Although it should be, Pride Month is not just a celebration. Every June, the streets fill with rainbows, but also with reasons of why it’s important to hang your flags.

Many LGBTQ+ people, especially queer youth, simply existing authentically is an act of bravery, even in 2025. In a world where some families reject their children, where trans people are targeted by hateful legislations, and where violence against queer people continues to rise, Pride isn’t just a party. It’s a lifeline. It’s a scream to everyone who needs to know they’re not alone.

Pride Month is important because somewhere in the world, as I’m writing this blog, a boy is being thrown into a canal on his way home from school, just because he’s gay. Because somewhere in the world, a teenager is sitting alone in their bedroom, staring at the ceiling, wondering if the pain is ever going to end, and wondering if the world would be better off without them, contemplating suicide.

Because a trans woman is walking down the street from work, and a man driving past by is deciding whether or not he’ll follow her home to teach her a “lesson.” Because somewhere, a parent is brutally beating their son just because he wants to play with Barbie dolls. Because a queer couple is holding hands in public for the very first time and thinks if they’ll be met with a smile, a slur, a death treat, or a punch.

Because a child has just been disowned by their family for coming out, and they have no idea where they’ll sleep tonight. Because a mother won’t even look them in the eyes and accept that their happiness isn’t necessarily what she had planned for them. Because somewhere, someone is praying for God to change them, crying into their pillow, asking to wake up “normal.” Not because they don’t love who they are, but because the world taught them not to.

And because, as of 2025, being gay is still punishable by death in 12 countries, and criminalized in over 60. Let that sink in. That’s not history, but our present. We’re about to have flying cars, yet everyone’s bothered by who you sleep with.

This is why Pride matters. It’s not because gay people want to be seen, but because they have to be seen. It’s about making space in a world that still tries to erase, shame, and silence queer lives. Pride is a light for those still trapped in the dark, and you don’t have to be gay to stand by their side and join their fight.

Pride Month is here to tell a young boy who just got spit on for being “too feminine” that he is perfect. To tell that lonely girl in a conservative town that’s trying to take her freedom by dehumanizing laws that she’s not the only one, and that life does get better. To tell the aging gay man who never got to love out loud that it’s not too late to start. To tell all homophobes out there who’d rather die justifying their ignorance than accept that not everyone’s like them to fuck off and let people live.

So yes, hang your flags and be visible (even if you’re not gay), but also don’t forget that for every one of us out there dancing, there’s someone still in hiding. That for every rainbow we see, there’s someone still stuck in a storm, waiting to see the light.

In a world that wants you dead just so they can enjoy their ignorance without being challanged, be revolutionary.

🖤🤎❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
Happy Pride.