20 Ways to Celebrate Pride Month

One of the simplest and most meaningful ways you can celebrate Pride Month is to become an LGBTQ activist and ally. In addition to advocating for LGBTQ rights, GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) recommends being a listener, inviting LGBTQ friends and family members to hang out, and checking your own biases and assumptions as important ways to show support to the LGBTQ community. Also, make sure you’re not contributing to the problem by using derogatory terms or making anti-LGBTQ jokes.

A fun way to celebrate Pride Month, especially with children, is to create artwork in support of the LGBTQ community. A quick search on Pinterest reveals an endless assortment of colorful project ideas, including rainbow headbands, jewelry, banners, dream catchers, posters, and more.

Part of celebrating Pride Month should include setting the example of love and acceptance of everyone for our children. By having age-appropriate discussions with our children about homosexuality, gender identity, and inclusiveness, we’re honoring the men, women, and gender-nonbinary people who’ve suffered the pain of discrimination for simply being their authentic selves. If you’re unsure of how to start a dialogue, there are great books for young children (and even teens) that can help kick-start the conversation.

Just as black history was suppressed for years, LGBTQ history has also been left in the shadows. In honor of Pride Month, take time to learn about important leaders who have paved the way for LGBTQ rights in our country, including Bayard Rustin (pictured) who wasn’t just a key adviser to Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement, but also one of the earliest advocates for gay rights. During a time when just being black was dangerous, Rustin was also openly gay, giving hope and courage to so many others in the LGBTQ community.

While many cities have canceled their Pride parties this year because of the current health situation, there will be online events taking place to celebrate the LGBTQ community and the diversity of identity and love. San Francisco will be hosting SF Pride 2020 online June 27-28. Show your support by logging on to see live and prerecorded performances, celebrity greetings, DJ sets, and more.

What better way to display your support of Pride Month than to rock LGBTQ-friendly clothing? Thankfully, Pride gear is available at many major retailers and (even better) from independent, queer-owned businesses that have a variety of Pride-inspired T-shirts and even cool Pride socks to keep you looking fresh throughout June and all year long.

This month, put your money where your mouth is by making a donation to one of the many LGBTQ nonprofits (like GLAAD and The Trevor Project) that work toward making a difference in the lives of gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning teens and adults. From preventing homelessness and advocating for legislative change, to pioneering HIV/AIDS research (and more), these organizations are tirelessly working to make the world a truly equal space for everyone. They need our financial support to continue their mission.

If you can’t donate cash to your favorite LGBTQ nonprofit, why not donate your time and talent, instead? In nearly every city across the U.S., there are opportunities to volunteer with LGBTQ organizations working to improve rights, provide resources and protect the LGBTQ community. Not sure where to start? Check out GLAAD and The Trevor Project for more information on volunteering, or visit Volunteer Match to see if there are local LGBTQ organizations in your area.

Displaying a rainbow flag on your property or on a bumper sticker on your car is a quick and easy way to identify yourself as a member or ally of the LGBTQ community. Unlike the American flag, there’s no right way to display the rainbow flag, although it’s common for the red bar to be on top when the flag is displayed horizontally. The flag, which was created in 1978, is a common representation of LGBTQ pride, but it’s important to know there are also flags for transgender pride, bisexual pride, and more.

Since LGBTQ men and women are often marginalized in society, it’s especially important to support them on a grassroots level by patronizing and investing in their businesses. Order from LGBTQ-friendly restaurants, and shop at LGBTQ-owned businesses to empower people within the community to follow their dreams while living their truth.

Make a commitment this Pride Month (and always) to eliminate discriminatory language from your vocabulary. By using inclusive words and learning appropriate terminology — including people’s chosen pronouns and names, and never (ever) making jokes at the expense of the LGBTQ community — you’re showing through words and actions that you’re truly an ally and working toward making the world a more accepting space for everyone.

Whether you’re a part of the LGBTQ community or an ally, it’s important to understand the issues that affect those who identify as LGBTQ. Knowing that LGBTQ teens are three times more likely to consider suicide and five times more likely to attempt suicide, or that 40% of the nearly 1.6 million homeless teens in America identify as LGBTQ is just as important as celebrating Pride Month by wearing rainbows and logging on to fun events.

Thanks to Hollywood, we have a vast selection of films that explore the LGBTQ experience, and what better time than Pride Month to have an LGBTQ movie marathon? Some of our favorites include Milk (shown here), Boy Meets Girl, The Incredibly True Adventures of 2 Girls in Love, Boys Don’t Cry, Pride, and Love, Simon. Not only can these films entertain, but they also can teach viewers about the struggles people in the LGBTQ community face every day.

Some cities in the U.S., including San Francisco and Los Angeles, will be hosting online pride concerts and events in place of their annual Pride celebrations. So while you have fun rocking to the beat, you’ll also be supporting the community itself, which is another awesome way to celebrate Pride Month.

Reading is always a good thing, but reading LGBTQ novels and even works of nonfiction is essential during Pride Month. Head to your favorite online retailer to stock up on some of the best LGBTQ books from authors like David Sedaris, Nella Larsen, James Baldwin, Dorothy Allison, David Levithan, Alison Bechdel, and more.

What’s great about Pride Month is that cities all around the world are also participating in the celebration of diversity and love equality. While not every city across the globe hosts their Pride events in June — online or otherwise — there are literally hundreds of cities in the U.S. and abroad that take Pride seriously and come out in full color to show their support. Thanks to the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA), you can find a handy guide to all the different Pride celebrations around the world.

A fun way to celebrate Pride Month is to have a party — whether with your immediate family or with friends and family on Zoom or FaceTime! Celebrate love and acceptance for everyone by offering tasty rainbow-colored treats (like this gorgeous rainbow cake and vibrant rainbow cocktails) while displaying rainbow-colored decor and listening to a playlist of LGBTQ artists. You could even take your soiree one step further by making it a fundraising event to benefit an LGBTQ nonprofit of your choice.

For those of us who really want to make a statement this Pride Month, a semi-permanent hair rainbow is a fun and festive way to do so. Using high-pigment colors, it’s possible to achieve the classic rainbow flag look on our roots to show our affinity for LGBTQ pride. Whether we rock the peekaboo rainbow (seen here) or go for a total hair transformation, the beautiful color combination will definitely turn heads and start meaningful conversations.

One of the most direct ways you can celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month is by registering to vote and using the power of your voice to adopt legislation that protects the rights of the LGBTQ community. If you’re not already registered to vote in your county, Pride Month is a great time to do so, giving you the opportunity to participate in local, state, and federal elections that can make an enormous difference in the lives of people belonging to the LGBTQ community.

Knowing you’ll love and accept any friend or family member who comes out as LGBTQ is one thing, but making sure they know it is another. This Pride Month, make the effort to let your friends and family know that regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, your love and support are unconditional. It’s also a great time to talk to your children about acceptance and to reassure them that no matter who they are, they can always count on your love to help see them through. Need resources? Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) is a great place to start.