How To Talk About Pride Every Month

A roundtable discussion with local LGBTQ+ youth organizations on what it means to be an advocate and ally throughout the year

- Kerry Tinga

As the month draws to a close, where does all the Pride go? When the colors of the rain-bow are no longer in vogue and the stories of queer figures no longer profitable and the topics of discussion have gone on to the next news cycle, where does all the Pride go?

Not being part of the community, I acknowledge that my experiences and perspectives on the issues are limited. But it’s Pride Month and so I ought to write about Pride. As a writer, I know the best way to overcome a lack of understanding is to get in touch with the people who have internalized the heroics and heartbreak of the community. June turns to July and then to August and then to September. For them, however, Pride is not a month. It is their lives and their struggle and their dream for an equal and just world.

I reached out to Filipino LGBTQ+ youth advocacy groups in the Philippines, namely the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman’s Babaylan organization, De La Salle University– College of St. Benilde’s Hive organization, and the Philippine Anti-Discrimination Alliance of Youth Leaders, or PANTAY. A date and time were set for a roundtable discussion. I had a few questions in mind but we let the conversation flow and inform itself.