Marsha P. Johnson (Left) and Sylvia Rivera (Right), Gay Pride Parade, New York City, 1973
Photo by Leonard Fink, Courtesy LGBT Community Center National History Archive
Photo by Leonard Fink, Courtesy LGBT Community Center National History Archive
As we enter June, a month associated with Pride, in the absence of a global pandemic you might be thinking of parties, floats, glitter, celebrations filled with music, dancing and rainbow branded merchandise. However, that image of Pride is inconsistent with the reality in many parts of the world where many LGBT people remain at risk of violence, imprisonment or death because of their gender identity and/or sexual orientation. It also sanitises Pride's political force and legacy as an uprising of marginalised communities against an oppressive system, born out of riot, protest and civil disobedience.