Embracing Authenticity: My Guide to Nurturing LGBTQ+ Pride

Embracing LGBTQ+ pride can be challenging because everything can feel relatively new. What can you do to embrace LGBTQ+ pride? Learn from an activist.

Have you ever heard the adage that human history does not move in years but in moments? For example, a decade of time can pass, and minimal changes. Yet, the world can look completely different in a few short months. For many, a modern example would be the rise in awareness, discussion, and understanding of LGBTQ+ groups.

In the world we live in today, the sheer volume of questions that exist around sexuality and gender can feel overwhelming. For many, these ‘new’ concepts are easy to see as worrisome or even scary. Yet, such ideas are not new – what is ‘new’ is that today, we embrace and discuss these topics far more regularly than we did even a decade ago.

For some, LGBTQ+ pride movements can feel overwhelming to understand. For some, there can be a natural uncertainty around what to say or do in certain situations. Without wishing to offend, it is easy for those who are new to the concept of LGBTQ+ life to get things wrong. As a trans psychotherapist, I understand exactly how you feel; believe me. 

I have had many friends and family, whom I would call friends and allies, make hurtful statements. While I am confident the hurt was never intentional in any way whatsoever, it still can feel painful to hear. So, as someone who deals with LGBTQ+ pride personally and professionally, what can I suggest?

Embracing authenticity within the LGBTQ+ movement

It means not trying to mask or hide who you are or the person you wish to become. Primarily, I believe one of the essential aspects of LGBTQ+ pride stems from being able to express ourselves in ways consistent with the individual inside.

For me, the Pride aspect of LGBTQ+ pride comes from being genuine. It comes from being unapologetically yourself.

Society has often molded our outward actions in a way that does not quite tally with who we are inside. Frequently, people are asked to make tough choices about how they act in public or interact with others. Especially for the LGBTQ+ community, this has often led to people muting their personalities to be ‘accepted’ by society.

LGBTQ+ pride, though, is about giving people the belief and understanding that their inward personality is the person they truly are. Being able to express ourselves in a way that is in conjunction with our inward experiences, emotions, desires, and values is so important. 

This means embracing positive concepts and the idea of love for all. It is easy to feel frustration in a world that can still feel so divisive. Yet, with the help of LGBTQ+ pride movements, those who think they are cowed or shunned in society can change their entire pathway in life.

Pride means embracing and understanding that you do not have to wear a mask, nor do you have to hide the person that you are. You are who you are as an individual, and showcasing those desires and interests makes up a massive part of being able to not only accept who you are but be proud of it.

Celebrating the diversity that makes us all unique is crucial to any LGBTQ+ pride movement. Not only can this feel liberating to the individual, but it can make it easier for society to become more open-minded to these essential concepts.

Many LGBTQ+ individuals have felt unable to express who they truly are for large parts of their life. LGBTQ+ pride allows them to feel like they can be who they are.

Embracing authenticity is vital to the individual’s long-term well-being and our society’s long-term health. +The more that we can do to help people embrace their LGBTQ+ pride, the easier it will be for future generations to simply see LGBTQ+ people for what they are: members of society, the same as anyone else.