pride, /prīd/, n. – a sense of confidence, self-respect, and solidarity as felt or publicly expressed by members of a group (typically one that has been socially marginalised) on the basis of their shared identity, history, and experience.1
I grew up in an environment where you’d frequently hear people rattle off plenty of homophobic catchphrases, especially throughout June. “Pride is a sin,” they’d say. Or, “God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.” Being called “gay” was an insult, one that people both close to me and those not so much used to chastise me for anything they saw as “femininity” or not “manly” and “masculine.” The way I talked, the way I walked, the way I sat, everything about me was picked apart and scrutinised. As a closeted kid, growing up was a nightmare.
The “rainbow people” were deemed as evil, “corrupting the children,” and secretly, I had to hate myself because, when I was a sixth grader, I knew I was gay. By the time I made it to high school, the internalised shame was crippling. I hated myself because the only thing I ever knew was that I couldn’t end up like that. I couldn’t be one of those people because if I were, that meant I was going to end up burning in hell forever. So I had to hide it all, convince myself that it would all go away in time, and pretend to be the good, obedient, straight kid that everyone wanted me to be.
That was, until the facade started wearing off. I was living in a fantasy, having been forced to look and act a certain way. College gave me enough space to finally start realising that I was different, and so I started to actually question my sexuality. After a moment of clarity and discovery, I found that there were others like me, groups of Christians in the LGBTQ+ community who were reckoning with their own sexualities and gender identities. At the time, because I was new to even the concept of what it would be like to acknowledge my sexuality, just the thought that maybe it was okay that I was gay as long as I never acted on it. I found myself within the Side B paradigm, started reading, and started becoming more open with my sexuality.
I started coming out around eight months ago, and fully came out six months ago. A lot has changed during this time. I’ve had my ups and downs. I’ve become fully affirming of my sexuality and joined the Side A community of LGBTQ+ Christians. I went through a period of questioning my gender identity and realised I don’t really fit in the cisgender box either. For the first time in my life, I’m glad to be me, all of me, and I no longer see my sexuality as a burden, but a gift.
I’m actually proud to be me. I’m proud to be gay.2 I’m proud to be boyflux.3 I’m proud that I’ve survived. I’m proud that the people who called me “gay” as an insult were right. I’m proud of my personality, which isn’t weak. I’m proud of who I’ve grown to become as a human being.
Yet what all of those people who run around telling people that “pride is a sin” and “God hates gays” don’t realise is that none of what they say is actually true. Pride isn’t sinfulness; pride is getting to be my most authentic self. Pride is loving myself. Pride is solidarity with everyone who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, non-binary, or any sort of sexual/gender minority. God loves all those who are queer, since we are his children too. There is nothing wrong with us, and there is nothing that needs to be fixed about who we are.
In a world where people are constantly trying to erase people like us, we need pride more than ever. To show people that it is okay to be queer. To show people that they matter, no matter who they are. To show people that they are loved, just the way they are.
Happy Pride! 🏳️🌈
Oxford English Dictionary, “pride (n.1), sense I.6.a,” June 2026, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/3931350811.
gay, /ɡā/, n. – a person who experiences romantic and sexual attraction towards individuals of the same gender; in the case of males, men loving men (mlm). Read more on lgbtqia.wiki.
boyflux, /bȯi-fləks/, n. - a non-binary gender identity in which the male identity of an individual fluctuates in intensity. Read more on lgbtqia.wiki.