Straight People Have Always Been Accepted, So We Definitely Don't Need A Straight Pride Month

Whenever there is some sort of recognition towards a minority group, whether it is a full movement, a month, or even just a day, someone in the majority always cries, "What about us?"

"All lives matter!" they chanted as the issues behind Black Lives Matter was ignored.

"Men deserve a day too!" they shouted on International Women's Day despite the fact that International Men's Day exists too.

"What about straight pride?" they howled as the rainbow flags flew during Pride Month.

For one reason or another, the majority assumes that they do not matter all of a sudden, almost as if they have become a minority themselves. In a way, the outcry is inadvertently admitting to the hardships minorities face. The real issues are being swept under the rug, and members of the majority try to take the role of the victim away from the minority.

Here's the thing: no one ever said the majority was not important anymore. Behind each celebration of a minority group, there is the underlying message that the minority and the majority are in fact equal. It's not, "We are more important" but "We are important, too."

We celebrate and recognize minorities because they are important, too. Black lives matter too. Women deserve recognition too. The LGBTQ+ community can be proud of their identities too.

No one looks at a straight couple and thinks it's weird unless they are either close-minded, judgmental people or elementary kids that think that cooties exist. People won't bat an eye when a straight couple goes by hand in hand, yet they will give the couple a sideways glance towards a same-sex couple. To have a Straight Pride month would be to celebrate something that is already accepted everyday. Society already acknowledges heterosexuals and even deems them as normal, so why would we need to create more awareness for a group that we are all aware is accepted?

Of course, this does not mean that this is the mindset the entire majority holds. It's just a mindset that enough people hold that it is a problem. It is enough people that the real issues cannot be addressed. We need Pride Month as a platform for equality. It's more than just saying we are proud to identify with the LGBTQ+ community; it's about saying that we are equal too.