Happy Pride 2023!

As the calendar turns over to July it strikes me how unnecessary it is to have a Pride month, or a Black History month, etc. These are things that we should be accepting and celebrating every day, every month, every year. Not setting aside a certain period of time to celebrating them but simply accepting them as realities that are every bit as real and valid as any other. It's not a good sign in a civilized society that we have to carve out a single day, week, or month to celebrate one way of living or being. The entire rainbow of humanity should simply be, every second, every minute, every day. The fact that the person next to you has black skin, brown skin, or whatever 'color' skin shouldn't matter. Who cares if they love the same or opposite gender. Nobody lives inside another's heart and mind, so how can they say that person is wrong for knowing that their heart, body, and soul doesn't align with the gender some doctor assigned them simply by looking at their exterior in that split second that they emerged from their mothers womb.

Simply love and accept the person next to you even if the way they look and live is nothing like you. There is no single right way to live and love unless your way of life is to suppress others and to advocate hatred and violence against them simply for having the audacity to exist and be who they know are. Life is not black or white, it really is a rainbow. If you want to limit yourself to one narrow definition of who people are and should be, godspeed to you, but don't expect the rest of us to willingly bow to those definitions. We welcome you with open arms and hearts, all we ask is for you to keep an open heart and mind and to accept and respect that humanity is more complex than you think.

"DaniRose2143;c-18284407" wrote:
As the calendar turns over to July it strikes me how unnecessary it is to have a Pride month, or a Black History month, etc. These are things that we should be accepting and celebrating every day, every month, every year. Not setting aside a certain period of time to celebrating them but simply accepting them as realities that are every bit as real and valid as any other. It's not a good sign in a civilized society that we have to carve out a single day, week, or month to celebrate one way of living or being. The entire rainbow of humanity should simply be, every second, every minute, every day. The fact that the person next to you has black skin, brown skin, or whatever 'color' skin shouldn't matter. Who cares if they love the same or opposite gender. Nobody lives inside another's heart and mind, so how can they say that person is wrong for knowing that their heart, body, and soul doesn't align with the gender some doctor assigned them simply by looking at their exterior in that split second that they emerged from their mothers womb.

Simply love and accept the person next to you even if the way they look and live is nothing like you. There is no single right way to live and love unless your way of life is to suppress others and to advocate hatred and violence against them simply for having the audacity to exist and be who they know are. Life is not black or white, it really is a rainbow. If you want to limit yourself to one narrow definition of who people are and should be, godspeed to you, but don't expect the rest of us to willingly bow to those definitions. We welcome you with open arms and hearts, all we ask is for you to keep an open heart and mind and to accept and respect that humanity is more complex than you think.

I wish my parents thought more like you, but alas they are very much stuck in their old-fashioned views. I just wish it didn't take me so long to realise that their views on gender and race are so outdated .

"Mariefoxprice83;c-18284421" wrote:

"DaniRose2143;c-18284407" wrote:
As the calendar turns over to July it strikes me how unnecessary it is to have a Pride month, or a Black History month, etc. These are things that we should be accepting and celebrating every day, every month, every year. Not setting aside a certain period of time to celebrating them but simply accepting them as realities that are every bit as real and valid as any other. It's not a good sign in a civilized society that we have to carve out a single day, week, or month to celebrate one way of living or being. The entire rainbow of humanity should simply be, every second, every minute, every day. The fact that the person next to you has black skin, brown skin, or whatever 'color' skin shouldn't matter. Who cares if they love the same or opposite gender. Nobody lives inside another's heart and mind, so how can they say that person is wrong for knowing that their heart, body, and soul doesn't align with the gender some doctor assigned them simply by looking at their exterior in that split second that they emerged from their mothers womb.

Simply love and accept the person next to you even if the way they look and live is nothing like you. There is no single right way to live and love unless your way of life is to suppress others and to advocate hatred and violence against them simply for having the audacity to exist and be who they know are. Life is not black or white, it really is a rainbow. If you want to limit yourself to one narrow definition of who people are and should be, godspeed to you, but don't expect the rest of us to willingly bow to those definitions. We welcome you with open arms and hearts, all we ask is for you to keep an open heart and mind and to accept and respect that humanity is more complex than you think.

I wish my parents thought more like you, but alas they are very much stuck in their old-fashioned views. I just wish it didn't take me so long to realise that their views on gender and race are so outdated .

I know exactly what you're going through.? I'm in my mid-40's and only now beginning to explore and express who I've always been. My parents gave me an ultimatum, I could be myself and be cast out forever, or I could be who they wanted me to be. I was 15 when they gave me that ultimatum and I chose them over myself. So many people tell us what we're experiencing isn't real. Trust us, it is very real. You cannot know what another person is feeling internally or who they are by what you see at a glance. The old saying about never judging a book by its cover is more right than you can imagine. The stranger, friend, or family member next to you might look convincingly male or female on the outside, but that's simply a covering. What's real is what's inside and that can only be seen if that person chooses to reveal it and too many people try to define and suppress us to fit their views because that's easier than understanding and acceptance. Understanding and acceptance takes effort but the rewards are worth it. You will find so many lovely people if you make the effort.

