CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
I consider myself fortunate in that in the 16 years since I came out of the closet, I've never been at a loss for reasons to have pride--especially come June. I was undeniably nervous when I attended my first Pride parade, in Chicago's Boystown neighborhood. But as soon as the crowd surrounded me on the sidewalk and people just like me started marching down Broadway, I felt weightless. Years of insecurity washed off my shoulders.
I'm a little more jaded these days, in a "been there, done that" sort of way. Sure, I still love the idea of a good parade--and still feel a thrill upon seeing friends on a float or watching the PFLAG contingent pass. But I'm more comfortable away from the crushing crowds of West Hollywood's Santa Monica Boulevard. I guess it took me a couple years to realize that pride and Pride weren't necessarily the same thing. And while I can certainly experience one at the other, I don't have to wait until June to celebrate either one of them.
It's with that in mind that we bring you this issue's "150 Reasons to Have Pride in 2010." This isn't the kind of list you need to memorize before heading to the parade. And you won't win a toaster oven if every one of these 150 reasons leaves you with goose bumps. This list is instead a reminder that pride is more colorful than rainbow flags, sexier than Speedo-clad go-go boys, and often quieter than Dykes on Bikes.
Sometimes it comes on unexpectedly--as it did for our cover subject, Cynthia Nixon--who realized in 2004 that she was in love with and wanted to raise her family with a woman. In her discussion with executive editor Matthew Breen, Nixon doesn't pretend to understand the wily ways of sexual orientation: "I had never met a woman I was attracted to [before meeting partner Christine Marinoni]." Yet she's steadfast in her love and her conviction: "I identify as gay as a political stance."
For some, pride comes after years of prayer--as it has for Bishop Mary Glasspool, who just 13 years after offering to resign from her church post because of her sexual orientation is now the first openly lesbian Episcopal bishop.
Pride's also inexhaustible. There's no way we could have captured it all in just 150 examples. You'll undoubtedly come up with 150 others as you're reading our list. Write them down, share them with your friends, or better yet, post them on The Advocate's Facebook or Twitter page (@TheAdvocateMag). Whether you're celebrating pride or Pride--with 150 reasons or hundreds of thousands of people--here's hoping you find the same thrill I first did 16 years ago.
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Here Are Our 2024 Election Predictions. Will They Come True?
November 07 2023 1:46 PM
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
17 Celebs Who Are Out & Proud of Their Trans & Nonbinary Kids
November 30 2023 10:41 AM
Here Are the 15 Most LGBTQ-Friendly Cities in the U.S.
November 01 2023 5:09 PM
Which State Is the Queerest? These Are the States With the Most LGBTQ+ People
December 11 2023 10:00 AM
These 27 Senate Hearing Room Gay Sex Jokes Are Truly Exquisite
December 17 2023 3:33 PM
10 Cheeky and Homoerotic Photos From Bob Mizer's Nude Films
November 18 2023 10:05 PM
42 Flaming Hot Photos From 2024's Australian Firefighters Calendar
November 10 2023 6:08 PM
These Are the 5 States With the Smallest Percentage of LGBTQ+ People
December 13 2023 9:15 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
Watch Now: Advocate Channel
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Latest Stories
Iraq postpones vote on bill punishing gay sex with death
April 20 2024 1:31 PM
Russian poetry contest bans entries from transgender poets
April 20 2024 1:25 PM
Here's who won 'RuPaul's Drag Race' season 16
April 20 2024 1:01 PM
The Tip Off: A beginners guide to the WNBA
April 20 2024 11:06 AM
John Fetterman challenges Pa. school board’s cancellation of talk by gay actor
April 19 2024 2:39 PM
New study finds inadequate response to mpox outbreak
April 19 2024 2:06 PM
Fighting back against MAGA’s attacks on equality
April 19 2024 1:00 PM
Just one Christian Nationalist group is behind Idaho's bans on trans care and abortion
April 19 2024 11:57 AM
Linda Perry opens up in new documentary, premiering in June at Tribeca Festival
April 19 2024 11:43 AM
Trans woman loses lower legs in NYC subway attack. Now, friends rally to help her
April 19 2024 10:06 AM
Black trans woman África Parrilla García shot to death in Puerto Rico
April 18 2024 4:55 PM
Marjorie Taylor Greene has sunk so low even Fox News can't stand her anymore
April 18 2024 4:04 PM
Single lesbians are avoided by straight women, but not straight men. Here's why.
April 18 2024 3:18 PM
The LGBTQ+ movie fan's guide to the 2024 TCM Classic Film Festival
April 18 2024 2:44 PM
The federal government failed on mpox. Ritchie Torres's new bill addresses that (exclusive)
April 18 2024 1:21 PM
True
In the face of tweets and turmoil, why I left the South as a medical student
April 18 2024 7:30 AM