June is PRIDE MONTH and my unique PRIDE Story… is not what you think 🤫
When I was 6️⃣ years old (late 70s), my mother enrolled me in dance school👯 More details HERE.
Naturally, there were boys enrolled in my classes 🕺🏽, but at 6 years old you don’t think anything of it 🙄
As I got older, began to notice the boys in ballet class 🩰 were “different” than the boys in my regular school🤔. They didn’t talk about sports ⚽️🏀🏈 or cars 🏎🚗🚙. They were WAY more fun 🙋🏽♂️ & didn’t make obnoxious comments about my growing breasts 🤦🏽♀️
By the time I hit my teens, “dance school boys” 🕺🏽 didn’t ask me out on dates; but still not fully understanding 🙃, I just went with it.
As a senior in High School 👩🏽🎓 & no longer a virgin, FINALLY got what being gay was all about 💡
My Unique PRIDE Story… Not What You Think: THE COLLEGE YEARS
In college EVERYONE explored different sexual partners 🕵🏽♀️🕵🏽, but that was not my scene 🙅🏽♀️. As a black, free-spirited hippie type ☮️, all I knew was diversity 💯. Never felt uncomfortable around gay people or anyone for that matter 🕊
In my 20s, (early 9️⃣0️⃣s) was fortunate to not only live in the suburbs of Washington, DC 🏛, but have a cast of characters as friends/family 🤹🏽👩🏽🎨🎭
My best friend was a singer 👩🏼🎤 and performed at clubs & outdoor festivals in the city 🌃. Our group of rag tag misfits 🤪 PARTIED all over Washington, DC 🥳 We never missed a Pot-In 🌿 or Pride Day Festival 🌈.
If you live in DC, then you know all about Dupont Circle & the bars on P Street 👨🏻❤️👨🏿👩🏼❤️👩🏻
Details for 2021 CAPITAL PRIDE CELEBRATION HERE
We marched for gay rights decades before it was TRENDING📟📠🤣. We understood the importance of equal rights FOR ALL❗️ in a time where being gay in public was still very much closeted 🚫🤬.
I watched on the news when they announced gay marriage as legal on a federal level 👰🏼♀️👰🏽♀️🤵🏼♀️🤵🏽♀️. Worked in the healthcare 💊 when it became legal to add PARTNER on your benefits 📑.
My Unique PRIDE Story… Not What You Think: TODAY
The struggles 🙍🏽🙍🏽♂️ the LGBTQ community face are quiet different today. In 2021, I believe heterosexuals lack knowledge due to LABELS 🏷. Some (emphasis on some) feel they have to box 📦 people into this or that “label”.
With the LGBTQ community somewhat in its infancy 👶🏽👧🏽 of defining their legal rights, people would rather be intolerant 😡 than patient 😍
When I think of the community today, I think back to that 6️⃣ year old girl, standing at the ballet bar 💃🏽, giggling 🤭 with ALL her friends. Those memories are burned in my heart 💛, because they were my earliest gay experiences.
I was fortunate to have a progressive mother 👩🏽🦱, educated 👨🏽🏫 in high-rated schools 🏫 in one of the richest counties 💰 in the world 🌎. Also lived in an area rich in diverse cultures 👳🏽♂️ 🧕🏽🕎🎎🧧🔮📿 and government.
Not everyone has that many cards stacked in their “tolerance arsenal”, so ☎️ we must continue to spread this message 📣
