The Rainbow Hued World

Come June and everything is rainbow hued. Sure it’s the monsoons here, and when sunlight passes through rain/cloud, it creates a rainbow, or the prism effect. It’s also Pride month, a month to celebrate you, who you are and who you choose to be.

So you have parades and parties, and dare I say, orgies, (maybe not in the current situation) and rainbow washing of every brand. People flamboyantly and unabashedly being themselves, marching to the beat of their own drum, waving their flags up high, for all to see. You have interviews and editorials and everyone wants a piece of Pride.

But what happens on the 1st July? Do we go back to living our lives? Do we go back into the closet? Do we go back to toeing the line of society?

So what does Pride really mean? Pride is being proud of who you are, who you choose to be, who you choose to love. After all, love is love is love is love. It’s greatest thing you’ll ever do, to love and be loved (thank you Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eden Ahbez, for these words).  Pride is about not being what society wants you to be, but being who you truly want to be, who you are meant to be.

Pride is lending a helping hand to those who need it. The ones who are confused and scared. Who are told that they are an abomination, what they feel is a sin. Who are often beaten into submission, bullied all their lives, coerced into unhappy relationships, under societal pressure, often giving into emotional blackmail.

Pride means telling the world and those who need to hear it, that you are unique, you are different, and you are ok being this way. You never know who’s life you are saving.

Pride means telling the world you will love who you choose to love, and this love is not sin. You may go from one relationship to the next, give them different names, your actions are basic human nature, not something out of the blue.

Pride is more than just apps, going from one sexual partner to another, and the various labels you give each other. Pride is about being unabashedly proud of your sexuality and your orientation.

Pride is all about loving yourself. Often images of toned models in banana hammocks (thank you Princess Consuela), forces upon you, leading to body image issues. It’s ok to be who you are, in the body you have been blessed with. It’s important to stay body positive, and lead a healthy life.

Pride is so much more than parades and parties and waving flags, being your flamboyantly, fabulous self. Pride is about affecting a change, starting a conversation, keeping this conversation going in the stories that you tell and the hope that you give. Pride is about helping society adapt to changing times, breaking the stereotypes of what is love, what’s family, challenging society to be more inclusive, more accepting, rather than forcing it into submission.

So be proud of who you are and let no one take that away from you. And way your flag up high not just through June, but for everyday to come.

“You hold tight to your umbrella

But, darling, I'm just tryin' to tell ya

That there's always been a rainbow hangin' over your head”.

 - Kasey Musgraves