Gay Globe Magazine
As every year, gay pride arouses a multitude of reactions, as different as each other! This year, Gay Globe asked readers and subscribers to say in one paragraph what gay pride meant to them. Here are their answers …
Be yourself! (Josée Prud’homme)
What can I say except that I have nothing to reproach myself for and that I am proud to be what I am, the eyes of others or their remarks do not affect me, be gay, bi or hetero, what importance I must be respectful of people’s attractions, I am gay and my friends have accepted him as my family, I must be tolerant of his neighbor and respect his attractions as his religion, those who do not understand him one day will understand it .
(Hazeil Graves)
Through our participation, we give our support to all the pioneers who fought for recognition of our rights … and for all those who suffered from their condition at one time and again here and in some parts of the world. Our achievements are fragile with the extreme right! (Michel)
Gay pride is not a choice but a reality, it is not a way to express oneself but our everyday life. We are what life has created for us and not what we represent to you. My pride is to live as a gentleman and everyone. So it’s living in the freedom that I want it to be. Thank you for reading me … as a couple for 28 years and married for 13 years and perfectly fulfilled and proud of this life that is mine.
(Laurent Proulx)
The pride of excluding groups that do not think like the leaders of this festival and the inclusion of companies that want only our stock without ever doing their share the rest of the year, that’s my pride and this year was the record of commercial and immoral presence with sexual groups to whom LGBTQ should never be identified as being beyond that. (Michel Claude)
It gives me faith in humanity, it allows me to be simply not me in public but in my head, to feel free labels and judgments. Pride is not a parade for me, but social protection that allows me, as well as other LGBT people, to be able to evolve with others as well. I think the parade is only a moment to go where « the others » admire us and want a piece of our cake. (Tran Han Ryan)
My pride, I have not done in the Parc des Faubourgs, I celebrate every day by answering the questions of my entourage to demystify the clichés or « a priori » about homosexuality. My pride is helping my community fight homophobia or combat addiction to drugs that is a scourge in our community. My pride is to include everyone who is interested in us as well from a psychological and social point of view, but also from a sexual point of view (it’s crazy the multitude of questions that people ask me to know us better). My week of pride, I spent at the cottage away from floats and nightlife, because in my opinion being gay is not only emphasized with this, it is also the multitude of actions taken daily to promote our equality. (Arnaud Barbe)