June is Pride Month. People all around the globe are celebrating, whether they are straight but supportive of the community, lesbian and gay, transgender, bisexual, asexual, and more. Even if you don’t use labels, people can still join the party celebrating who you are. 

In 1999 and 2000, President Bill Clinton declared June “Gay and Lesbian” Pride month. This meant that gays and lesbians could celebrate who they were. However, it wasn’t until President Barack Obama’s presidency that he declared June LGBT pride month. With the most recent President, Joe Biden, he declared that this year’s pride month would celebrate LGTBQ+. Be sure to support your friends and family members in being true to themselves.

What does each of the letters mean? Well, first of all, the whole thing is LGBTQIA. There are also several different types of sexualities and labels that some people use. L means lesbian. G means gay. These types of people mean that they are attracted to others of the same gender. B for bisexual means that somebody is attracted to both genders. T for transgender represents the fact that people are expressing the gender that they would like to be, specifically not the sex they were assigned at birth. This can include people who have transitioned to the opposite gender, nonbinary, or genderfluid. Nonbinary means that they are people who don’t identify with a certain gender, so they typically use they/them pronouns or neopronouns such as it/its. Genderfluid means that somedays you feel female, somedays you feel male, and somedays you feel nonbinary. It depends on which gender they conform to on a certain day. Q can stand for Queer, which can represent any of the previously stated words, or it can also stand for questioning. I stands for intersex. This means that people are born with both traits of male and female sexes. Asexual and agender represent A. Asexual means that you aren’t attracted to anybody. Agender means that you don’t stand by a certain gender. You feel gender-less. Some of the sexualities not included in this list included being pansexual, demisexual, graysexual, omnisexual, gender non-conforming (G.N.C.), and even more. Some people also feel as though they don’t enjoy being labeled, so although they may be a part of this community, they don’t identify themselves as part of it. Pansexual means that you feel attracted to anybody, whether they are transgender, male, female, genderfluid, nonbinary, intersex, etc. Demisexual means that they only feel sexually attracted to a person if they have an emotional bond. The relationship needs to be authentic. Graysexual means that they only sometimes feel sexual attraction, but most of the time do not. It is very similar to being asexual. Omnisexual is similar to being pansexual. It means that you are attracted to all individuals with different genders and gender identities. G.N.C. means that you don’t conform to a single gender or its gender stereotypes.

It’s definitely hard being part of the LGBTQ+ community in Texas. Being a Republican state, many individuals that are a part of this community are bullied, shamed, and aren’t supported for being themselves. Laws and rallies against LGBTQ+ members aren’t making things any easier. After an interview with a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I was offered a little more insight on advice for those struggling to come out and those who live in Texas.

The interviewee will remain anonymous for confidentiality reasons. 

How would you describe what it’s like being part of the LGBTQ+ community in Texas?

“It’s pretty awesome. I actually organized the whole thing here (at work). So what I did was with all the coworkers I’d celebrate how pride month is being your authentic self. We had this chat where we discussed how we are doing and how we are being our authentic self. Pride month is about being you and being truly authentic. It’s harder in Texas, definitely a lot harder. Yeah. Honestly, it kinda makes you prouder, that I will say. It makes you think back to how you are standing out. And being gay in Texas just makes you think back to the days where you were just coming out and how hard it was. It makes you more proud of your journey and of yourself.”

What advice would you give to those struggling to come out?

“Makes me wanna advocate, honestly. There is nothing wrong with you at all. Make sure you can come out in a really safe way, and sometimes that means waiting. Just know that that means the more you wait the more you are waiting on experiencing your whole life.”

“The people who hate on you are people who aren’t supposed to be in your life.”

A message about being who you aspire to be.

-Quirky Queer Therapist from Queens

To those of you who are struggling to come out, just know the Voice of Frisco is here for you. Whenever you need somebody to talk to, leave us a comment or send us an email. Spread your pride this month! Have a lovely, rainbow-filled day!

<3 Carissa