I see you and accept you for who you say you are.?

"Mariefoxprice83;c-18283906" wrote:
I definitely need to play more non-straight sims. I do play them sometimes but it's most common for me to play straight families and watch how the generations fall out (until I get bored and start a new save).

I've been thinking about making a simself who is non-binary, because I realised earlier this year that I would probably be NB if I belonged to Generation Z (I'm actually a millennial). Unfortunately when I was a teenager I didn't have the knowledge or vocabulary to express my thoughts on the subject and grew up believing that the male/female binary was my only option, so I reluctantly accepted the female label. Sadly non-binary identity is something I've only become aware of in the last 5 years or so, and my family would struggle to accept it if I wanted to switch my gender identity now. Other people in my life would be cool about it, but definitely not my parents. Actually, I might make that NB simself tonight.

I am also a millennial, I'm not nonbinary, but I have four nonbinary friends. All of which are millennials. Two of them I have known for many, many years, they came to that realization recently. I got to go to Pride with those two recently, as the lone binary female there. :D

My point being there are nonbinary millennials and you shouldn't be worried about that!

As for your parents, I'm sorry about that. I don't know what to say because I, too, hid myself for many, many years as to not upset my parents. And my parents were fairly liberal as I was growing up (are now much moreso), just weren't up to date on these LGBT matters. Caused lots of strife for many years, where I kept almost entirely silent. *sigh*

"BariSaxy;c-18284465" wrote:

I am also a millennial, I'm not nonbinary, but I have four nonbinary friends. All of which are millennials. Two of them I have known for many, many years, they came to that realization recently. I got to go to Pride with those two recently, as the lone binary female there. :D

My point being there are nonbinary millennials and you shouldn't be worried about that!

As for your parents, I'm sorry about that. I don't know what to say because I, too, hid myself for many, many years as to not upset my parents. And my parents were fairly liberal as I was growing up (are now much moreso), just weren't up to date on these LGBT matters. Caused lots of strife for many years, where I kept almost entirely silent. *sigh*

Thank you for your kind words.

I don't feel actively guilty for thinking I could be NB, but I do have a lot of internalised guilt for various reasons, some relating to my gender identity, others not. I also have a tendency to mentally beat myself up for not doing things differently, and for yielding to family pressure rather than having the courage to go my own way. For example, I turned 40 in June and am just now in the process of getting my own place (my solicitor needs to hurry up!) and I think I would be mentally healthier if I had gone down that route much earlier. There are many reasons why I didn't, such as the high cost of property in my area, my working situation, and worrying about whether I could move my cats (RIP to my beautiful kitties). But maybe having my own space at last will help me to be more myself.

"Lenny_Ogg;c-18284466" wrote:

(the faux pas of the second week doesn't count ?)

@Lenny_Ogg @DaniRose2143 Hey if they can showcase a straight couple as a "pride month" feature, we can showcase all our proud LGBT sims every day of the year right?

"mightysprite;c-18284480" wrote:

"Lenny_Ogg;c-18284466" wrote:

(the faux pas of the second week doesn't count ?)

@Lenny_Ogg @DaniRose2143 Hey if they can showcase a straight couple as a "pride month" feature, we can showcase all our proud LGBT sims every day of the year right?

^^^This is what Pride Month is all about^^^

And not just Pride Month!!

It doesn't matter if we're straight or gay, cisgender or transgender. We're all human beings and that's all that matters. If we need to have a month dedicated to celebrating/acknowledging one way of living/being or another we're doing something very, very, very wrong as a species. Nothing else matters except do you have unconditional love in your heart for everyone else or not? You either love everyone or you draw distinctions along whatever arbitrary line fits your beliefs.

Yes there are some lines that are clearly offensive and shan't be crossed, but those are not so broadly defined and not arbitrarily assigned to every way of living as those you define as 'other'. LGBTQ people are unfairly tarred and feathered with this brush because we aren't the majority. Just because a belief is held by the majority doesn't make it right. If it's founded on lies it's still wrong. We aren't wrong and we aren't evil, we're human beings too. All we ask for is respect and equal treatment. We didn't choose to be who we are. We only chose to speak up and be ourselves.

@DaniRose2143 as a queer woman myself, i gravitate toward making queer sims so most of my posts year round will showcase my LGBT+ sims. It was nice to have a thread for it this month to find other supportive simmers and I hope we all keep posting our diverse sims!

@permanentrose I've found such a loving and supportive community here. My favorite sims are the lesbian/interracial couple in my avatar who have proved to be reader favorites, and Mimi/The Lady Mimi, my drag queen/gender non-conforming/transgender sim from Schemes & Dreams. At first I thought those three sims might alienate me and my stories, but they've proven to be my most popular characters, across both stories. That single fact lifts my heart and gives me reasons beyond number to believe that in spite of the vocal minority the world as a whole isn't a lost cause.

I invite all of you to visit my Disability Pride Month (July, this month!) thread, to become more aware of why there is Disability Pride, why it is necessary, why it is important, and why it needs to be talked about.