This weekend marks the sixth year that the Isle of Wight has held its own Pride - an event centred around celebrating members of the LGBTQ+ community. 

I remember first hearing my friends talking about how there was to be a Pride held on the Island a few years ago. I was too nervous to attend - I couldn’t quite believe that there was something like that so close to home.

My first pride was watching the Brighton parade in 2019 and to this day, I often think of the joy I felt in those moments. I couldn’t believe there were more people like me and that they were all so excited about that. 

I still wasn’t completely sure of my identity back then, but I knew being at Pride felt right. I felt accepted, and loved for things I didn’t even understand about myself yet, and wouldn’t fully for many years to come.

The first Pride was held in New York in 1970, one year after Stonewall - an extremely important moment in gay history, when trans women of colour, and lesbians, took a major stand against the criminalisation of homosexuals and trans people in the city. 

The Gay Liberation Front (GLF) set about organising the first march through the city the following year. London-based activists followed suit, in the first London Pride in 1972. 

Although many of the photos of these people and events are in black and white, it’s important to recognise the struggles of gay and trans people in the UK are in no way in the past. The bill to legalise gay marriage in the UK was only passed in 2013. The first ceremony was performed in 2014. 

Trans issues have been under a spotlight recently, mostly due to significant restrictions on access to gender-affirming care. Controversial and condemned conversion therapy is still legal for trans people in the UK. 

Pride is a wonderful time for the LGBTQ+ community - celebrating all we have achieved and who we are. But to me and many others, it’s so much more than that.

It may seem odd to be talking about these sombre moments in an article about pride and celebration, but it’s important to remember the weight of the history that rests on these moments. 

While it is important to celebrate how far we’ve come, it’s equally important to recognise how far there is to go. 

Pride will always be political. Pride will always be a stand. Pride will always remember the members of our community we have lost in our fight for freedom.

To those who fear us, Pride is a reminder we are not going anywhere. 

To the gay and trans children still unsure of who they are, Pride is a reminder there is a place for them - a reminder to those who are frightened of being themselves that there is a loving community who accepts them, no matter what. 

To you, reader, whether you are gay, trans, ace, or any of the wonderful multitude of identities in between, happy Pride!

May this weekend fill your heart with love and your soul with pride.