Pride Month Is Over

After June, companies take the rainbows out of their logos, and you’re much less likely to see queer people celebrating in the streets. But queer people do not go away. We are still right here.

Content warning: violence against LGBTQIA+ individuals mentioned in the next two paragraphs

In June, celebrations are sanctioned and police escort pride parades. The LGBTQIA+ population gains a lot of visibility, which helps normalize our existence. This is fantastic, but according to Robbert Kalff, the founder of Utrecht Pride, this visibility also leads to unwanted attention. In response to violence against drag queens, Kalff led drag queens at the head of the parade in Utrecht to protest anti-LGBTQIA+ violence and to bring awareness to the forefront.¹

LGBTQIA+ identities may seem normalized in the Netherlands, which is famous for its tolerance, but tolerance only goes so far. Many Dutch people describe their tolerance for LGBTQIA+ individuals, but more and more they also express homophobia² and even those who commit violence against LGBTQIA+ individuals will speak positively of Dutch tolerance.³ Everyone sees the beautiful parades and epic celebrations, but not everyone sees what happens when the partygoers go home. For example, the staff of a drag bar were attacked after their shift in Groningen in April 2023.⁴ In 2021, a trans woman was verbally harassed before being assaulted by a group of men joined by passersby.⁵

Pride month may be over, but we have to continue to fight for the safety of LGBTQIA+ individuals, including people with intersecting marginalized identities. Gay men who grew up in a Moroccan household in the Netherlands have unique experiences to native Dutch men due to a different cultural upbringing despite both being raised in the Netherlands.⁶ Their queerness may be questioned by other gay men and their queerness can also result in exclusion from the Muslim community or even being verbally and physically harassed in public.⁷

Future generations–including LGBTQIA+ youth–turn to adults to learn about society. We have the power to show youth that they are safe and that we are not tolerating intolerance. Pride month is over, but it is time to move beyond tolerance and create a world in which LGBTQIA+ people can be proud and safe every day. Take care of each other and stay safe, folks!