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Written by Paul Varnell
Jun 17, 2010
This year make June’s LGBT Pride month something you don’t just watch but something you involve yourself in.
Here are 10 or so ways to do that. If these don’t appeal to you, come up with some of your own. If you let me know what they are, I can include them in next year’s Pride column:
- If you didn’t see the film “Milk” when it first came out, rent it at the local video store and watch it with a couple of friends. Even if you saw it before, watch it again: There are probably things you’ve forgotten. Buy a large sausage and onion (or whatever) pizza to eat while you watch.
- Spend a couple of evenings reading “Out for Good” by Dudley Clendinen and Adam Nagourrney, a history of the post-Stonewall phase of the modern gay rights movement. It will increase your historical perspective and probably give a boost to your own gay pride.
- Tell someone who doesn’t know you’re gay that you are. (“Since this is LGBT Pride Month, it seems an appropriate time to tell you I am gay.”) You get extra points if it is a family member. This might not be a complete shock to them, of course.
- Pamper yourself. Get a pedicure. After the butchest man at my local leather bar remarked that he occasionally got a pedicure, I decided it was alright for me too. Alternatively, get a massage.
- Feel guiltless about lusting after the hot men or women on the various floats in the Pride parades. That’s what they are there for.
- Do something special for someone and wish them a Happy Pride Month. If you can’t think of anything or anyone, give $5 to a homeless person and wish them a Happy Pride Month.
- Visit an art gallery that is having a show by a gay artist. Look around and ask questions. You don’t have to buy anything, and admission to galleries is free.
- Indulge yourself in a “two-minute hate” (the phrase is from Orwell’s “1984”) for those nations that persecute gays and lesbians.
- Have a conversation with someone gay who is much younger or much older than you. The difference in their perspective may surprise you.
- If you can think of a way to promote gay rights/gay equality, do it.
- Consider becoming a volunteer at the local LGBT community center or contributing money to a gay organization. Local groups need more support than big national ones, because they don’t often have big donors.
