Show Your Love, Show Your Pride

This post is Part 5 of a 5 Part series on Showing Your Pride through Simple, Unexpected Ways. Come join the dialogue!

I honestly think that the most important way that we can show our pride is through our love, especially because our love is the heart of our difference. Treating our partners with respect and integrity and having healthy, loving relationships and encounters is an essential foundation to earning respect for our queer lifestyle. There are those who still believe that the queer community is only about living an instable pattern of hyper-sexualized indulgences, and our dedication to loving well and honestly, whether in a monogamous relationship or not, is an essential part of changing that stereotype.

We can also show our love by making small, open gestures of our queer affections. My partner and I are strong believers that showing appropriate public displays of our love, such as holding hands, is an active means to help change people's stereotypes of the queer community. We consistently receive a mix of stares, signs of disgust, or intrigue, and these vivid responses encourages us to continue to engage people's perceptions and misperceptions of what it means to be in love with someone of the same gender. I believe we are also making a sign of solidarity with those of the street who might feel less comfortable to show such similar signs, but clearly show signs of gratitude to us for expressing what they are not currently able to.

Working to make our loving relationship the best possible is the foundation of living out our queer identities with pride. Love is the reason why we are queer in the first place, and showing that love is the best way to show our pride.

Thank you for following me through my sharing of simple, unexpected ways to show your pride. Do you have any further suggestions?