What Pride Month means to me – Ida Tomas MRCVS

What Pride Month means to me

Pride Month is the time to celebrate queerness, to celebrate the people and the diversity within the community, and to bask in the light of being ‘seen’. It’s a very wholesome feeling to see people like myself in the media and in real life being celebrated for who they are. For those who haven’t been, I would equate going to a Pride parade as feeling enveloped in a warm hug for a day. Knowing you are loved and accepted and have a place in this community is so heartwarming. 

Who inspires me in the LGBTQ+ community

Every queer, and particularly trans, person I see or hear of in real life who is out really inspires me. They give me hope that any transition or identity questioning is worth the journey, whatever hardships or setbacks you may encounter, and they motivate me to get to know myself better and explore my queerness.

Why LGBTQ+ history matters

The first Pride was a protest, and in many ways every Pride still is. It’s important to remember that the first gay rights wins had to be fought for, by queer people and their allies, and they were not necessarily popular decisions and popular laws. To make progress, we are going to make some groups of people uncomfortable. But how else can change be made?

For those who believe Pride Month is too mainstream and we don’t need it anymore, it’s worth remembering that the first Pride parade is still living history, and there are still many people who do not have the right to love and be who they want to be. 

There are many countries where same-sex relationships and marriage are still illegal, others that do not allow same-sex couples to adopt, and some that are restricting medical transitioning. It is also worth acknowledging that those of us who do have these freedoms are unfortunately at risk of losing them if we do not make our opinions heard loud and clear. 

Having a Pride Month is a privilege and a necessity if we want to keep advancing LGBTQ+ rights.

Advice for allies in the veterinary professions

Listen to the people around you and do your best to be respectful. You don’t have to understand the gender or romantic and sexual preferences of your colleagues to be a good friend and an ally, you just need to respect them. If questions are raised in an appropriate, non-confrontational environment, I think a lot of people would be happy to speak about their identity, so if you have questions and are afraid of offending people – just ask! Talk to your colleagues! 

I think it’s also important to acknowledge and appreciate that small changes in your vocabulary will have a big impact on the queer people around you. As a non-binary person, “he-she” jokes and “they can be whoever they want to be” comments directed towards animals (for example, when a cat is recorded as the wrong sex in clinical notes) usually immediately make me anxious because I don’t know if the person making the joke is just making a joke, or is actually transphobic and a threat to me.   

I also would urge you to remember that just because you think there isn’t anyone LGBTQ+ in your team doesn’t mean there isn’t - it might just mean they’re still figuring themselves out or they aren’t ready to come out at work (or you haven’t noticed!).