Happy Pride Month!
In this week’s blog, I was going to write about the significance of June 21st because it’s International Yoga Day and the Summer Solstice, but I decided instead to talk about Pride since June is Pride Month.
Pride is a time for celebration, festivities and connection and something that I’ve participated in for decades. I was first introduced to Pride sometime in the 1980s when I lived with my daughter’s father in a small ground-level apartment at Church and Wellesley in Toronto. One early June morning, we were awakened by loud music and boisterous singing and saw a long chorus line of individuals dressed in the most outlandish outfits performing the cancan. Once we made it to Church Street, we discovered many booths and stages being set up, spoke to some participants and first heard about Pride. At the time, we saw it as a party and significant celebration, which it is, but as we learned, there is an essential rich history that needs to be remembered and rejoiced. The LGBTQIA+ community has consistently knocked down walls of discrimination through activism, demonstrations, community engagement, music, art and politics.
This liberation movement in North America began with New York City’s unprecedented Stonewall Riots, which took place in the early morning of June 28th, 1969. The New York Police Department had attempted a raid on a popular gay bar in the heart of Greenwich Village that night, but the bar’s patrons had enough, fought back hard and won. Since then, Pride has evolved from a relatively small, grassroots event that has grown into a worldwide celebration with more than 1 million participants at WorldPride 2014 in Toronto. Pride now represents the full spectrum of gender identity, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class and ability.
While discrimination against LGBTQIA+ people persists in many places, significant strides have been made in recent decades. In Canada, the LGBTQIA+ community has enjoyed many victories:
Medical and political responses to the HIV/AIDS crisis.
1992 Federal court lifted the ban on gays and lesbians in the military.
1994 Supreme Court ruling that gays and lesbians could apply for refugee status based on facing persecution in their countries of origin.
1995 ruling in Ontario that allowed same-sex couples to adopt.
In 2003, the first same-sex couple married in Canada.
The rights of trans people in Canada continue to be at the forefront of the struggle for equality.
These above-mentioned legal achievements are fantastic, but did you know that conversion therapy only became illegal in all provinces and territories in Canada in 2022? Did you know that more than 70 countries still criminalize LGBTQIA+ people, some with the death penalty? Source There is still much work to be done to ensure everyone lives freely. Many of today’s Pride celebrations focus on individuals abroad who face violent persecution.
Pride continues to matter and, for me, reminds me of yoga’s ancient ethical practices, namely, Pantanjali’s Yamas. These guidelines provide deep wisdom that gives direction to a well-lived and joyful life. The first two jewels of the Yamas (restraints) apply to Pride.
Ahimsa means non-violence and is the core foundation of all yoga philosophy and practice. Non-violence meaning to do no harm to others or self, physically or with thoughts and words.
Satya means truthfulness and goes beyond the importance of being honest. It also means to be authentic and genuine with a strong need to belong and be accepted. Not to be told who and how to love.
During this month of Pride, get involved, and if attending Pride events is not your thing, then take some time to pause and reflect on how you can be a model of inclusion in your life, committing to listening, understanding and learning.
What are your plans for Pride?
Peace and blessings.
Anita
Resources:
