Letters from a Lesbian July 2014
On Pride
Dear World,
We Hispanic LGBTs – all LGBTs living in the U.S. have just made some tremendous progress. President Obama has declared June as National LGBT Pride Month.
We are moving closer and closer to equality. Who would have expected that in our lifetime, from Stonewall in 1969, to today in 2014, we would see such tremendous progress?! It has been wonderful. And to now have a month to celebrate who we are and where we’ve come from is nothing short of amazing.
It is time that our community comes together and honors our pioneers. How many have suffered in order for you and me to enjoy the liberties we do currently have? Our culture and our history has not always been the most accepting of the LGBT community. Day by day, we are learning how to balance our roots with our identity.
It is time we recognize and celebrate our heroes past and present. This is by no means a completely inclusive list. Rather, it merely highlights some of the many amazing people who have come before us and those who are fighting with us now, right by our side. People like Frida Kahlo, Mário Raul de Morais Andrade, Reinaldo Arenas, Federico García Lorca, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Pedro Almodóvar Caballero, Miguel Piñero, and Xavier Villaurrutia are only the tip of the iceberg. We owe our thanks to so many.
There are names we know and names we will never know. How many have lived in the closet? We can probably never know the true tally. How many have died either at the hands of others or even from suicide because of their “secret?” As LGBT, our history goes back to a time long before written and oral history. As Hispanics, our predecessors and contemporaries have been struggling with a unique battle to give us the rights and equality we deserve.
So brothers and sisters, we should bask in this wonderful month – this wonderful moment that is ours. We should also honor and celebrate those who have come before us. As well, we should continue to press forward with our comrades, never resting until we are all seen as equal; until we are all seen as human.
Live life in your own special way,
Lauren