5 Sex-Empowering Things You Can Do For Pride Month
Identity

5 Sex-Empowering Things You Can Do For Pride Month

By Emmeline Peaches, 20.06.2019

June is Pride Month, which means a time to celebrate and rally for safe and inclusive spaces for all in the LGBTQI community.

Pride Month was initially founded to remember and honor the Stonewall Riots which occurred in Manhattan in 1969 and pride parades, picnics, exhibitions, and events are held all over the world to celebrate the month and give visibility to queer individuals.

It’s amazing that we live in a society where progress is constantly being made and where Pride Month is celebrated on a cultural scale, but sometimes it pays to have personal celebrations too.

That’s why this post is fully dedicated to 5 empowering things that you could do to celebrate pride month in your own way. Take as many of these suggestions as you’d like and roll with them.

#1 Reaffirm Your Queer Identity

Queer identity also comes with its own visual cues, languages, and playful mannerisms that queer individuals can use to empower themselves.

If you’re the type of individual who likes to present as openly queer then take some time to reaffirm your identity by doing so loud and proud.

Wear your favourite queer activism gear, go full butch/femme mode (if it serves you), or buy something new to add to your collection of gloriously queer gear.

One of our staff members is particularly fond of their rainbow collar and loves to wear it to empower themselves when they want to be a queer warrior.

#2 Engage In ‘Queer’ Activities Sexually

Some sexual activities, such as fisting, have been given a strong sense of empowerment among queer communities and this is something that you can harness if you wish to.

Even if you don’t usually engage in certain sexual actions, set aside time to explore more queer-coded actions and activities and see where they take you.

It could be that they’re not to your taste, and that’s fine – it means you’ve learned something about your preferences – but doing so can be a wonderfully affirming way of knowing and exploring your personal needs as a queer individual.

#3 Go All Rock Star On Your Playlists

Make a playlist that aligns with your identity and struggles while also making you feel like a badass.

It could be gloriously flamboyant and over the top (because who doesn’t love strutting their stuff alone at home sometimes?) or it could be more tender, emotional, and quiet.

Music has a very strong impact on human psychology and allows us to get in touch with ourselves in a way that is wholly unique.

You could choose to make this a playlist to get sexual with or it could just be for you – to boost yourself up and to remind yourself of just why you’re worth love and acceptance.

#4 Make Your Own Rainbows

Did you know that for Pride Month the fitness tracking app Strava has made it so that your running and cycling routes can come up as rainbows? All you need to do is put the rainbow emoji in the title of the activity and suddenly your adventures in fitness have become a beautiful rainbow of queer pride.

One of our team uses this to make their own rainbows – there’s something to be said about going out for a run knowing that you’re blazing the trails of queer awareness – but this isn’t the only way to go about it.

Challenge yourself to create a rainbow that speaks of your sexual and queer identity. This could come in the form of a collage, of writing (in different pen colors), of a beautiful painting, or of a sewing or knitting project.

Whatever the form you decide to make your rainbow in, allow yourself to think about what it means to you, how it speaks of your identity, and why you matter.

Rainbows are ours for a reason; your life is too bright for beige.

#5 Talk

Many of us don’t talk about our sexuality even though, really, it can have a huge impact on our lives and how we interact with the world. It can also impact how we’re seen and how others choose to interact with us.

That’s a lot to keep inside and, at times, it can be overwhelming, so take the time this Pride Month to talk about your sexuality, how your queer identity interacts with it, and the positives and negatives that you have encountered as a queer individual.

This can be something done intimately with a partner. It may be of special significance if you are a queer individual in a relationship that is coded straight, as sometimes there is a disparity between the thoughts of a queer individual and their straight counterpart/s, but it matters for all of us.

Friends and family can also be good to speak to. If you know they support you then feel free to engage in conversation with them and you might all leave the talk feeling better for it.

Alternatively, if you’re feeling really brave, volunteer to speak about your queer identity at a local event. This is a public display of queerness but it’s also a very strong and empowering personal achievement and one you won’t likely forget.

The Takeaway

Pride Month is a wonderful thing but the importance of it isn’t just about the month itself – it’s about making sure that we have the pride, self-affirmation, and collective strength to defend and embody queer rights and identity all throughout the year.

So use this month to revitalize your sexuality and what it means to you so that, in times of struggle, you never doubt how amazing you truly are.

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