The word pride, do you approve of it?

Well,since im proud,i dont mind screaming it xD

 

The main idea behind "pride" is "an absence of shame". As in "No, I refuse to be ashamed about being gay." Pride is simply the opposite of that, and I'm totally fine with the use of it in that regard.

Lex

 

yeah but just because you are "not angry" doesn't mean you are "happy".

I am not ashamed--but I am not proud of my sexuality just like I am not proud of having brown hair.

 

In terms of sexual orientation, which I think is what you are talking about, I am personally not proud. I am content and satisfied with who I am, and I wouldn't change my orientation unless I would feel just the exact same level of attraction for girls and I do for boys. So, I wouldn't describe myself myself as proud, because gays and lesbians shouldn't be proud. In my opinion it is just like asking if a straight person is proud, this is because one day, I believe that all gays and lesbians will be just as accepted and "normal" as straight people.

Some people may use the word "proud" to describe themselves concerning their sexual orientation, and I cannot really disapprove of a word, but I myself describe myself as content and satisfied; not proud, as one day, this world will change, and people will be treated equally, not just sexually, but in everything from race to age.

 

True. But I don't often get people pushing me to feel ashamed of my hair color. I do still face pressure from people pushing me to feel ashamed of my sexuality. It is to them that I say "I am NOT ashamed of being gay. If anything, I'm proud of being gay."

Lex

 

I'm neither proud nor ashamed. I am what I am and have always accepted it without guilt, remorse, feeling odd, different, special or whatever. I don't even get caught up in Kinsey scales or all the different gender terminology. It's boring.

 

I don't like the term awareness, because 'autism awareness' seems to generally mean 'look at how pitiful these useless disabled kids are'.

 

That's not really pride, that's hubris, or at least sounds that way to me. Hubris - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

I see what you're getting at. I could care less either way.

I am by no means proud of what or who I want in bed. I'm equally embarrassed by everything I desire sexually. @_@

 

I'm not "proud" of it like you describe, no.

But if it prompts people to ask "why aren't you proud?" and opens up conversation for me to explain that being gay is really NBD, then it's fine by me.

 

In a way no, I think people take it too literally and become obnoxiously prideful of their sexuality. But I do feel proud in the achievements that the LGBT community has made for equality and fairness. Personally though I don't feel proud or ashamed of my sexuality, just unsure/blech on bad days and content with myself on good days.

 

Awareness is generally associated with raising the visibility on an issue. You could raise awareness on Gay bullying and whatnot, raise awareness on the concept of LGBT. LGBT however, is not just a name, but also a culture, and people tend to take pride in their culture, especially one in which they've contributed in some form or the other.

(Pride being defined as "A feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired")

It's the same for the Pride movement. It's LGBTQAs banding together, show off who they are and what they've accomplished or are trying to accomplish, and the emotion shared by the participant and the crowd is perfectly defined by the word "Pride".

 

The use of the word pride annoys me a little bit because, as others have said, pride isn't the absence of shame. It is a completely different thing to be proud and to have no shame. I am proud of achievements I make, not something I was just born with.

 

I'm wary of the term 'pride' because it suggests we're trying to place a greater value on being LGBT rather than being heterosexual, and whenever that happens, be it race, gender, sexuality, things go badly and people get oppressed. There is nothing wrong with promoting awareness of LGBTQ issues and self acceptance, and I have no problem with what actually goes on at pride - just the name.

 

I very much do approve of it. Since the opposite of 'out and proud' is 'closeted and ashamed' and I will not do that, I see nothing wrong with pride.

As to being gay just being a part of me or the like: Yes it is. And when the people who want to treat us as second class people (or not even people at all but just trash to be put in camps and disposed of) stop having an issue with what I am, then I'll consider not making a big deal of it. Until then, if being 'proud' causes them pain then I'm all for it.

Todd

 

I was just having this discussion with a friend

"The more I read and watch videos about gays and marriage equality the more conviction I feel towards it. Idk it's like I actually am cultivating or at least understanding the "pride" of being gay. I don't know how to explain it because its not like I shout it from the roof tops. Maybe because I just finally feel I like I belong."

I think Pride is a perfect term.

pride refers to a satisfied sense of attachment toward one's own or another's choices and actions, or toward a whole group of people

 

I'm with Todd on this one. Pride, in a way, is a necessary response to the negative things coming our way.

I have not yet come out to my family (soon to be ex-wife, and kids) because I want the divorce to proceed and be finalized first; but the first thing they will need to know when I do come out to them, is that I am no longer ashamed of who I am and of who I intend to love.

They need to know that I am proud of who I am because the alternative, in our present culture, is shame. I am tired of being ashamed, it is what has kept me for far too long in the closet and I am done with that.

I am proud to say that I am gay, and proud that I have the guts to say it.

 

Came across this quote by Dan Savage, thought it was interesting.

"To be gay is nothing to be proud of. It's in how you are gay that you have something to be proud of, considering the obstacles placed in your path if you are gay."

 

I agree with this thread. How can you be proud of something that you haven't achieved? Being gay is about as honourable as being born with brown hair. Fair enough, you should be proud that you've overcome the stigma and hell that comes with being gay, but not for directly being born gay.

Definitely change it to something else and I'd be there.