Why Pride?

Pride Isn’t Just a Party — It’s a Protest for Our Right to Exist

Why do we need Gay parades?

It’s a heavy question. Not just the question itself, but the whole damn subject.
Because lately, society feels like it’s sliding backwards — a painful rewind to medieval times and ignorance. (And by ignorance, I mean the stubborn refusal to accept facts, science, and reality.) A blind retreat into so-called “traditional values.”

Let us talk a little bit about why we need parades.

Do you actually know how gay parades started?

Well, let me tell you.

Gay Pride parades trace back to the Stonewall riots in 1969, when LGBTQ+ people in New York City fought back against police raids and systemic oppression. It was a turning point—an uprising born from frustration and the need for visibility, dignity, and rights. From those moments of resistance, the first Pride marches were born, turning pain into celebration, and invisibility into community.

Before we plunge deeper, let’s get a few things clear.

These assumptions should be simple. But in today’s world, they’re still controversial.

Assumption number one: Sexuality is something you’re born with.
Just like some people are born attracted to the opposite gender, some are born attracted to the same gender. Some to both. And some to none — asexuality is real.
Sexuality can be fluid. You might be drawn to one gender today, both tomorrow, or neither for a while.
We are beautifully complex beings — but weirdly, that complexity is often denied when it comes to sex and love.
Why? Because talking honestly about sexuality still feels taboo.

When did that happen?

Back in ancient Greece and Rome, same-sex love wasn’t hidden or shamed. It was accepted in many circles, even celebrated. But over centuries, fear, religion, and ignorance pushed those truths underground.

We all know that story. But let’s not get sidetracked.
(And by “we,” I mean those of us who read, think critically, and form our own opinions — not just swallow what we hear or see on social media. Reading isn’t about accepting everything; it’s about exploring different perspectives, then figuring out your own truth based on knowledge and experience.)

So, back to the point.

This post will be messy, raw, because I’m wrestling with how to explain why we need parades — fso all can understand. All, whoever reads my humble articles.

What was I saying? Right, we fear diversity.

Assumption number 2: You are not made gay by being exposed to gay people.
This follows assumption number one — sexuality is not something you can change. You are born this way.

A very important comment here:
Sexuality is not something you can change, but it is something you can suppress.
If you argue that in a society where gayness is not recognized, there are no gay people, you could not be more wrong. There are suppressed gay people.
And this is exactly how the gay manifesto started — from being tired of being rejected as individuals and considered abnormal or sick.

Assumption number 3: Everyone has the right to love whomever they want, and to love them in public, as long as there is consent.

I have heard many times homosexuality being spoken of in the same sentences as zoophilia or pedophilia.
CONSENT should be the word of the freaking decade.

Homosexuality is about two people both wanting each other.
I hope I will not hear these two “sicknesses” in the same sentence as a sexual orientation ever again.Why are they different? Again — CONSENT.
Children cannot give consent, neither can animals.
Humans can. And something is considered ethical only when consent has been given.

Another important comment — sorry, but I just can’t help myself.
Even if consent has been given at the beginning of something, it can always be withdrawn. If something does not feel right anymore, it should always be okay to say no and stop whatever is going on.
Consent in the beginning does not mean consent forever.
Fluidity — word of the year! Come on, we can do this! I have hope in us.

Okay, now that we have the three assumptions, let’s move forward with our problem.

Why do we need parades?
Why can’t they just do whatever they want in their homes?
Why do they have to go out on the streets and show off?

I hope you read the little introduction at the beginning of this text.

Why do you think someone would literally risk their life to tell the world: I want to love this man and I want to be not ashamed of it or to hide it?

So, why?
Simply, we just want to exist and be accepted.
We do not want to hide and be shy when we tell someone we have a girlfriend and not a boyfriend.
We do not want to lie to our families, and say, “No, I don’t have a boyfriend right now because I am busy.”
We do not want to push ourselves down and be “less gay” at family gatherings.
We simply want to be just like everyone else, allowed to live freely and without shame.

Being accepted means taking down the shame coat and joining the community.

There is so much to talk about here — about internalized homophobia, constructed and passed down through generations.

I recommend a book that I think should be elementary in all educational programs in every country:

Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin Banaji and Anthony Greenwald.

This book is based on over 30 years of research, including the famous Implicit Association Test developed through Harvard University’s Project Implicit. It reveals how even good people carry hidden biases, often unconsciously, and offers tools for uncovering and challenging those blind spots.

Please read it. I beg you!
It will change your life.

Parades are not about showing off.
They are about celebrating how much the generations before us fought for our rights.
They are about our victories — being visible, accepted, and free.
They hold such a liberating feeling for the queer community.
It is our time of the year when we are not a minority, not something to be ashamed of, not a political pawn.
We are colorful, happy, kind, and here.

After all, Pride — and our symbol, the rainbow — is about fighting for equal rights for all of us, within the limits of ethics and respect.

Sorry, but the story has been stretched and twisted so much that politicians today speak of accepting diversity as something evil, giving unethical examples that happen regardless of sexuality.

So join us. We fight for everyone.

Tomorrow, Paris, Milano & Helsinki will flood the streets to celebrate the fight for a better world.

See you there. Bring your most beautiful smile.