June is PRIDE MONTH and my unique PRIDE Storyโฆ is not what you think ๐คซ
When I was 6๏ธโฃ years old (late 70s), my mother enrolled me in dance school๐ฏ More details HERE.
Naturally, there were boys enrolled in my classes ๐บ๐ฝ, but at 6 years old you don’t think anything of it ๐
As I got older, began to notice the boys in ballet class ๐ฉฐ were “different” than the boys in my regular school๐ค. They didn’t talk about sports โฝ๏ธ๐๐ or cars ๐๐๐. They were WAY more fun ๐๐ฝโโ๏ธ & didn’t make obnoxious comments about my growing breasts ๐คฆ๐ฝโโ๏ธ
By the time I hit my teens, “dance school boys” ๐บ๐ฝ didn’t ask me out on dates; but still not fully understanding ๐, I just went with it.
As a senior in High School ๐ฉ๐ฝโ๐ & no longer a virgin, FINALLY got what being gay was all about ๐ก
My Unique PRIDE Storyโฆ Not What You Think: THE COLLEGE YEARS
In college EVERYONE explored different sexual partners ๐ต๐ฝโโ๏ธ๐ต๐ฝ, but that was not my scene ๐ ๐ฝโโ๏ธ. As a black, free-spirited hippie type โฎ๏ธ, all I knew was diversity ๐ฏ. Never felt uncomfortable around gay people or anyone for that matter ๐
In my 20s, (early 9๏ธโฃ0๏ธโฃs) was fortunate to not only live in the suburbs of Washington, DC ๐, but have a cast of characters as friends/family ๐คน๐ฝ๐ฉ๐ฝโ๐จ๐ญ
My best friend was a singer ๐ฉ๐ผโ๐ค and performed at clubs & outdoor festivals in the city ๐. Our group of rag tag misfits ๐คช PARTIED all over Washington, DC ๐ฅณ We never missed a Pot-In ๐ฟ or Pride Day Festival ๐.
If you live in DC, then you know all about Dupont Circle & the bars on P Street ๐จ๐ปโโค๏ธโ๐จ๐ฟ๐ฉ๐ผโโค๏ธโ๐ฉ๐ป
Details for 2021 CAPITAL PRIDE CELEBRATION HERE
We marched for gay rights decades before it was TRENDING๐๐ ๐คฃ. We understood the importance of equal rights FOR ALLโ๏ธ in a time where being gay in public was still very much closeted ๐ซ๐คฌ.
I watched on the news when they announced gay marriage as legal on a federal level ๐ฐ๐ผโโ๏ธ๐ฐ๐ฝโโ๏ธ๐คต๐ผโโ๏ธ๐คต๐ฝโโ๏ธ. Worked in the healthcare ๐ when it became legal to add PARTNER on your benefits ๐.
My Unique PRIDE Storyโฆ Not What You Think: TODAY
The struggles ๐๐ฝ๐๐ฝโโ๏ธ the LGBTQ community face are quiet different today. In 2021, I believe heterosexuals lack knowledge due to LABELS ๐ท. Some (emphasis on some) feel they have to box ๐ฆ people into this or that “label”.
With the LGBTQ community somewhat in its infancy ๐ถ๐ฝ๐ง๐ฝ of defining their legal rights, people would rather be intolerant ๐ก than patient ๐
When I think of the community today, I think back to that 6๏ธโฃ year old girl, standing at the ballet bar ๐๐ฝ, giggling ๐คญ with ALL her friends. Those memories are burned in my heart ๐, because they were my earliest gay experiences.
I was fortunate to have a progressive mother ๐ฉ๐ฝโ๐ฆฑ, educated ๐จ๐ฝโ๐ซ in high-rated schools ๐ซ in one of the richest counties ๐ฐ in the world ๐. Also lived in an area rich in diverse cultures ๐ณ๐ฝโโ๏ธ ๐ง๐ฝ๐๐๐งง๐ฎ๐ฟ and government.
Not everyone has that many cards stacked in their “tolerance arsenal”, so โ๏ธ we must continue to spread this message ๐ฃ