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Pride is more than a celebration of our identity, it’s a feeling of community. When we stand and walk together, we’re reminded that we have each other.
For teens like myself, this can be life-changing. Often Pride is one of the first times we are able to truly be ourselves. It’s a moment we realize that we have an entire community of people who love and support us.
While I know how important it is that we all stay safe, I’m heartbroken that we haven’t been able to come together in person for Pride parades this year.
My friends and I had planned on going to the Manchester parade for the first time and started planning our outfits and makeup looks months ago!
Obviously we were disappointed, but we were determined to make the most of a bad situation and celebrate anyway.
As Pride has its roots in activism and was inspired by a black trans person, now, more than ever, I think it’s important to recognise those in the LGBTQ+ community that have come before us, and the future ahead.
From the first Digital Pride to today
Luckily, social media has made it really easy for us to do this.
Gay Star News created the first Digital Pride in 2016 to allow people with disabilities and those living in LGBT+-unfriendly countries to participate. GSN has kept on innovating even this year. But it’s great that platforms like Yubo are now getting on board too.
Yubo has provided an online space for their users to get together and celebrate individuality and equality.
Throughout this month, my friends and I have been hosting virtual parties on the app via live-streams. We’ve been listening to music, playing games, and making friends with other LGBT+ teens from around the world.
We’ve been sharing our past Pride experiences with one another, too. Indeed, it’s been really interesting hearing about how Pride celebrations differ from country to country.
Inspired by LGBT+ energy
This Pride Month, Yubo let its users take over the app to host a 24-hour virtual parade.
Some great LGBTQ+ influencers like Noah Adams and Anthony Cushion took part and held live Q&As and discussed their best and worst Pride experiences, which was really fun.
Celebrating virtually has certainly had its advantages. In particular, it’s made it a lot easier for teenagers from communities where they aren’t able to celebrate Pride in public, to join in. As a result, they can feel a real sense of belonging.
For me, a big part of Pride is also having the opportunity to express myself creatively, and dress exactly how I like. That may be through drag or by recreating the looks of gay icons and music artists.
COVID-19 certainly hasn’t stopped me from doing this! My friends and I have been letting our creative juices flow and giving our bedrooms Pride-themed makeovers, dressing up in our most colourful outfits, and creating Pride makeup looks for our Yubo live-streams.
We’ve been taking turns demonstrating how to execute our own looks and teaching each other new makeup techniques, which has been so fun.
I’ve found the energy of the whole LGBT+ community incredibly inspiring at this time.
Despite being upset about not being able to celebrate Pride in person, everyone has been super positive. Moreover, it has been amazing to be able to get together as a community online and celebrate what makes us unique.
I’m looking forward to partying the traditional way, in 2021, though!
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