I genuinely don't understand stuff like this. There aren't Black pride bands, or Asian pride bands, or Woman pride bands, or anything like that. What's the deal with this community wanting to be so external and expressive about their identity? It's very odd, and I really don't get it. Who cares?
As other people have explained, it’s because we as a community have been told for a veerrrry long time that we should be ashamed of ourselves, and should hide away for the sake of “public decency”. The whole point of the Pride movement is to say that we’re not ashamed of who we are, and we won’t hide any longer.
Except it’s not that easy, even now. I “came out” almost 20 years ago, but I still come into contact with people who don’t realise I’m gay, and say incredibly offensive things *right in front of my damn face* about gay people, without even realising they’re describing me.
And when that happens I have a choice. Confront them about it, and (apparently) “make a big deal” about my sexuality, and face possible escalation of their homophobia. Or let it slide, scurry back into the closet for a while, pretend I didn’t hear anything. I did that once at the start of a new job, and spent the next couple years hiding my sexuality from people at work, so as not to cause a scene, to avoid making things complicated.
And I hated myself for doing that, for letting fear and hesitation win and retreating back to the safety zone of being “normal”. So the reason I, personally, bought last year’s Pride band (and will be buying this year’s too), and enjoy wearing it from time to time, is because it reminds me to not be afraid or ashamed of who I am. It’s a colourful, bright, stripey mark that stops me from shuffling back into the shadows. It’s a symbol of the big extended family I belong to, that I stand with, together, refusing to shut up and go away. And that’s a big deal for us.
