Pride - stand tall

Pride to me is standing up tall, puffing your chest out to the world and saying this is who I am. In a world that is ever changing. To think that the world has been around for billions of years, humans have been on earth about 200,000 years but the earliest form of writing has been around approximately 5000 years! It means that Queer people have existed for 200,000 years most likely but we just didn’t have a meaningful voice until 40 years ago since the 70s and that was just the springboard. There will have always been lgbt+ people in history but the narrative didn’t really begin until the Stonewall riots. Civil partnerships in the uk were only around from 2005 and then gay marriage was legalised in 2014. There’s 195 countries in the world and only 29 that allow same sex marriages. So a way to go yet. You only have to see a post from someone who is championing trans rights to then see the dozens of hateful comments underneath. Pride is essential as it’s our voice. If you are silenced or quietened down then you lose your voice and so eventually lose your rights. If we can show pride, fight for each other then our voices can be heard and we can fight for the other countries for better rights. Some countries people face death or prison if they have same sex intercourse and other countries where there are serious limitations to expressing yourself. Just for being you - you could be beaten up at the very least. Just recently Ali Fazeli Monfared was murdered by his cousins and half brother who murdered him for being gay. This was only in May 2021. He was hoping to exile to turkey and then travel on to Europe but he didn’t make it tragically. Pride is so much more than in a pre- Covid times going to pride, getting drunk and dancing to Britney Spears. It’s an essential way for people to express themselves and remind the world that there is a long way to go!

So let’s celebrate some music from LGBT+ artists.

From disco groove 70s, 80s snyth pop to 20s progressive rnb.

Diana Ross - chain reaction - full disco Motown extravaganza from the soul queen. The song “ I’m coming out” was written for Ross by Niles Rodgers to address her many lgbt+ followers. Ross was warned it would “ruin” her career but went ahead and released it anyway!

David Bowie - let’s dance - one of the first artists to play with his sexuality and gender identity. He was a trailblazer in art, fashion and music with his androgynous creation of ziggy stardust. When homosexuality was still considered shameful in the 70s David Bowie proclaimed “I’m gay”. He had recently got married to a woman and then later proclaimed he was bisexual. One of the first people to show a wider audience it’s to be gender fluid and not be defined by sexuality.

Queen - I want to break free. - I don’t need to remind you about the iconic video. Freddie Mercury in drag which at the time the reaction was negative in many countries!

Lady gaga - poker face - An ally of the LGTB+ community from the get go! Lady gaga came out as bisexual early on in her career and spoke of the exclusion of bisexuality. Highlighting how bi people sometimes can feel excluded from the community or are excluded as they perhaps deem themselves imposters as “not gay enough” due to being in hetero relationships.

Ultra nate - free- this song became the ultimate anthem for gay rights. “You’re free to do whatever you want to do”. Reading that sentence you can hear how the chorus goes instantly.

Bimini Bon Boulash - god save this queen - Brand new song out by the insanely talented drag queen from the latest U.Ks drag race. They have released a single about gender identity and expression with the chorus “ gender free, breaking boundaries”. Bimini has come out as non-binary and had a heartfelt conversation with Ginny lemon on the show. Again highlighting how gender is a spectrum - they explained it far better than me. Go check it out!

Frank ocean - thinkin about you - ‘yes of course I remember, how could I forgot how your feel? You know you were my first time, new feel. The lyrics imply Frank singing about his first sexual experience with a man and his first romantic feelings for someone of the same sex. Throughout the classic album “channel orange” many songs have references to Frank’s first love with a man. Frank penned a coming out letter online. The fact he was opening up to having had serious relationships with men and women. This was completely unheard of in the heterosexual world of RnB.