In June, we celebrate Pride Month. https://www.personalizedcause.com/personalized-awareness-ribbons/rainbow-awareness-ribbon-pin-personalized?rq=rainbow“>The rainbow ribbon represents Pride Month. We offer personalized and non-personalized rainbow ribbons to make your voice heard, sometimes without saying a word.
Celebrate Pride Month in June
One of the beautiful things about raising awareness and educating people is that it helps fight ignorance and makes the world a more compassionate and accepting place. The LGBT community still faces a great deal of discrimination. I know that it seems like our culture is becoming more forward thinking, but there is still too much stigma. People like Cate Jenner have made a significant impact on the visibility and awareness of the trans community. But the fact remains that trans individuals still face a great deal of stigma. Trans people are fighting for civil liberties that equal their gay or lesbian peers.
There has been progress, though. This is, in part. thanks to people like Miley Cyrus who bring attention to it. Even people like Jaden Smith have made a huge impact on the subject of gender just by wearing dresses in magazines, and in his day-to-day life. And you know that social attitudes are changing when a rapper, Young Thug, wears a dress on his album cover. There’s no question, we are moving forward, though progress is slow and often challenging. All in all, we have a long way to go.
Pride Month – Commemorating the Stonewall Riots
June was chosen as LBGT Pride Month in honor of the Stonewall Riots. The Stonewall Riots took place in 1969. Stonewall rebellion or Stonewall uprising, were a violent and spontaneous “riot” in response to the unrelenting police raids of establishments patronized by LGBT people. Because the community was so marginalized, they often found that the only places they were welcome were bars that catered to poorer neighborhoods.
Stonewall Inn catered to the most poor and most marginalized people in the community, particularly drag queens, male prostitutes, homeless teens, flamboyant gay men, lesbians who dressed like men, and trans people. The Stonewall Inn was owned by the mafia at the time, and the makeshift nightclub for the gay community had some serious problems. They had no liquor license, no running water in the back, and no emergency exits. The mafia bribed police officers to look the other way.
Stonewall Sparked the Pride Movement
The night of the raid, some undercover policemen had entered the bar, and called for backup from the police department from the phone inside. The night of the Stonewall riots there were roughly 200 people inside and the raid got out of control. As people began throwing rocks and bricks through windows and become more destructive, crowds gathered and the riots erupted. The riots lasted days, and protests popped up all over Greenwich Village a couple weeks later. This is considered the birth of the LGBT Pride Movement, as we know it today. June 28, 1970 was the first time the community held Gay Pride parades. Parades took place in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and San Francisco in commemoration of the Stonewall riots that took place one year prior.
After the Stonewall riots, organizations began emerging to fight and advocate for the rights of LGBT people. The LGBT community came together to make a difference in the treatment of their community. The community also sought to protect future generations from discrimination and injustice as a result of their lack of gender conformity. The riots inspired people to take action. For that reason, gay rights groups popped up in all the major cities across the U.S. within years, and groups formed in Canada, Australia, and Europe (western Europe, specifically).
So Where are We Now?
What climate do LGBT Youth face today? We know that our culture is shifting towards acceptance a little more with each passing year, but how different is it for kids growing up LGBT today? The Human Rights Campaign recently released some statistics about LGBT Youth.
Statistics About Communities
First, and foremost, four out of ten kids (mostly teens) report that they live in an area where being LGBT is not accepted. That’s 42 percent of LGBT youth living in fear of their community. If we consider that the Stonewall riots were nearly 50 years ago, do we consider this progress to be enough? Yes, it’s true that 50 years ago that number would have been more like 100 percent of kids report living in a community that wasn’t accepting of LGBT people. But still. We have to put that into context by realizing that nearly half a century has passed, and there are still kids who are afraid to be who they are. Yes, any progress is good, but that doesn’t mean it’s good enough.
Second, this next statistic highlights the difference for LGBT youth growing up versus hetero-normative kids. While 22 percent of kids who are not LGBT cite their studies and grades as their biggest problem in life, 26 percent of LGBT kids cite their biggest problem in life as not being accepted by their family. In addition, they fear being bullied at school or are afraid to come out. That’s a dramatic difference in the type of issues facing LGBT youth.
Troubling Statistics
This next statistic is troubling, considering that it’s been almost 50 years since the Pride Movement began. Almost 70 percent of LGBT youth reported hearing politicians say negative things about LGBT people while campaigning or in interviews. The fact remains that politics in America are still polarizing and divisive on LGBT issues. Being an anti-LGBT politician comes with a huge demographic. That makes equality very hard to achieve. How can our country move towards an accepting culture if our lawmakers don’t lead with acceptance?
A Positive Statistic
I’ll end it on a positive statistic. A whopping 75 percent of LGBT youth reported that their peers don’t have an issue with their sexuality or identity. This statistic makes an important point, although there still remains one quarter of kids who are not LGBT accepting. What this statistic says to me is that our younger generation is more accepting of LGBT people than ever before. It also says to me, that with every passing generation, the LGBT community will be more accepted and loved. In this sense, half a century that has passed has seen a dramatic change in attitude. As they say, “the children are our future.”
Personalized Cause and Pride Month
If you are a new reader, welcome, welcome! Personalized Cause® runs this awareness blog in an effort to raise awareness and educate people about the many different causes and illnesses in the world. We are an awareness accessory company that specializes in one of a kind custom awareness ribbons. Our custom awareness ribbons give customers the opportunity to personalize an awareness ribbon with a name, date, phrase or message.
Custom awareness ribbons are a product that is unique to our business. We are the number one source for custom awareness ribbons in the United States, without a bulk order requirement. That means you can order just one custom awareness ribbon, if you’d like, at no additional charge. Personalized Cause® believes that a single awareness ribbon has the power to impact an entire community. We have seen firsthand how one custom awareness ribbon can change the way that a community views a cause or illness. Putting a name to a cause has a very powerful affect. Give it a try, and see for yourself! I hope you’ll join us next week for our next edition of the awareness blog.
A https://www.personalizedcause.com/personalized-awareness-ribbons/rainbow-awareness-ribbon-pin-personalized?rq=rainbow“>rainbow awareness ribbon represents LGBT Pride. To order a custom rainbow awareness ribbon, visit our website at www.personalizedcause.com
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