The Deadly Sin Sort of Pride
A brief history of Pride Month, and why celebrating Pride still matters
“...people like those here at Benedictine wouldn't be met with anger, but instead met with excitement and pride. Not the deadly sin sort of pride that has an entire month dedicated to it, but the true God-centered pride…”
I’m going to give you two names. Tell me which one you instantly recognize: Harrison Butker. Taylor Swift.
Prior to May 11, I would hazard a guess that the majority of you - unless a rabid football fan - did not recognize the name Harrison Butker but knew the iconic name, Taylor Swift.
Butker, a kicker for the Kansas City Chiefs, delivered a graduation address on May 11 at Benedictine College, a small Catholic school in Atchison, Kansas, during which he dismissively referred to billionaire pop icon Taylor Swift as “his teammate's girlfriend.”
Criticism spread like wildfire on social media and his name gained widespread coverage in the weeks following his speech due to the controversial comments he made about abortion, COVID-19, gender roles and, as you can see in the quote at the top of this article, the LGBTQ+ community.
It’s clear Butker didn’t take even a moment to unpack what lies within that month labeled “Pride.” Because if he had, he would have uncovered a powerful story of suffering, boldness, resilience, grit, community and love - the true story of Pride and its people. Instead, he took the word, overlaid it with his biases, and ran with his judgment.
So today, in honor of Pride Month and to counter Butker’s harmful rhetoric, we’re doing the work he chose not to do.
We’re understanding what Pride Month celebrates, what its roots are, and why it still remains an important practice of activism.
Because Pride Month is NOT the deadly sins sort of pride. Pride has played, and continues to play, a crucial role in advancing the liberation of queer people around the world.
What exactly does Pride Month celebrate?
The very first Pride March was organized one year after the Stonewall Uprising to commemorate that catalyzing moment for LGBT political activism in America. At the time, however, the concept of “Pride Month” was not yet in the picture as we know it today.
"...And each of these 5,000 homosexuals had a new feeling of pride and self-confidence, for that was one of the main purposes of the event-to commemorate, to demonstrate, but also to raise the consciences of participating homosexuals-to develop courage, and feelings of dignity and self-worth."
As it stands now, Pride Month commemorates years of struggle for civil rights and the ongoing pursuit of equal justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals.
It’s also a time of celebration. An intentional time for LGBTQ+ folks to honor their past, celebrate their present and feel hope for their future. In a world that has historically - and presently - denied their rights and demeaned their existence, it is important there be an opportunity to celebrate the inherent goodness of their Self that they are taught is evil and wrong.
The celebration of Pride Month isn’t about companies morphing their logos into a rainbow version or throwing an ostentatious party marked by overconsumption (although, it’s important to note that to boldly and loudly take up space is a radical act, especially when the world has worked to keep LGBT folks invisible and in the margins).
“It is revolutionary for any trans person to choose to be seen and visible in a world that tells us we should not exist.”
— Laverne Cox, actress and transgender activist
It is for LGBTQ+ folks to remember where they have come from, to celebrate where they are and who they are, and to recognize how far there still is to go – and to do so alongside a loving and encouraging community.
The Inception and Evolution of Pride Month
Pride Month didn’t start as Pride Month.
Prior to the Stonewall Riots in 1969, activist groups had been holding Annual Reminder Day Pickets that began in 1965. At the time, there were no federal protections for LGBT people.
LGBTQ individuals had long been subject to public hostility and legal prosecution and were widely denied protection against discrimination in employment, housing, military service, and private and public services.
During these demonstrations, protestors dressed in professional attire outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia, holding signs calling for equal rights for homosexuals. These were the first annual gay rights events to be repeated.
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After the Stonewall Uprising, the organizers of the Annual Reminder Day Pickets suggested they shift their focus to make the event an annual demonstration in commemoration of Stonewall.
At the November 1969 E.R.C.H.O Conference, the 13 voting organizations present adopted the following resolution:
"We propose that a demonstration be held annually on the last Saturday in June in New York City to commemorate the 1969 spontaneous demonstrations on Christopher Street and this demonstration be called CHRISTOPHER STREET LIBERATION DAY."
The Stonewall Inn is located on Christopher Street, and was the origin point for the Uprising. (Library of Congress)
And so it was. Christopher Street Liberation Day on June 28, 1970 would later become recognized as the first “Pride Parade.”
So where did the slogan “Gay Pride” come from? How did we get the name Pride Month?
While planning for the Christopher Street Liberation Day march, organizers proposed a variety of slogans. The story goes that “gay power” had been proposed as the slogan for the march. It was argued that the movement had yet to be politically empowered but that its members felt great pride in their sexual identity. Thus, it was decided that the march’s theme would be “gay pride.”
The chant for the first ever Pride Parade - aka Christopher Street Liberation Day - then became: “Say it clear, say it loud. Gay is good, gay is proud.”
While homophile groups continued to organize this celebration every year, it wasn’t federally recognized until 1999 when President Bill Clinton declared June “Gay & Lesbian Pride Month.” Then, in 2009, President Barack Obama declared June LGBT Pride Month to include bisexual and transgender individuals.
