Lately, I have been overwhelmed with glee seeing the many Pride parades all over the country. Many of my friends have documented these events on Snapchat, allowing me to live vicariously through the colorful and majestic array of genders parading through the streets appreciating themselves and one another. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the chance to attend one of these amazing occasions yet. However, my appreciation still lingers.
Scrolling through Twitter this week, I ran across the hashtag #HeterosexualPrideDay. My first reaction was “Is this a joke?!” A friend of mine was annoyed that her one year anniversary with her girlfriend happened to fall on the dreaded and ridiculous day for “heterosexual pride…” I responded to her annoyance with the reminder that this is definitely not a thing.
While I’m still not sure if this Heterosexual Pride Day is a joke or not, I am aghast at the audacity of the individuals who started this hashtag. They are probably the same people who have “white lives matter” in their Instagram bios. The very ignorant and unaware type. This isn’t about straight people right now. A straight club was not recently targeted by a mass shooter, killing 50 people. Straight people aren’t being denied their right to use the restroom of their correct gender. And most of all, straight people aren’t bullied and beaten to death because of their sexuality every day. Pride is a celebration for the LGBT community and a stance against violence and discrimination toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Not a violent protest.
As the members of the LGBT community are given one day to parade around their city with beautiful expressive art, everyone else has the rest of the year to walk around unworried about their appearance to the public eye and their safety.
As a North Carolinian, I am often the minority when it comes to my opinion towards the LGBT community. However, I am strongly against the HB2 law and honestly, I probably support my gay and lesbian friend couples more than the straight ones. When heterosexuals are being discriminated against by the masses, it may be correct to promote “heterosexual pride.” Until then: Straight people, let them have this one.
