Every year around this time, the same question seems to appear:

"Do we still need Pride?"

On the surface, I can understand why some people ask it. LGBTQIA+ people are more visible than we've ever been. In many countries, equal marriage exists. Representation in film, television and sport has improved. Many workplaces actively celebrate diversity and inclusion.

From the outside looking in, it can appear as though the fight has been won. But Pride Month is important precisely because that isn't the reality at all.

As a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I approach Pride Month with mixed emotions. There is joy, absolutely. Celebration. Community. Connection. Pride in who I am and pride in those who came before me and made life safer for people like me.

But there is also concern.

Because while progress has undoubtedly been made, anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric is growing louder. Rights are increasingly being questioned, politicised and in some cases, rolled back. Conversations that should centre us as human beings are too often reduced to debates, headlines and soundbites.

And the community are feeling every last bit of it.

Particularly our trans community.

Even within the LGBT+ community, there is a growing call to separate the LGB from the T: a position I vehemently object to. When we begin to target each other within our community whilst also being attacked from those outside of it, what's next?

So many trans people are currently navigating levels of scrutiny, hostility and uncertainty that most will never have to experience. Their identities are discussed as if they are theoretical. Their existence is debated in public spaces. Their rights are treated as political talking points rather than fundamental human rights.

That has a very real impact.

It affects people's sense of safety. Their wellbeing. Their ability to move through the world without fear. It influences whether someone feels comfortable being themselves at work, at school, with family members or in public.

This is one of the many reasons why Pride Month remains so important.

Not because we as LGBTQIA+ people need a party.

Because we need visibility. We need community. We need reminders that we are not alone.

When I think back to my own experience of coming out, I remember just how uncertain it felt.

I remember telling my step-mum first because I was scared my dad might not love me anymore (he did and he does). I remember some family members responding with warmth and acceptance. I remember others struggling to understand. I lost some family members, I lost some friendships and I built new ones.

Like many LGBTQIA+ people, my experience wasn't entirely positive or entirely negative. It was complicated.

What took me years to realise was that other people's discomfort with my identity wasn't mine to carry. That was their work to do, not mine.

It's a lesson that took time to learn. And it's a lesson that many people in our community are still learning today.

Which is why visibility matters.

Seeing people living openly and authentically matters.

Knowing there are others like us matters.

Feeling represented matters.

Pride matters.

It's easy to look at rainbow flags, parades and celebrations and assume that Pride is simply a festival. But Pride's roots were never in celebration alone.

They were in resistance.

They were in people refusing to hide who they were. Refusing to accept discrimination as normal. Refusing to shrink themselves to make others more comfortable.

That spirit remains just as relevant today.

Because every time someone says Pride is no longer necessary, there is someone else wondering whether it is safe for them to come out.

There is someone questioning whether their family will still accept them.

There is someone hearing messages that suggest they are somehow less worthy, less valid or less deserving of dignity than everyone else.

Pride answers those messages with something that is simple but powerful:

You belong.

You are not alone.

There is a community here for you.

For me, that's why Pride Month is important.

Not because everything is perfect. Not because the work is finished. And certainly not because everyone enjoys the same freedoms or protections.

Pride remains important because visibility creates possibility. Because community creates resilience. And because every person deserves the opportunity to live openly and authentically without fear.

So yes, celebrate. I know I will be.

Attend the events. Wave the flags. Dance if you want to.

But remember that Pride is more than a celebration.

It always has been.

Pride is a reminder of how far we've come, a recognition of those who fought before us, and a commitment to those who still need us now.

And when necessary, and it's necessary now, Pride is still a protest.

This Pride Month - and every month - I stand proudly with our community.

We are here.

We matter.

And we're not going anywhere.

Support is out there 💚