What Pride means to me

Every Pride month since the formative years of my teens, I have reflected on what the month means for my identity and investigated Pride history and its significance to today’s LGBTQIA+ culture. Some years (due to being closeted), I would be envious of those who were able to celebrate and be unapologetically themselves, other years I have been lucky to celebrate with friends and family.

This year I view pride as a time of protest as much as a celebration. As a nonbinary queer person in the UK, it is an incredibly difficult time to openly exist when our current government opposes the existence of transgender individuals. Recent legislation has seen the ban of puberty blockers, as well as, the introduction of voter ID, which creates greater obstacles for trans voters. Pride needs to openly address and protest these discriminatory moves against transgender individuals, creating a space within the LGBTQIA+ community which emphasises people’s identities are no longer just being tolerated but are accepted and celebrated.

As LGBTQIA+ lives have become increasingly politicised, I am more determined than ever to portray my true self. With the freedom and safety I have around me to be openly out and proud about my identity (as a queer and nonbinary person), I use Pride to fight for those less fortunate than me, those who are unable to come out and be themselves.

Pride is all about championing LGBTQIA+ individuals both past and present, to ensure the freedom and celebration of future individuals

It has taken years of reflection and exposure to welcoming environments to feel self-acceptance and comfortable with my identity, but this process was not easy. I attended a Catholic school (for most of my education) where learning about LGBTQIA+ lives was still rather taboo; I knew of one gay person and there was little representation in the media with people that mirrored what I looked like and what I was feeling. Deep down I always knew I was queer. Yet, I could not help feeling ashamed and isolated as I was exposed to environments where the terms ‘lesbian’, ‘gay’ and ‘queer’ were still being used in a derogatory manner. How was I meant to feel pride in my identity when the labels I used to describe myself were only used negatively?

After coming out in 2020, attending my first pride in the summer of 2021 and then starting university later that year, a real shift occurred when understanding my identity. From learning how freeing it could be, I strived for the same sense of freedom. I remember having a conversation with the first person I met at university (who is now my best friend) a few weeks in about my gender identity and how dysphoric I felt around being considered a ‘girl’. From that moment, I knew I had to discover this side of myself, the parts I had subconsciously repressed to seem more ‘palatable’ to society and those around me. I began to identify as nonbinary, a term I felt best described exactly who I am and what I felt.

The inclusive environments which I entered at university meant my identity was no longer just ‘assumed’ and I could openly be queer and nonbinary. From seminar tutors asking each student for their pronouns during icebreakers to the twice-a-term ‘Loud and Proud’ club night where I danced to queer anthems with my friends, university brought me out of my shell and allowed me to learn to love my identity.

The inclusive environments which I entered at university meant my identity was no longer just ‘assumed’ and I could openly be queer and nonbinary

Since being a student at the University of Warwick I have seen a rise in opportunities open to LGBTQIA+ individuals. One of the most notable is Warwick Pride and their Gender Expression Fund which has been incredible in providing accessible and gender-affirming aid to students. Of course, there is still a long way to go in ensuring an element of ‘Pride’ all year round, not just during Pride Month and LGBTQIA+ History Month in February.

Pride is all about championing LGBTQIA+ individuals both past and present, to ensure the freedom and celebration of future individuals. Thus, Pride has become a time of protest to preserve the rights and freedoms of LGBTQIA+ individuals and their identities. It is also a time to reflect on historical progress from perspectives of acceptance, to fight for heightened inclusion, freedom and normalisation of LGBTQIA+ identities. During Pride, I will be taking the time to reflect on how far we have come and how far there is still left to go.