Northern Healthcare celebrates Pride Month

What is Pride Month?

Pride Month is the yearly celebration of members of the LGBTQIA+ community held during the month of June. It is dedicated to the liberation and commemoration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and other individuals all over the world.

Pride Month began after the Stonewall Riots, a series of protests in Manhattan in 1969. The Stonewall Uprising has been noted as a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. What originally started as Gay Pride Day, held on the last Sunday in June, quickly spread to encompass a month-long celebration adopting neighbouring communities across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.

Today, millions of people gather for parties and parades, workshops, and seminars across the globe. Pride Month is used to both celebrate love within the community and educate people on the outside. Memorials are also held during this month to remember and commemorate members of the LGBTQIA+ community who have lost their lives. The purpose of this month is to celebrate and highlight the great impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and other individuals have had on history – locally, nationally, and internationally.

Why do we celebrate Pride Month?

It is true that society has progressed greatly since the events of the Stonewall Uprising, but there is still a long way to go for LGBTQIA+ liberation across the world. In 2019, the International Gay and Lesbian Association (ILGA World) published data pertaining to sexual orientation laws in the world, including criminalisation, to protect against discrimination. The data shows that there are still many countries that continue to criminalise and oppress LGBTQIA+ people.

Here in the UK and across Europe huge strides have been made in both legal and social reformation. From the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967, to the liberation movements of the 1970s, 80s and 90s to today where there is almost full legal equality. But there is still work to be done, especially in terms of social reform. Hate crimes against LGBTQIA+ people are still prevalent with an estimated 80% of hate crimes and hate incidents unreported with many same-sex partners afraid to show affection in public fearing verbal or physical attack, or worse.

Pride Month is needed now more than ever and not just for LGBTQIA+ individuals. It is a month that can be used to uplift and support communities, but also educate and inform wider society about the harm and damage hatred has on everyone. The Stonewall riots were led by Black, Latinx and Trans people of colour highlighting the importance of intersectionality when discussing the topic of LGBTQIA+ liberation as it should be liberation for all.

What makes Pride Month special?

The suggestion to name the movement ‘Pride’ came from L. Craig Schoonmaker, a committee organiser of Gay Pride Week and the Christopher Street Liberation Day on June 28, 1970. ‘A lot of people were very repressed, they were conflicted internally, and didn’t know how to come out and be proud. That’s how the movement was most useful because they thought, ‘Maybe I should be proud,’” Schoonmaker said in 2015.

While members of the LGBTQIA+ community should feel proud all year long, Pride Month is special because it encourages all people to celebrate, learn, educate themselves and understand the struggles of a community they are not part of. Pride Month puts a spotlight on all the prominent and crucial contributions that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and other individuals have made to society. Pride Month has many functions, from the celebration of love for all, to lessons in history and hope for the future, Pride Month is special because of the people who make it.

Disabled & Neurodivergent LGBTQIA+ Icons in History

There are several disabled and neurodivergent LGBTQIA+ icons in history who deserve to be remembered during both Pride Month and beyond.

• Marsha P. Johnson – As the figurehead for the LGBTQIA+ rights movement in the United States and leading member of the Gay Liberation Front in New York, Johnson has become one of the most well-known faces for her milestones in transgender representation. However, very little is known about her struggles with physical and psychological disabilities. Her organisation, Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR) focused on disability justice with a push for disabled people to have free access to therapy and medical resources. The biggest and most important demand was for doctors to stop trying to cure gender identities and sexualities. There is no doubt that Johnson’s legacy will withstand the test of time.

• Alan Turing – Best known from Benedict Cumberbatch’s portrayal in The Imitation Game (2024) where his sexuality was touched on, Turing was a mathematician and computer scientist and his contributions to science were instrumental. Not only did he crack the German Enigma Code during The Second World War saving millions of lives, but he is also listed as the inventor of the modern computer. Although it would have been impossible to obtain a formal diagnosis when he was alive, many experts who have studied his life have concluded that Turing had Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). His face now adorns the back of a £50 banknote, ensuring that his legacy remains known.

• Bobbie Lea Bennett – As the first person in the United States to receive gender-affirming surgery, Bennett is a well-known disability and transgender activist. She is best remembered for forcing the United States Medicare system to consider covering gender-affirming surgeries after hers was removed without explanation. After protesting in the Medicare office and refusing to leave, her direct action reversed Medicare’s original stance and gender affirmation surgery became viewed as a medical necessity. What is lesser known is that Bennet was a wheelchair user and had a rare bone disease called osteogenesis imperfecta, but none of that stopped her pursuit of liberation.

Northern Healthcare and Pride

At Northern Healthcare we believe everyone deserves to live a safe, happy, and meaningful life, where they’re valued, respected, listened to and supported.

We aim to empower the people we support, allowing them to live independently as possible no matter their age, race, shape, abilities, or sexuality.

Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to see what we have planned for the rest of Pride Month.