PRIDE is not just a random party, nor are they celebrating “how gay they are”. Pride is a memorial to the people that have made sacrifices in the fight for lgbtq+ equality, it’s a celebration of the accomplishments that have been made, and it’s a reminder of just how much farther we still have to go to achieve true equality. Pride is a needed self affirmation to empower the gay community in the endless struggle against intolerance, and it’s also a way to bring visibility to the lgbtq+ community.

The entire concept started in 1969, exactly 50 years ago, by protestors at a gay bar in New York called the Stonewall Inn. These gay citizens had enough of being persecuted, arrested, beaten, and shamed for being gay, and were rioting against the police for performing a raid on the bar one early morning in June. There was violence, bloodshed and arrests, but in the end the patrons of Stonewall prevailed, paving the way to the gay liberation movement throughout the 1960’s-1980’s.

Gay pride was not born of a need to celebrate being gay, but the right to exist without persecution. So instead of wondering why there isn’t a Straight Pride movement, be thankful you don’t need one.

I’m sure the LGBTQ+ community would gladly trade you your 364 days for their ONE.

Bustle – The Origins Of Pride Month: What You Should Know About Its History

ATI – How The Stonewall Riots Changed The Course Of History