Meaning & Importance of Pride Month

We are in the middle of Pride Month 2022. This month is particularly dedicated to equality for the LGBTQIA+ community. Unfortunately, there is still injustice and oppression for many homosexual, bisexual, intersexual or transsexual people. We would like to draw attention to this and inform you about this topic, because there is still acute oppression of the community in Germany.

Pride Month & its meaning

Out and proud! Every summer, Pride Month takes place for the queer community to celebrate their identity and fight for equality. Unfortunately, social injustices, exclusion and discrimination against the LGBTQIA+ community still occur. The month is used to fight for rights. There are many colorful street festivals, events, readings, speeches and parties taking place in many cities around the world.

What does LGBTQIA+ mean?

The abbreviation LGBTQIA+ stands for the English terms “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender/Transsexual, Queer, Intersex and Asexual”. The plus at the end of the abbreviation stands for all groups not mentioned, such as pansexual. This term LGBTQIA+ is constantly evolving. In the past, people often only used the term LGBT - but more and more groups are being included and supplemented with pluses or asterisks.

How did Pride Month come about?

The movement's origins were the Stonewall uprising in New York in 1969. During a police raid on the New York gay bar Stonewall Inn, a large group of homosexuals resisted arrest for the first time. This night was seen by the LGBTQIA+ community as a turning point in the fight for equality.

In 1970 the word Pride was first associated with the movement.

"I am proud", which translates to Pride in German, stands for the proud handling of one's own sexual identity. Every person should be able to deal with their identity confidently without being oppressed or forced into outdated social norms. 💜

The symbols of the movement

For around 40 years, the rainbow flag has been a symbol of the LGBTQIA+ community around the world. In 1978, Harvey Milk, America's first openly gay politician, commissioned an artist named Gilbert Baker to create a new, cheerful symbol. The artist chose the flag because it should act as a bridge, a connection between people around the world. This is intended to create a sense of togetherness and communicate the feeling of peace and change.

The colors represent life (red), healing/health (orange), sun (yellow), nature (green), harmony (blue) and spirituality (purple). 🏳️‍🌈

You can find more community flags in the CSD Deutschland eV flag lexicon

Pride events

Events, demonstrations, readings, parties and much more take place during Pride Month. If you've never been to Christopher Street Day, you should definitely do so this year. The joy, openness and love between each other can hardly be compared to any other event.

Christopher Street Day (CSD) is also one of the most famous Pride events worldwide. This takes place on different dates in the cities. For example, it will take place in Munich on July 16th, but in Berlin on July 23rd, 2022. You can find all the important dates for the CSD here .

We celebrate Pride Month

The annual Pride and LGBTIQA+ festivals are an integral part of the community to support the fight of LGBTIQA+ activists and take to the streets for equal rights for lesbians, gays, trans and intersex people and queer people. In doing so, they support the so-called “Allies”, who see equality of human rights in the rights for LGBTIQA+ and stand by their side in the fight.

We at GREENFORCE are also a diverse bunch of allies and community members.

Regardless of sexuality, gender, origin or skin color, we fight for equality for all people. Not just this month, but all year round.

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