclusion for LGBTI people, but there is more to do.
Every June, Pride Month celebrates the diversity of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community. It’s a time to reflect on just how far civil rights have progressed in half a century and an opportunity to protest discrimination and violence. Australia is at the forefront of the push towards true equality and inclusion for LGBTI people, but there is more to do.
How did it all start?
In the US, the ‘Gay Pride Month’ has its roots in the Stonewall Riots of 1969. The Stonewall Riots, or as many call it the ‘Stonewall Uprising’, was a series of extemporaneous and sporadic demonstrations held by the LGBTQ community in and around New York.
The demonstrations were a direct response to a raid conducted by the police on the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich village, on June 28, 1969. The Inn had quite a colourful past, right from being owned by a Genovese Crime family to finally becoming a watering hole for gay men in New York. The Inn became quite popular for gay men, and it was one of the few places that allowed gay people to dance.
The sixties was the time in the US when the anti-Vietnam war protest was gathering momentum, and a hippie counterculture was bubbling under. At the same time, gay and lesbian members of the American society were being constantly marginalised. In fact, solicitation of homosexual relations was still a crime in New York City. In these rough times, the Stonewall Inn offered a safe haven to the LGBTQ community.
Drag Queens, effeminate men, and gay men who pretended to be straight, could all come and have a good time at the ‘bottle bar’ — the Inn didn’t have a liquor license, as the patrons got their own. However, the city still deemed public display of affection by the gay community as illegal. Gay bars were routinely raided and their owners and patrons harassed.
In the wee hours of June 28, 1969, the police raided Stonewall Inn and arrested 13 people. Some were employees, and some were patrons who violated New York state’s gender-appropriate clothing statute — read drag queens. The raid ignited the long pent-up frustration of the LGBTQ community, and many patrons and gay residents of the Greenwich village started to gather around the Inn.
The situation turned aggressive, and many civilians were manhandled, and an LGBTQ woman was hit by a policeman as he bundled her into a police vehicle. Instantly, a full-fledged riot broke out. It led to five more days of belligerent protests and activism by the LGBTQ people of New York. The Stonewall Riots hence mark an important day in the evolution of modern-day gay rights. In 2016, President Obama declared the Stonewall Inn a national monument.
Rioting Legacy
On June 28, 1970, people marked the first anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, and the anniversary heralded the first ever ‘gay pride march’. There were simultaneous marches held in the cities of New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. The next year, the marches had spread to Boston, Dallas, Milwaukee, London, Paris and even West Berlin. The pride marches opened a path of acceptance and assimilation for the LGBTQ community, which, for the longest time, had been shunned by the mainstream.
Official Stamp of Acceptance
In the US, the first ever ‘official’ Gay Pride Month was declared by President Bill Clinton in June 1999 and then followed it up with declaring one in June 2000 as well.
The Bush administration maintained a stoic silence on the issue. President Obama, during his two terms from 2009-2016, declared June as the LGBT pride month each year. President Trump took to Twitter to announce that June was the LGBT pride month, but abstained from an official proclamation. President Biden, too, has declared June to be the LGBTQ+ Pride Month of 2021.
Since 2012, Google, too, has been stepping up its LGBTQ+ stance on its homepage. Any search on Google that’s related to LGBTQ topics is offset with the distinct rainbow-coloured pattern — the hallmark of Gay pride. In 2017, Google took it up a notch, with Google maps displaying rainbow-coloured streets to indicate pride marches that were being held across the world.
Read the full article Written by Ektaa Malik , Edited by Explained Desk here.
Pride in Sydney Australia from Time Out Australia
Time Out says
Look out for LGBTQIA+ parties and community events taking place all June long
Sydney can be a pretty wonderful place to be under the rainbow. June marks World Pride Month, when cities and communities around the world celebrate and advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights. Down Under, the bulk of our pride celebrations fall during our summer – when the weather is a little more conducive to booty shorts, chaps and mesh singlets – with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival and famous Parade in February, preceded by Melbourne’s Midsumma and followed by regional Mardi Gras celebrations around the country.
But we love any excuse to let the pride flag fly, so Sydney’s queer community is ready to celebrate alongside the global LGBTQIA+ revelers for World Pride Month. After all, we are gearing up to host WorldPride in 2023.
Read the full article from Time Out here and visit the official Sydney Pride website here.
15 brands that are giving back for Pride Month 2021
From Skittles to Levi’s, here’s how some of the biggest brands are giving back to the LGBTQ community during Pride Month.
Read the full article here.
Support services
Emergency help
If you’re feeling distressed and want to talk to someone right now, call Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, Lifeline on 13 11 14, or one of the other contacts in the urgent help section, all of which provide trained counsellors you can talk with 24/7. They are available to discuss whatever is going on with you, and are trained to help you figure out what to do.
If you have experienced threats or violence, report it to the police on 131 444.
National services
If you’re looking to talk to someone about sex, sexuality or gender but you’re outside the local call area of a capital city, you can contact the number/website below to get connected with your local sexuality and gender support service.
A national service that aims to keep LGBTQI communities supported and connected.
Phone: 1800 184 527 (3pm–midnight AEST)
Online chat (3pm–midnight AEST)
National services which may be of use for those who identify as intersex include:
Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group
Organisation Intersex International
