If you were on Twitter on Thursday afternoon, you may have noticed a particular hashtag trending: #HeterosexualPrideDay. The "day" can be traced back to June 29, 2016, when the hashtag trended on Twitter and the Huffington Post managed to uncover the first tweets that deployed the "day." While it's obviously not an official holiday (for good reason), and there don't seem to be any official celebrations for it, some people really are taking it to heart.
Let's step back for a moment: #HeterosexualPrideDay is trending during Pride Month — but thankfully, a scroll through the hashtag shows that it's mostly full of people explaining exactly why Heterosexual Pride Day isn't, and will never be, a thing.
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As many pointed out, heterosexual people do not experience discrimination and persecution the way that LGBTQ people do — and that's why there doesn't need to be a "straight pride movement."
Leaving this here #HeterosexualPrideDay pic.twitter.com/1VzryjVyp2
— dangerous cameron (@GrandesDevotion) June 29, 2017
Happy #HeterosexualPrideDay or also known as
— Trevor Tomlinson (@TrevTomlinson) June 29, 2017
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
RT if u don't judge?
In red are all the countries where it's illegal to be heterosexual. Must be hard ?? #HeterosexualPrideDay pic.twitter.com/WanRXY98DT
— Kait ? (@itzzkait) June 29, 2017
how many of y'all got kicked out of your home for being straight? exactly now shut up with this #HeterosexualPrideDay nonsense
— Bre ?️? (@anoticingsenpai) June 29, 2017
Here's the deal: when straight people are persecuted for 1000s of years because of whom they love, they can get a #HeterosexualPrideDay.
— Pé Resists (@4everNeverTrump) June 29, 2017
Don't get us wrong, there's nothing wrong with celebrating and having pride in who you are. Of course you should have pride in who you are, no matter what your sexuality is.
But asking for a Heterosexual Pride Day is a bit like saying that "All Lives Matter." As then-President Barack Obama once eloquently pointed out, nobody in the Black Lives Matter movement is saying that other lives don't matter, just as no one is saying that straight people shouldn't celebrate themselves or their love. However, during a time when gay and bisexual men are being detained and tortured in Chechnya for their sexuality and the Pulse shooting is still fresh in our memories, you would have to be seriously lacking in empathy not to address the discrepancy in the way the LGBTQ community is persecuted. And for some, that's what Pride Month is for.
We all deserve to celebrate our sexuality and who we love — but in a world where LGBTQ people are still experiencing unprecedented violence, we think it's safe to say that this is a time for straight people to pass the mic and be an ally, and not make everything about you.
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