My Unique PRIDE Story… Not What You Think

June is PRIDE MONTH and my unique PRIDE Storyโ€ฆ is not what you think ๐Ÿคซ

When I was 6๏ธโƒฃ years old (late 70s), my mother enrolled me in dance school๐Ÿ‘ฏ More details HERE.

Naturally, there were boys enrolled in my classes ๐Ÿ•บ๐Ÿฝ, but at 6 years old you don’t think anything of it ๐Ÿ™„

As I got older, began to notice the boys in ballet class ๐Ÿฉฐ were “different” than the boys in my regular school๐Ÿค”. They didn’t talk about sports โšฝ๏ธ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿˆ or cars ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿš—๐Ÿš™. They were WAY more fun ๐Ÿ™‹๐Ÿฝโ€โ™‚๏ธ & didn’t make obnoxious comments about my growing breasts ๐Ÿคฆ๐Ÿฝโ€โ™€๏ธ

By the time I hit my teens, “dance school boys” ๐Ÿ•บ๐Ÿฝ didn’t ask me out on dates; but still not fully understanding ๐Ÿ™ƒ, I just went with it.

As a senior in High School ๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿฝโ€๐ŸŽ“ & no longer a virgin, FINALLY got what being gay was all about ๐Ÿ’ก

My Unique PRIDE Storyโ€ฆ Not What You Think: THE COLLEGE YEARS

In college EVERYONE explored different sexual partners ๐Ÿ•ต๐Ÿฝโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿ•ต๐Ÿฝ, but that was not my scene ๐Ÿ™…๐Ÿฝโ€โ™€๏ธ. As a black, free-spirited hippie type โ˜ฎ๏ธ, all I knew was diversity ๐Ÿ’ฏ. Never felt uncomfortable around gay people or anyone for that matter ๐Ÿ•Š

In my 20s, (early 9๏ธโƒฃ0๏ธโƒฃs) was fortunate to not only live in the suburbs of Washington, DC ๐Ÿ›, but have a cast of characters as friends/family ๐Ÿคน๐Ÿฝ๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿฝโ€๐ŸŽจ๐ŸŽญ

My best friend was a singer ๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿผโ€๐ŸŽค and performed at clubs & outdoor festivals in the city ๐ŸŒƒ. Our group of rag tag misfits ๐Ÿคช PARTIED all over Washington, DC ๐Ÿฅณ We never missed a Pot-In ๐ŸŒฟ or Pride Day Festival ๐ŸŒˆ.

If you live in DC, then you know all about Dupont Circle & the bars on P Street ๐Ÿ‘จ๐Ÿปโ€โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿ‘จ๐Ÿฟ๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿผโ€โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿป

Details for 2021 CAPITAL PRIDE CELEBRATION HERE

We marched for gay rights decades before it was TRENDING๐Ÿ“Ÿ๐Ÿ“ ๐Ÿคฃ. We understood the importance of equal rights FOR ALLโ—๏ธ in a time where being gay in public was still very much closeted ๐Ÿšซ๐Ÿคฌ.

I watched on the news when they announced gay marriage as legal on a federal level ๐Ÿ‘ฐ๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿ‘ฐ๐Ÿฝโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿคต๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿคต๐Ÿฝโ€โ™€๏ธ. Worked in the healthcare ๐Ÿ’Š when it became legal to add PARTNER on your benefits ๐Ÿ“‘.

My Unique PRIDE Storyโ€ฆ Not What You Think: TODAY

The struggles ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿฝ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿฝโ€โ™‚๏ธ the LGBTQ community face are quiet different today. In 2021, I believe heterosexuals lack knowledge due to LABELS ๐Ÿท. Some (emphasis on some) feel they have to box ๐Ÿ“ฆ people into this or that “label”.

With the LGBTQ community somewhat in its infancy ๐Ÿ‘ถ๐Ÿฝ๐Ÿ‘ง๐Ÿฝ of defining their legal rights, people would rather be intolerant ๐Ÿ˜ก than patient ๐Ÿ˜

When I think of the community today, I think back to that 6๏ธโƒฃ year old girl, standing at the ballet bar ๐Ÿ’ƒ๐Ÿฝ, giggling ๐Ÿคญ with ALL her friends. Those memories are burned in my heart ๐Ÿ’›, because they were my earliest gay experiences.

I was fortunate to have a progressive mother ๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿฝโ€๐Ÿฆฑ, educated ๐Ÿ‘จ๐Ÿฝโ€๐Ÿซ in high-rated schools ๐Ÿซ in one of the richest counties ๐Ÿ’ฐ in the world ๐ŸŒŽ. Also lived in an area rich in diverse cultures ๐Ÿ‘ณ๐Ÿฝโ€โ™‚๏ธ ๐Ÿง•๐Ÿฝ๐Ÿ•Ž๐ŸŽŽ๐Ÿงง๐Ÿ”ฎ๐Ÿ“ฟ and government.

Not everyone has that many cards stacked in their “tolerance arsenal”, so โ˜Ž๏ธ we must continue to spread this message ๐Ÿ“ฃ

MERCHANDISE

SERVICES

REVIEWS


Feel Free to Leave a Comment