What Pride Month means to me as a dweeby CIS Indian male

Pride Month is a barometer to judge if our friends, family and colleagues are safe in our communities. The backsliding on their rights in 2023 is deeply unfortunate.

The persecution that men like Alan Turing were subjected to must never happen again.

In May, 2023, Uganda made homosexuality a crime punishable by death.

Uganda’s terrible law is a gruesome reminder of the fact that the LGBTQIA+ are continuing to be specifically singled out, disrespected, and dehumanised because of their sexuality. This is not a matter of closed history.

In June, the Pride festival is celebrated so that businesses can express support for the LGBTQIA+ community, their workers and customers. However, what was an uncontroversial and positive annual event is increasingly becoming the subject of misinformation. There is an uptick of negativity and disgust being openly expressed against gay people and this should make us all uneasy. It should be kept in mind that countries like Russia, Hungary and Polad are eager to differentiate themselves by showing respect for gay people as a sign of civilisational degeneracy of the West.

For instance, and reflecting the necessity of challenging a rising tide of intolerance, Medium Staff published a story emphasising that Medium is a platform that supports LGBTQIA+ rights. In response, a much-applauded comment on this post said:

“No hard feelings or disrespect but this LGBTQ is starting to feel like an unwanted propaganda being pushed down peoples throats. Just respect people regardless of their gender, sexuality or ethnicity. No need to single people out.”

Pride isn’t observed to push propoganda down people’s throats. It is to acknowledge the deliberate invisibilisation of gayness despite that being gay is as natural as being left-handed. It is an opportunity, for instance, to say we disagree that gay people face capital punishment in Uganda and what is happening there reflects poorly on all of us.

One of my favourite pieces of writing on Uganda’s history on this subject is by the writer Colin Wilson. Wilson is the author of acclaimed, The Outsider. When the book debuted, Wilson was hailed as a genius but he failed to capture that lightening…