Out & About Blog Hop: Why I write this Pride month

Should I let you in on a secret? I wasn’t going to work hard on this blog hop,I had plans of making a listicle. I commend those who have given pride recs because for many still, pride reads is something new or something alien. But then I changed my mind. I surely can’t let my years of experience of working with the queer community,studying gender go to waste just because there is just too much work. There is work. There is PRIDE as well. But it’s not just THAT. Have you seen our reel? The one which did the announcement of this blog hop? Did you understand the words “IN SOLIDARITY”.

Why in solidarity? Why not just celebrate? Because it’s not just a celebration. Yes,over the years it has also turned into a celebration. But do we all remember why June is celebrated as Pride month? It’s to commemorate the community but also to remember the lives lost in Stonewall riots which happened in the year 1969. So yes, this 2024,I have a writer’s block to write about Pride Month because I still see crime happening the way it happened in the 1960-70s. I still see men and women marrying to the opposite sex under the threat of their parents.

There is an entire generation that hasn’t read queer literature and I have failed as an ally if they still remain unaware and they are a threat to a friend of theirs because they have made fun of or mocked homosexuals. So yes. It’s not all rainbows. There is so much more to pride month. People being given shock treatment, killed because of their sexual orientation is very much a reality we all want to skip or keep it hidden and not talk about it. It’s a time to reflect on how much you know about the pride month because from where I see, I can count 15+ people in my inner circle who have not read about the pride month or a queer author in their life till now. Maybe one day when they go through this blog post, maybe they will click on the Stonewall link and realise what they are celebrating.It breaks my heart everytime a brand changes itself to some rainbow colour because oh well we are inclusive. I think these brands should keep it ‘the rainbow ‘round the year. I hate how normalised it has become to not have read about the pride month but to sell products,books included,give recommendations not knowing what the pride month actually is. 

THIS YEAR, let the change begin with you because the fight is still going on and you are more than this. You need to read more queer. You need to be more sensitive to your queer friend. You need to recognise that what you don’t “understand” is someone’s reality. As a muslim girl, I need to say it more because what a religion that would be that doesn’t let you live the way I want to. If I am a “liberal muslim girl,” then maybe it’s about time you accept that people are queer and they aren’t going to HELL for it . This may come off as a rant but some of my people (my friends) would know why. I have somewhere failed as a mentor to many and to many queer friends of mine and it physically hurts me. I wish to. I hope to be a better one at it. 

Signing off IN SOLIDARITY,

YOUR BLOG HOP HOST 

This post is a part of ‘Out and About Blog Hop’ hosted by Manali Desai and Sukaina Majeed