By Emily Stonehouse
Minden Pride has officially rebranded as Pride in the Highlands.
While the organization has long offered programs well beyond the geographical boundaries of Minden, they recognized the need to use a name that more so represents who they have become. A transition into a truer version of themselves. We are all welcome to that. A caterpillar to a butterfly, a new chapter, ready to fly.
It’s no secret that the future of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community is shaky. Not from the community themselves – they’re some of the most resilient individuals you will ever meet.
But from a place of representation. I’ve seen mothers of transgender children express fear around their kids traveling to the United States. Topics such as sexual orientation and gender identity have been removed from school curriculums across the States, and there are many who would like the topics removed in Canada as well. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been told they cannot use the words “diversity”, and “transgender” anymore.
What once felt like a roadway that had been smoothed out – even in a few short years – has quickly turned into more and more dams and blockages. Forward backwards, forward backwards.
When I look at my own kids, I feel an immense amount of gratitude that they were born in this era. That there is a semblance of acceptance and understanding from the broader good, and that they will grow up in homes that are adamant about pride, justice, and inclusion. They won’t know it any other way.
I give kudos to Pride in the Highlands for growing during a time when it seems like much of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community seems to be shrinking. Not physically, not emotionally, but from a place of fear. From a place of not understanding their role in this complicated world. From a place of not being seen, heard, accepted, and loved.
Because we’re a little different, in our neck of the woods, we celebrate our Pride Week in August. Across the country, though, June 1 is generally the official start date for Pride events.
And as we head into a season of sparkles and summer, I hope you can remember that it’s not always just about rainbows and butterflies.
It’s very much about showing up all year long. About growing and transitioning and metamorphosing with the communities who need our support.
This year, for the first time, we will watch the Pride flag be flown at Dysart Town Hall. Colours that will mean little to some, but so much to others.
And the ones for whom it means little to, I hope that perhaps this can be a season of change for you, as well. That in this world of ever-changing theories and thoughts that you can ask questions, push outside the roadblocks of your mind, and recognize the rights, reasons, and realities of the people you have overlooked for so long. Allyship can come in many forms. Sometimes it’s showing up, sometimes it’s asking questions, sometimes it’s simply opening up the crevice in your darkened mind that has stayed shuttered for far too long.
Because it’s okay to change. If anything, it’s welcome. It’s okay to admit that you needed to learn more, to ask questions, to hear stories, to shift your perspective. Thoughts are not stagnant; they are ever-morphing, ever-changing, ever-evolving in the wisp and whir of the every day bustle.
We are all welcome to that. A caterpillar to a butterfly, a new chapter, ready to fly.
