"[�]if I was going to be discriminated against because someone thought I was gay, then it was all the more important that I be there to protest the unfairness and intolerance."
Josh Aterovis from RainbowNetwork.com has said of the significance of pride:
"It's a need of many oppressed minorities (think Black Pride, or Girl Power). It takes something that is traditionally demeaned and makes it something powerful. It makes it easier to accept being gay if it's something to be proud of, versus something to be ashamed of."
Pride aides in, not only in social acceptance, but also in personally acceptance. By being able to freely express their sexual or gender orientation, persons are able to become more comfortable with their own identity. For those who aren�t able to or who do not feel comfortable enough to outwardly express this pride in person, the internet�s cloak of anonymity provides an outlet for communicating this pride.
Here are some pride sites worth checking out:
www.pflag.org
The importance and responsibility of gay pride lies within us all: gay, straight, bisexual, transgendered, non-gendered, et al. Although most people think of it as an demonstration and declaration of homosexuality or gender by those who are coming out, it equally as important for the supporters to show pride. The abolition of discrimination of any minority group needs, not only the assembly of those being persecuted, but also the support of those in the majority who are motivated by such injustices.
When a college expressed concern that others would think him gay because of his participation in gay pride events, Phil Tajitsu Nash of IMDiversity.com said,
www.outproud.org
www.transproud.com
www.campuspride.net
www.rainbownetwork.com
