To be perfectly honest, I really dislike the term "straight pride". It is a term/idea that is NEVER brought up by straight people unless there is malicious intent behind it. I highly doubt we would ever have straight allies going around screaming "yay! straight pride"... because they have compassion and common sense. The idea of straight pride is only ever mentioned to irritate us and to push our buttons. My opinion; feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
Don't know what is going on lately on EC... And not sure I want to know either... So shall we take homophobic and transphobic comments as 'freedom of expression' from now on, just to prove how 'open minded' and PC we all are here on EC? Oh wait...
As one of my favorite books, "Openly Straight" says, "What do you call a straight person coming out? A conversation." Straight people DO have pride. Every time they talk about their opposite sex partners, their marriages, their sex lives, whatever. They aren't the ones that can be kicked out of their houses, suffer from depression, be humiliated, even commit suicide for being straight. I think it is very offensive when heterosexuals think we are "shoving gay stuff in their faces" when they can talk about their sexuality all they want without getting weird looks. So no, straight pride can in no way be compared to gay pride. If we did not "make a big deal" out of who we are, no one would pay attention to what we had to say! I can't believe this sometimes.
This just belies the ignorance of those who are asking for it. After all Pride is a celebration of the Stonewall riots, when the LGBT community finally stood up to the Cops who were raiding them every night for no apparent reason. So, if straight people have somewhere that the Cops are raiding for no other reason that they are straight, they can start their own celebration. Otherwise STFU. ---------- Post added 11th Jul 2015 at 06:35 PM ---------- Yes, it is. It also is full of ignorance.
Saying you don't blame homophobes for being homophobic is very problematic. That is sort of like enabling their unfound hatred for gay people. I hope you're able to see why there is a need for a LGBTQ Liberation (also known as Pride) Movement, seeing as we had to fight for our right to exist freely without persecution.
First I'll get my opinion out of the way. I think it is important to have pride in ones self. That is true for anyone, but the pride event was created so that people who feel like an outcast because of their identity, or sexuality can have at least for one day can feel not only normal, but celebrated. If people wanted to start a straight pride event I would not be the one to stop them, but I can promise you that at best it will be a one time politically charged stunt to give a platform for a specific group of people to speak up about how they feel belittled by the lgbt movement. and on that note... Wow, okay. At best that is a self-hating comment, at worst it is a destructive and vastly uneducated opinion. Pride is an event based on decades of history where lgbt+ people have been completely marginalized as a group, and quite frankly are still treated poorly to this day. Sure you can say the parade is kind of played out, but that doesn't change the significance of the event towards an individual. and no I don't care how flamboyant someone dresses they don't deserve to be treated poorly. People are still people even if they decided for at least one day during their lives they should dress in brightly colored taffeta.
Every person I've seen go on about "straight pride" is just being an edgy tool. People say shit like straight pride because they want to push peoples buttons because they're butthurt or annoyed about all of the gay pride stuff, especially with gay marriage and 2015 being focused a lot on equality for the lgbtq+ community. I've been straight (suppressed feelings, confusion) my entire life (even as far as I knew) and have never faced discrimination the way I've felt I've faced it as someone who's (now?) gay, even though I'm not out. I face people every day who talk down on our community. I've never come across a story about someone being kicked out of the house because they are straight. People don't get bullied because they're straight. Every day is straight pride day.
Most of my friends are straight and I respect that. Everyone should be proud of who they are but I don't understand the need for straight pride because gay pride is a unity of people who have faced percussion for who they are. Straight people don't have that as much
Hi! That is a good question, one we in the LGBT+ group seem to inevitably get, at some point. So my perspective on it is this... Most people who start cheering "straight pride!" and all of this are usually people who don't understand the LGBT+ community and often even to a point of being homo/transphobic. Gay, or rainbow, pride is to celebrate the (seemingly rare) knowledge that all human beings are equal and being able to exist and respect ourselves and each other despite the neverending waves of hatred and prejudice railed against us on a constant and daily basis. It's struggling your whole life but being able to say.. I'm okay. Who I am is beautiful even though I am taught the opposite. And I deserve to live as much as anyone else. "I deserve to be happy too." Simple "straight pride" on the surface itself is good, you should be able to be comfortable and happy in your own personal skin with who you are. With that being true, the whole point to all this "rainbow shit" is equality. Straight pride is already a given, that is our culture. We are surrounded by straight pride. Straight love and straight people and straight discussions and straight everything and anything surrounds us everywhere we look and go. Being comfortable with heterosexuality, as we are? That is the goal. (Check mark on the straight equality list for world peace.) And that is exactly what gay pride serves toward: being able to feel comfortable in everyday life. Not being scared to walk outside your house because today might be the day homophobia pushes them to attack you. Being "allowed" to hold your significant other's hand in public, like the straight people can. Not being terrified of accidently telling someone your crush's name or use the correct pronoun lest you be disowned or degraded and disrespected. Not making a serious attempt to kill yourself when you realize you're NOT straight because gay pride isn't okay, but you need support and to know it's going to get better. Someone who says this (makes straight pride comments) probably REALLY doesn't understand what it is like to live as we are in this world. Being comfortable and accepted and supported and validated in who they are is already a given. They probably don't understand that we don't have this. It's 2015 so we god damn should, but we don't. And everyone needs to understand that so we can cross that bridge and make what should already be a reality. So... You (straight people who say this) already have equality. You already have the dream. Gay pride is the celebration that we are worthy even without it. We need it to counter our world which is still filled with misunderstanding, hatred, and a will to fight against the fact that we are all created (born) as equals. ('Cause baby, I was born this way!)
Usually the people saying "Why don't we have a 'Straight Pride' parade?" are the same ones saying "Why isn't there a 'White History Month?'" Being proud of yourself and your sexuality is awesome, but, in my opinion, these kinds of things are usually done out of a spirit of hatred rather than one of love...
Actually a couple years ago I learned about Black History Month in school and several of my classmates wanted to why there wasn't White History Month. I said there was 11 of them. On original topic, there's not much I can say that hasn't already been said. Everyday is straight pride.
I actually think eventually being gay will be so normal that the idea of a gay pride parade will be as ridiculous as a straight pride one. The whole point of pride is to fight the viewpoint that you should be ashamed of being gay, straight people are never shamed about their sexuality; minus some religious groups. I'd like to say those straight people that suggest straight pride are just so accepting of gays that they see it as unfair we get a parade and not them; as in we are completely on equal ground. But for some reason there is always a hint off homophobia in asking why we can't have straight pride, however I know some people just don't like the blatant sexual themes that take place at those parades. So not everyone that is against them is homophobic they're just prudish, I even used to think pride parades were a bit shameful myself, way less prudish than then, but still wasn't homophobic just was dumbfounded by what pride has become. I personally don't think it's needed in Toronto anymore and that it may not be the greatest first impression people should have of gay people, some people may think we're all horny, go go dancers if pride coverage was one of the main exposures to gay people they have, I even get embarassed when it's covered on the news and my parents are in the room because it's just not really standing for anything other than an mdma dance party in the middle of the afternoon.
Don't see any problem with it, as long as it's not hateful. =) If there's demand for a straight pride, then they can have it. =) Though, even when it's called gay pride here, quite some straight people come too. Allies, people who just want to celebrate, relatives and friends of non-straight and or non-cis people and so on.