“We shouldn't need Pride but the sad reality is we do, now more than ever.”
That is the headline I used for an article I wrote this time last year ahead of Pride in Liverpool week. Unfortunately, now just shy of 12 months later, the message remains the same and that alone speaks volumes.
June acts as Pride Month where for 30 days straight - pun intended - members of the LGBTQ+ community and its allies celebrate everything from their identities, friendships, relationships and accomplishments. Unapologetically might I add.
READ MORE: Pride in Liverpool to be delivered in 'unique way' for the first time
These celebrations mark the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots - a series of spontaneous demonstrations by members of the community in response to a police raid that began in the early hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in New York City.
The weekend of rioting, which saw queer communities stand their ground and fight back against the regular police raids on the city’s gay bars and clubs for the first time, is now recognised as being the catalyst for the rights of LGBTQ+ people.
However, closer to home, here in Merseyside, the celebrations continue past June and into July as the community looks forward to indulging in everything queer come Pride in Liverpool on Saturday, July 29.
But with every joke uttered that the likes of "gay icons" Judy Garland or Charli XCX "threw the first brick at Stonewall," there is triple the number of serious issues we can't shy away from. Many of them were around this time last year and still haven’t been given the attention they desperately deserve and need.
LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters are still stuck in Ukraine fearing for their lives whilst others are still expected to show gratitude for being offered refuge in Rwanda - a country, in which even the Home Office admitted, could see the community facing ill-treatment.
The ban on conversion therapy, first promised by Theresa May’s government in 2018, has moved at a snails pace over the last year. Drag queens are having to cancel their shows or not disclose the location of their performances all while they struggle to make a living wage.
Figures from the Home Office highlighted hate crimes in some areas across England and Wales hit a new record high in 2022. The statistics detailed at least 155,841 recorded hate crimes between March 2021 and March 2022 - a 26% increase.
Transgender hate crimes increased by a shocking 56%. But that isn’t all trans people have had to worry about - not by a long shot. Speaking to trans people week in and week out, it’s clear they all feel the same anger and rightfully so.
They can’t catch a break from simply existing: if they aren’t at risk of being outed to their parents by their teachers, they are being used as a political football between the Labour and Conservative party.
This month, while we here at the ECHO are determined to shine a light on these issues and speak with those directly impacted, we also want to deliver positive representation for the community, which seems to be hard to come by in the media in recent times.
We will be celebrating everything from Merseyside's LGBTQ+ people who have made a difference and allies who aren’t afraid to use their voices when needed to highlighting the power of drag and continuing on the legacy of Eurovision with KyivPride. And I, for one, simply can’t wait.
If you have a story you want to share this Liverpool Pride Month you can get me at paul.mcauley@reachplc.com or on Twitter.
