VANCOUVER PRIDE

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LTA: What Does pride mean to you? How does the Existence of a pride month and pride celebrations make you feel as an LGBTQ+ member/ally?

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“Pride to me means embracing who I am and my sexuality. Pride celebrations give me meaning because I get to actively express my opinions and make a change. Pride month has brought more attention to the LGBTQ community and that makes me content.”

“Pride means a safe space to be me in a world that is so divided right now”

“For me, pride makes me feel amazing. Not because of the bright color, the loud music, although that’s a big plus. But pride symbolizes not just tolerance, not just acceptance, but growth as a society. It makes me feel happy and proud, not just to be an ally but to live somewhere where people feel safe to be themselves. And even though that sounds like such a basic human right it’s something that so many people don’t have.”

LTA: What is your favorite Memory of Pride this year?

“I loved every bit of the pride parade this year. It is really heartwarming to see how many people are a part of this community and how the LGBTQ community is growing to have more support.”

“My favorite moment was being surrounded by unconditional love and support from not only my friends who are allies, but also strangers walking on the street.”

“When there was afloat with a bunch of older men dancing around with pride flags. I thought it was so empowering that these men were so comfortable and happy with themselves because when they were younger it would have been incredibly difficult to be openly LGBTQ+.”

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“The people that are still hateful and discriminatory no longer hold power in our community.”

LTA: In your opinion, what are the societal implications of pride?

“I think the implications of pride have significantly become more positive over the years. Now people are able to be proud of their own sexualities and individuals are more open towards this topic.”

“The societal implications of pride are massive. There will always be hateful people who are homophobic/transphobic etc, but pride shows those people that societal norms have changed. It’s no longer “normal” to ostracize the LGBTQ community because unfortunately, it was in the past. What pride does, is it shows these people that the LGBTQ community has so much love and support behind them and that the people that are still hateful and discriminatory no longer hold power in our community.”

LTA: What do you hope to see in the future of pride?

“I hope to see more engagement from the general public in the future. I think pride is more than a term/month/parade for LGBTQ individuals. I think the discrimination against the LGBTQ community has/is/and will continue to be a societal issue for everyone

“I hope to see more youth involved in pride, and less of a stigma and worry in showing up every year.”

“I’d love to see Gen Z’ers get more involved! I didn’t see many floats with teenagers.”

LTA: Any other comments/remarks on Vancouver Pride/other pride events that you have been to this year?

“It's just nice to feel safe on the streets you usually wouldn't feel safe in, despite what you're wearing or what you're doing or who you're with.”

“I love pride. That’s it – that’s all I’ve got.”

Written by Adelaide Graham, Morgan J. Lee

Edited by Maureena Murphy

Photos by Koby Chen

January 2019