‘Baby. We were born this way!’ – While we celebrate our authentic selves every day, June is a special month to show our love and support for one another. Pride Month is upon us, and it’s a great time to come together as one and express our individual personalities!
Pride Month is a celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, pansexual, non-binary people, and everyone else who identifies with this dynamic community. It’s important to reflect on how we got here, in addition, as we honor and pay tribute to those involved in the 1969 Stonewall Riots. Thankfully, many improvements in acceptance have been made since then.
Back in the year 2000, the first global Pride festival was held in Rome and only occurred every six years after that, it changed to a biennial basis with celebrations varying from a two-week span to a month. From this year on, World Pride will be an annual event! Hooray! Which brings us to this year’s hosts, we went down under to the wonderful city of Sydney in Australia. Celebrations began early as their two-week-long festival occurred in February. It was the first time we honored World Pride in the southern hemisphere. The theme of this year’s festival was Gather, Dream, and Amplify, and the main focus of the festival was to create a safe space for not only people living in the Australian states and territories, but to also bring focus to their neighboring countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
In the spirit of diversity and inclusion, we reached out to our community of Independent Creators and asked them “What Pride and Equality Means to Them?” Here are some of the answers they’ve shared:
“Being able to be proud of who you are as a person without repercussions. All humans are humans at the end of the day. We are all equal. Do we all have different strengths and weaknesses? Of course. But at the end of the day, we are all still humans. 💓”
“Pride and Equality to me are essentials to a good quality of life. They are sources of beauty and creation that push us into different directions in life. Without empowerment and community, simple daily life becomes difficult, maybe even lonely.“
“For me, pride and equality meant being true to oneself, standing up for others, and working to create a world where everyone was treated with dignity and respect, regardless of who they were. And I know that as long as I keep fighting for these values, there is hope for a better future.”
“For me, it means that I must feel sure of who I am and that I deserve the same respect as another human being. I can say that there have been times in my life that I have been discriminated against for being Afro-descendant and bisexual, I have received racist and homophobic insults. Luckily I consider that I am a very strong person and I have been able to face these situations and not let it affect my peace of mind or any other aspect of my life.”
“To me, Pride and Equality mean that everyone deserves to be treated with respect and dignity, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, race, or any other characteristic. It means celebrating our differences and recognizing that we all have value and worth.”
If you’re feeling inspired after reading those heartfelt responses, then we’ve made a list of ways you can help out the LGBTQIA+ community.
5 Ways to Honor Pride Month
Volunteer or Donate to a Local Organization
The Trevor Project is a 24/7 LGBTQIA+ support service and you can make a difference by volunteering as a counselor. If you want to help in other ways, we also recommend reaching out to any of the youth services in your local area. If you’d prefer to donate, there are a multitude of LGBTQIA+ organizations such as; GLAAD, Equality Federation, COLAGE, and many other charitable organizations.
Organize a Local Pride Celebration
Everyone deserves to feel loved and welcome, so whether you’re looking to make new friends or support the friends you already have, plan an inclusive event. This could be a picnic in a local park, a family fun day in the community or recreational center, a neighborhood barbecue, or pot luck; there are loads of possible angles you could take here.
Share Awareness
#loveislove. Share some love, and foster awareness of local events and causes with relevant hashtags. From Twitter to TikTok, you’ve got the power to use your voice and help change the narrative. Share your coming-out story, advise of any issues you’ve encountered, or be the friendly face to someone needing support. Social media can help create allyships, friendships, and more!
Be a Supportive Ally
If you witness any sort of discrimination, be a voice they can lean on and call out the bad behavior. Demonstrate how proud you are of them and be the shoulder to cry on, even when it comes to things you may not understand. You could even become an advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights on a social or professional level. If the company you work for doesn’t have some sort of inclusive or Pride campaign, then doing some research and asking questions will be a good place to start.
Fly Those Flags!
Along with sharing your views on social media, you can also make your home or office more welcome by displaying Pride merchandise or showcasing some form of diversity and inclusion. Invest in rainbow, bi, lesbian, pan, ace, or any other flag of your preference and wave it with pride, display stickers on your doorway, or post inspiring quotes on yard signs. A little can go a long way!
In light of this year’s pride theme, Gather, Dream. and Amplify, we hope we’ve gathered enough relevant information to amplify a fire in your belly, giving you the confidence to be who you’ve always dreamed of being. If you’re dreaming of better days, you’ll be happy to know World Pride is a little bit closer to home in 2025 and 2026: Washington DC is the host in those years, giving you plenty of time to plan your trip.
In a world with judgment and misconceptions, remember: you are beautiful, you are worthy. Be proud of who you are!
Zazzle takes pride in making our community feel as welcome & as inclusive as possible. At Zazzle, we are proud to stand with LGBTQIA+ folks and celebrate their accomplishments.
Shop Pride Collections on Zazzle
Hazel is a content specialist that reigns from the amazing land of Cork, Ireland. If her natural red hair doesn’t showcase her Irish roots, her love of humor and spontaneous outbursts would be a clear indicator. When she’s not looking out for her amazing team mates, she’s usually re-writing song lyrics – tirelessly trying to incorporate them into her writing pieces. She has a quirky, lively, and caring personality and her little dog Eddie makes her the happiest overall.
