Pride Month: Seeing, Hearing and Valuing People Beyond Labels

Pride Month: Seeing, Hearing and Valuing

As we celebrate Pride Month, I find myself reflecting on the progress society has made and my own journey of understanding the LGBT+ community. Pride embodies many elements:

– Celebration
– Visibility
– Protest
– Remembrance

For many, it also signifies survival. At its core, Pride is about people – those who have faced rejection and had to conceal their true selves, yet displayed remarkable courage in simply being who they are.

Born in 1960, I witnessed significant milestones in the fight for LGBT+ rights: the legalization of homosexual acts between men in England when I was seven, the extension of those rights across the UK in my twenties, the equalization of the age of consent at forty and the legalization of same-sex marriage in most parts of the UK by fifty-four. This isn’t distant history; it’s my lifetime. I didn’t meet an openly gay person until my mid-twenties and I often wonder how many individuals felt they couldn’t be honest about their identities due to an unsafe world. What did that silence cost them – and all of us?

The AIDS epidemic, while devastating for the LGBT+ community, marked a pivotal moment in visibility. Living in Brighton, I’ve come to appreciate the creativity, humor, resilience, and vibrancy the LGBT+ community contributes to the city.

Recently, I engaged with a group of trades colleagues discussing inclusion. They believed they were inclusive by welcoming those who were “different” and even gave nicknames, such as calling the “gay guy” “Sweet Cheeks.” While this acknowledgment of difference is a step forward, it highlights a crucial point: seeing difference is not the same as seeing the person.

One of our core messages is clear: we must See beyond stereotypes and labels, Hear without judgment and Value individuals for their contributions. Reducing someone to a label means they are not truly seen and when that happens, they are less likely to be heard or valued.