As you may know, June is LGBTQ+ pride month! It is a month dedicated to celebrating people’s identities and how far we have come for securing the rights and protections deserved by people in the LGBTQ+ community. This post is going to be a bit of a personal post about what pride means to me as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. And before I start, I should probably give a quick disclaimer, if you are someone who holds any homophobic, transphobic, or other kind of hateful or discriminatory views, please keep them to yourself and educate yourself to be a more accepting and kind person 😊
So, to start I identify as a gay man, and first started to come out a few years ago, but came out to my wider family during COVID and have been trying to live as out and proud since.
While I am part of the community, I also work to support it when I can. Some of the ways I do this are by being part of my universities staff ally network, which is a group of LGBTQ+ staff or staff who consider themselves allies at the university who make themselves known in their departments as someone who can be reached out to by other staff or students who might need support. I have also been involved in the LGBTQ+ student group on campus helping organise events and campaigns such as doing talks on topics like intersectionality in the community, supporting people of faith who are LGBTQ+ and even helping organise the Universities presence at Lancaster city pride events in the past.
One of the reasons I have tried to work to support the community is due to the support the community has given me. I arrived at university very nervous about my identity and who I was, but as soon as I arrived the student group on campus supported me and helped me build my confidence and gave me an accepting community to be part of. They supported me until I was confident enough to start giving that same help to others. Being the recipient of this support helped me see how important and impactful it can be to see people who are like you and that you are not alone, which is why I work to help provide support, but also be visibly queer so people know that it is okay to be themselves and be proud of who they are.
This all leads to why I made this post. As I am now someone who is in a mixed position between student and academic, some might expect that as you stop being a student you try to be more “professional”, and fit in more with what some might expect in academia. But I have found that you can still be yourself as a professional. In fact, in some cases it is even more important to be yourself when you are in a position of influence (not that I would go that far about my own position just yet). People go through life, wondering if they fit in, and being scared to stand out. This can be due to society, upbringing, or just the fear of not being included. The fear of not fitting in however, comes from not seeing anyone like you. When I was younger, I didn’t know any queer adults, and by the time I reached university had only ever met one or two people who identified as LGBTQ+. This led to me thinking maybe we didn’t belong, a misconception that only faded when I got to a more diverse and vibrant community at university. Because of this I think it is incredibly important to stand out, to let others know that they are not the only one, and that you can be a queer person and a professional without making a sacrifice to either aspect in order to succeed.
So to finish, I want to wish everyone a happy pride month and tell you all to do as the month suggested, take pride in who you are. But also let yourself not only be comfortable in who you are, but also be a beacon that those who aren’t safe or comfortable to be out yet, let them know that there is a fantastic community waiting to support them and embrace the wonderful person they are.
I am also going to include some links to support both locally to Lancaster and nationally below, as I know while I have thankfully reached a place where I can be myself without fear and be accepted, I know that is not the situation for everyone. So if you are someone who needs support, have a look at some of the links and please be safe, as there will be a time when you can be who you are, but please stay safe and reach out to support if you need it.
LGBT Foundation:
Phone number: 0345 330 3030
Website: http://lgbt.foundation/
Details: helpline and counselling service offering support on a range of issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community
MindOut:
Phone number: 0127 323 4839
Website: www.mindout.org.uk
Details: mental health service run for and by LGBTQ+ people offering information, online peer support groups and counselling
Out in the bay:
Phone number: 07449 311 406
website: https://oitb.co.uk/
Details: Support LGBTQ+ people in Lancaster and Morecambe
Mermaids:
Phone number: 08088010400
Website: https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/
Details: A charity supporting Trans and nonbinary young people