Thoughts on Pride

I am a white, straight, cisgender female with an above average intelligence from a middle class family that valued education. I have more privilege than some white, straight, cisgender men out there. That does not mean I am not proud of who I am as a person. It does not mean I am not proud of my accomplishments. I have worked hard to get where I am. I have made some difficult decisions. I absolutely am proud of that.

But am I proud of being white? Am I proud of being straight? Am I proud of being cisgender? No. I have done nothing to be those things. I was simply born that way.

Exactly, you might say. People who are not white, who are gay, who are transgender – they were born that way. Why should they get to be “proud”?

Here’s the kicker – society has never made me feel “less than” for being white, straight, or cisgender. No one has ever tried to shame me, disgrace me, tell me I am evil, or responsible for the end of the world because I am those things. Simply existing in the world openly as white, straight, and cisgender does not open me up to legal discrimination or violence.

But for people who are not white, are gay, or transgender – simply being themselves does open them up to discrimination. They have been told that what they are is “less” than others. They have been told it is shameful to be who they are. We have passed laws, not that many years ago, to deny these people basic rights.

To live out loud, in public, simply as who they are is an act of defiance of societal norms. To say “I am black and proud” is to not except a society that has long held people of color are lesser. To say “I am gay and proud” is to stand up to a community that would prefer to hide you in a closet. To say “I am transgender and proud” is to fight against a world that would label you deviant and sick.

Those are actions, and to live a life that is true to oneself in the face of a society that tells you that makes you less of a person is, in fact, something to be proud of.

I am proud to be part of a generation that is fighting these societal norms. To be a voice for equality, and letting people live their true lives. I am proud to be an ally.

And I dream that one day it will seem as ridiculous to say “I am black and proud” or “I am gay and proud” or “I am transgender and proud” as it does to say “I am white and proud”, “I am straight and proud” or “I am cisgender and proud”.

That, my friends, would be an accomplishment we could all be proud of.