Let’s be honest: this Pride month was rough. Trans bans, queerphobia, and general bigotry and harassment made it a hard month for LGBTQ+ people all around the world. The Supreme Court capped the month off by siding with a homophobic website designer in a ruling that opens the floodgates for discrimination against previously protected classes. But good things did happen this month. Here are some of the positive Queer Pride news stories from June 2023.
International news
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby made a speech pleading with Uganda to repeal their law banning homosexuality. Welby has been so vocal about his support for queer people that some other Anglican bishops no longer recognize him as head of the Church. His support is refreshing since queerphobic Christians (like the Chick-fil-a family) are partially responsible for the policies in Uganda.
The Equality Act still stands firm in the UK after a civilian petition protected trans people from being excluded from the act.
Estonia will be legalizing same-sex marriage, making it the first Baltic country to do so. It will go into effect on January 1, 2024.
Pride in Thailand featured tons of amazing costumes, including some made out of balloons. Mexico City and Bangkok had similarly incredible displays.
These queer families from all over the world wished people a “Happy Pride Month” in a dozen languages.
U.S. protests and Pride
Florida’s gender-affirming care ban was blocked by a federal court.
Maryland is officially a sanctuary state for trans people, meaning that in the event that people flee to the state to obtain gender-affirming care, they will not be turned over to the Florida government.
Graduating students at Seattle Pacific University presented the president of the university with Pride flags as they graduated to protest the homophobic policies of the school.
Queer icons (and allies)
J. Harrison Ghee and Alex Newell became the first openly nonbinary actors to win Tonys this year. Director Michael Arden also won, though his speech where he talked about being bullied was reportedly censored.
At LA Pride, Megan Thee Stallion reunited onstage with a former classmate who said she always stood up for them and the other queer kids.
Dan Aykroyd is making everybody laugh with his pro-trans comedy, pointing out the ridiculousness of anti-trans hate campaigns.
Pattie-gonia, a “professional homosexual, environmentalist, & drag queen,” has been tearing it up all month, rocking heels while hiking and hosting pride events in national parks. Pattie-gonia also partnered with the North Face for the “Summer of Pride,” which unlike other “rainbow capitalism” ad campaigns, is actually putting their money and power where their Pride flag is. This is incredibly supportive, considering how many companies have either backtracked or left their queer representatives to the right-wing wolves.
What was your favorite news to come out of this Pride month? Comment below!
(featured image: Anna Moneymaker, Getty Images)
