This post discusses LGBTQ+ discrimination, transphobia, fear about the future, and the emotional impact of anti-queer rhetoric.

I was speaking to a friend of mine earlier, and we discussed how Pride Month feels particularly heavy this year. We noticed that Pride seems quieter this year. Not missing, or vanished, just quieter.

Perhaps it is because many of us are weary; being queer has always presented us with challenges, but lately, it feels like we are bearing more than ever. Every time I scroll through social media, or check the news, there is another debate. Another headline. Another reminder that there are people out there who hate us just for being who we are.

It’s draining.

There’s a strangely unique burden that comes with knowing something so fundamental to who you are is considered controversial. Political.

A burden from hearing the same arguments repeatedly. A burden from wondering about what the future is going to look like, not only for yourself but the people you love. And, if I’m honest, sometimes that fear is hard to shake.

As a queer person, I find myself worrying about the future more than I would like to admit. I think about where society is headed. I think about the increasing hostility against LGBTQ+ people. I think about younger queer people trying to find their place in a world that often feels very unwelcoming. I think about how challenging it can be to feel proud in a world that is constantly telling you not to be.

Some people see Pride Month as a celebration. But celebrating doesn’t always come easily when you’re anxious, exhausted and scared. But maybe that is exactly why Pride is important.

Not because everything is fine. Not because we have won every fight. Not because being queer is simple. But because community becomes even more important when times are tough.

Throughout history, queer people have found each other. We have created spaces where we could breathe a little easier. Places where we didn’t have to explain ourselves, defend ourselves, or justify our existence. Places where we could simply be.

That sense of community is something I think many of us need right now. We need reminders that we are not carrying this burden alone. We need reminders that there are people who understand our fears because they share them. We need reminders that even when the world feels hostile, there are still people standing beside us.

Pride is often linked with parades, and flags, and celebrations. Those things matter. Of course they do. They always will. But maybe Pride looks a bit different this year.

Perhaps this year, Pride is checking in on your queer friends. Perhaps it’s creating a safe space for difficult conversations.  Perhaps it’s reaching out when someone is struggling. Perhaps it is continuing to exist authentically in a world that sometimes makes that feel impossible.

Because Pride isn’t the absence of fear.

Sometimes Pride is carrying that fear and choosing not to let it consume you. Isolate you. Change you.

This year, if Pride feels heavy, you are not alone. And maybe that is the message I need to hear most of all.

We don’t get through difficult times by standing apart from one another. We get through them by standing together.