Celebrating 50 Years of Pride
Since 1972, Pride has been synonymous with acceptance, visibility and unity. Across most of the globe, the entire month of June is recognised as the official celebration of the LGBTQ+ community and raises awareness of the social and political inequalities surrounding sexuality and gender.
In London, the official day of Pride will be held on July 2nd this year. Due to the covid-19 pandemic, the last official Pride celebration was held in 2019, so this highly anticipated event is not only a long awaited one but marks a special occasion as the 50th anniversary too.
Here’s everything you need to know about Pride month.
This year, London’s contribution will be to commemorate the evolution of the Pride movement and remember the torch bearers that came before. The significance of the month of June is in remembrance of those that fought back against the authorities’ brutality at the Stonewall Riots on June 28th, 1969; an event that sparked a change in gay rights in the United States forever.
The Stonewall riots contributed to huge societal and political shifts and in 1972, London celebrated its first official Pride festival with over 2000 people in attendance. In 1989, the charity Stonewall was founded in order to offer guidance, support and care to those in the LGBTQ+ community and fight against inequality and homophobia in the UK, and globally.
Despite attitudes beginning to change, the AIDS epidemic that spanned across the 80’s and 90’s predominantly affected homosexual males; vilifying them in the general public, re-igniting a backlash of hate which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands, that were not able to receive proper medical treatment, because of their sexual preference.
In 2008, it became illegal to incite or inflict homophobic hatred and in 2013, in a long-awaited celebration of unity and love, same-sex marriage became legal in England, Scotland and Wales. Later, in 2020 same-sex marriage became legal in Northern Ireland.
Fast forward to 2022 and millions flock to the streets of London to celebrate Pride. As a society, we are thankfully more accepting than ever, and Pride has become so much more than just being centred around your sexual preference. It’s about identity, gender and expression.
Whilst public attitudes are more in support of LGBTQ+ rights than ever, there is still a way to go to change the negative perspective of many parents with LGBTQ+ children and eradicate hate crimes that persist across the UK.
There are still 71 countries worldwide where it is illegal to be gay, many of which still exercise the death penalty. The importance of continuing solidarity across the globe for the month of June, is not only to look back at the history of Pride, but fight for the hope of the future of LGBTQ+ rights in countries where it is illegal. Love is love.
Join the Pride festivities on the streets of London on Saturday 2nd July 2022.
If you would like to support, need advice or more information on London’s LGBTQ+ services and events, please take a look at some of the charities listed below.
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