It’s important to still celebrate Pride Month
There are currently 516 anti-LGBTQ bills in the United States. While many have been defeated, almost 35% have been introduced, are advancing or have already been passed into law.
As we’ve established, Pride Month isn’t just about colorful, joyful parties (although that’s certainly an important - and fun - part). It’s a time to reflect on the community’s history and see there still exists a need for further protection and liberation.
Here are a few reasons Pride Month is still an imperative practice.
The history isn’t that historical (aka it didn’t happen that long ago)
Here’s a quick background that proves just how RECENT protections and rights for LGBT folks are in America:
1982: The first protections of the rights of LGBTQ people at the state or national level are enacted
1990: Congress decided that lesbians and gays could no longer be excluded from immigration based on their sexual orientation
1993: President Bill Clinton adopted “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” which, for the first time, allowed gay men and lesbians to serve in the military, with conditions. They would not be asked about their sexual orientation but would be discharged for disclosing it.
1982: The military enacted a policy explicitly banning gay men and lesbians from their ranks;
Before 1982: Same-sex relations were criminalized and a cause for discharge;
1940s: Homosexuality was considered a mental illness, disqualifying gay men and lesbians from service
1994: Homosexuality is removed entirely from the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic manual. Prior to this, it was classified as a sociopathic personality disturbance, then a personality disorder before being de-pathologized, where the focus turned instead to a patient’s internal conflict with their sexuality.
The de-pathologizing of homosexuality had a profound impact on the evolution of gay rights, including:
(1) the repeal of sodomy laws that criminalized homosexuality;
(2) the enactment of laws protecting the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in society and the workplace;
(3) the ability of LGBT personnel to serve openly in the military;
(4) marriage equality and civil unions in an ever-growing number of countries;
(5) the facilitation of gay parents’ adoption rights;
(6) the easing of gay spouses’ rights of inheritance;
(7) an ever-increasing number of religious denominations that would allow openly gay people to serve as clergy.
2003: Same-sex sexual conduct was fully decriminalized in the United States in June with the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in Lawrence v. Texas
2009: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act was expanded to provide protection for LGBT citizens. Sexual orientation and gender identity were not protected against hate crimes prior to this. However, to this day, not all state laws provide full and sufficient protection.
2010: President Barack Obama’s administration repealed “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” allowing open members of the LGBTQ+ community to serve in the armed forces
2015: Gay marriage is legalized in all fifty states. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down all state bans on same-sex marriage and required states to honor out-of-state same-sex marriage licenses
2020: Protections against employment discrimination are extended to sexual orientation and gender identity. None were legally guaranteed prior to this
2021: Ban on transgender individuals was rescinded, allowing those who don’t identify with their biological gender to enlist and serve in the armed forces
Queer Liberation is a Global Fight
So far, we’ve talked entirely about LGBT history in America. But queerness doesn’t know borders; members of the LGBT community exist all over the world, including in places where homosexuality is illegal.
Out of 195 countries in the world, 64 of them still criminalize LGBT people. 12 of them impose the death penalty.
While rights and protections for LGBT people in America have made great strides just in the last decade, the work is not done. LGBTQ+ people exist around the world, and they are not yet safe.
For the folks at home who find themselves in disagreement with the “lifestyle” of LGBTQ+ folks, I want to challenge you with this: even if you disagree with someone, they are still deserving of life, liberty and happiness. They deserve equal opportunity. They deserve safety - physical, emotional and financial. They deserve to be legally protected and seen and treated equally as human as their straight, cisgender counterparts.
Two things can be true at once: you can hold whatever beliefs you want about the validity of LGBT people, AND you can support their human right to life and safety. These things are not, and should not be, mutually exclusive.
Finding Hope for the Future
Last, but most certainly not least, Pride is about hope. There are still people who wonder if they are better off dead than gay or transgender or nonbinary. There are people who live a life of shame and self-disgust because they do not see or understand how this part of their identity is good or lovable. There are still people who think they cannot possibly have a normal, happy life as a queer person.
Pride reminds people there is a beautiful life waiting for them - just as they are.
Not Deadly Sin, but Living Pride
Pride Month was born from the labors of folks who fought for the rights of LGBT individuals. It isn’t about special attention or “an excessive self-love,'“ and it never has been.
Pride Month, and its history, is about safety and equality. It was - and is - about securing the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These are inalienable rights of ALL people, regardless of race, gender, or sexual orientation.
It is about finding joy and celebrating love, despite all obstacles.
Because queer joy is radical. It is proving you have life and love and happiness, exactly as you are, in a world that has - and in many places still does - told you that you shouldn’t exist.
So, Harrison Butker. Next time you want to equate a month that commemorates a fight for justice and a celebration of humanity and joy to a deadly sin that is about caring about nothing or no one but oneself, take a minute to use Google before you put your foot in your mouth.
Hope will never be silent.
-Harvey Milk