Currents

When Pride first began in 1970, it was a loud and outgoing movement, flying in the face of the prevailing social conventions of the time. The leather daddies, crossdressers, and dancing hunks we now associate with Pride were a radical opposition to the prevailing repressive social norms that dominated society at the time. It was a countercultural movement of group solidarity on full display. Over half a century later, the landscape looks very different. LGBT rights are widespread across the Western world and enjoy sky-high public approval. The LGBT “movement” has always been prone to fray into many threads, but those threads weave themselves back together every June during Pride month. For several years now, the movement has found itself at a juncture, as all successful movements do, where its initial goals have mostly been achieved, and the new goal, in part, becomes safeguarding the hard-won progress. Pride has an enormous opportunity to lead by expanding and evolving into a universal celebration of sexual and romantic liberty, not only for LGBT folks, but for everyone.

The culture that Pride first revolted against was oppressive in every sense of the word. In many US states, sodomy laws criminalized gay sex, and simply being openly gay or bi could get you fired, socially ostracized, physically assaulted, or even killed. When the gay bar, UpStairs Lounge, burned down in 1973, killing 32, it was the subject of jokes from the news media. That’s how thoroughly dehumanized the LGBT population was. When the AIDS crisis raged in the ‘80s, in the US Reagan explicitly did nothing about it. Across the pond, the Thatcher government’s response wasn’t much better. If you were LGBT at the time, you lived in an actively hostile society that treated you with scorn and contempt, a society that was happy to watch you suffer and die. Who wouldn’t want to give the middle finger to that culture?

The progress from this kind of systemic bigotry to the open, increasing acceptance and positivity we see today is a triumph of liberalism. The philosophers and political leaders who championed these ideals hundreds of years ago were products of their time, just like the all of us. They might not have fully appreciated or understood where Liberalism would lead. Just the same, the values they espoused — freedom of expression, critical thinking, personal liberty, equality before the law, democracy, universal rights, and the consent of the governed — equipped generation upon generation to become freer than the next. In stark contrast to socialist countries like China, far-right regimes like Russia, or the despotic theocracies found in the Middle East, liberalism has made the West more committed to human rights than ever. It might not be fashionable to say in polite company, but where fascists, communists, or theocrats would suppress or kill LGBT people, liberals embrace them with open arms.

The progressing values and norms that have ultimately enabled LGBT rights benefit all of society, not just LGBT people. While straight folks have never been oppressed or made second-class citizens because of their sexual orientation, they too were affected by the overall culture of sexual repression. At-will divorce, interracial marriage, sex education, contraception, family planning, pornography, and premarital sex were all once either shunned or banned outright. Sodomy laws outlawed not only male-male sex but also anal or oral sex between straight married couples.

To many straight people, Pride seems to be something that isn’t about them. Something, perhaps, that even excludes them. But sexual freedom is for everyone, and straight people have almost as much to celebrate every June as their LGBT neighbors do. A victory for LGBT people is, in fact, a victory for us all — it is a reflection of the greater freedoms and rights we have achieved, an end result of the tolerance and pluralism that makes modern society great. Forget all the cynicism and pessimism we so often hear — make no mistake, to live in the West today is to have won the world historical lottery. It’s easy to focus on the things that still need improving, and there are many, but it’s also easy to forget how far we’ve come.

I dream of a society where LGBT people are fully accepted, one in which they have become, in a sense, boring and safe. I want a society where “I am Jenny, and this is my wife Hannah” is met neither with a scowl and a bigoted remark, nor a congratulation of one’s bravery for being their true self, but rather a simple gladness to have met new people, regardless of their sexual orientation. I want a world where nobody cares that you’re bi, lesbian, or gay — where you don’t need to come out because society doesn’t pressure you to be in any closet to begin with. A more universalist conception of Pride would be a fantastic first step toward getting us there.

We are on the right track. Marriage equality is the law of the land across the West. LGBT rights approval is at an all-time high. The sitting US president, an octogenarian no less, is openly and vocally pro-LGBT. Large corporations, defined by their slavish need to appear safe and friendly, are pro-LGBT. Homophobia has become a taboo in polite society almost as strongly as racism has; open bigotry is not tolerated and has social penalties. Slowly but inexorably, same-sex relationships are becoming normal and unremarkable.

But even once we finally reach that integrated world of queer acceptance, we should still commemorate the past struggles that got us here. We should not forget the hard work, advocacy, and sacrifice it took to reach that point. Pride should never lose that — but it should also grow into a broader celebration of freedom. The rights of consenting adults to order their sex lives as they see fit, free from state-sanctioned persecution, is something that affects us all, and something we can all get behind. That, ultimately, is why Pride is for everyone — because it celebrates all of our freedoms; a living, breathing testament to personal liberty.

Published Jun 1, 2023