HELLLOOOOO DARLING! Welcome to JUNE on benpechey.com, and in turn, welcome to Celebration Month. June is the month given over to Pride, and as such I shall be celebrating all things queer this month.
I will be celebrating with you all month long, bringing you important thoughts surrounding being queer in 2019. Kicking off Celebration Month, I want to talk to you about what it means to be queer in 2019.
In order to do so, I must address the term, Queer. Queer for so many people was a slur, a negative word that rubbed shoulders alongside so many other words that have been hurled at members of the LGBTQQUIAAP Community over the years.
However, in recent years we as a community have taken queer back. This is our word, it is a signifier of power but also a unifying word. Queer is a community, it accepts all forms of identity, backgrounds and race. Queer epitomises what it means to never discriminate.
I take great comfort in the fact that the community has progressed to the stage we are at in 2019. I also am very aware of just how far we have come, but how much further we need to go. In essence, my queerness is about strength, to stand up for what I believe is right.
This is intrinsically tied to my persona, identity and sense of self. I use the strength and confidence that I have worked very hard to gain, to lift others up and to inspire. The success of this is not seen through millions of followers, or how many campaigns I have worked on. No, this is seen in the one on one conversations I have with people. With the countless messages, I receive daily. This is the success of being who I am.
Please don’t assume that my life is all roses, I still struggle, and not every day is as good as others. However, I use all the emotions that swirl within me to inspire myself and others. My presence is not just self-promotion, no, I am here to make queer people more visible, to allow us to be seen as valid.
Like myself and so many of the wonderful people that make up the queer community in 2019, we are combating a struggle that has been in motion for decades. There is no irony that I sit here writing this 50 years this year since the Stonewall riots.
So much was sacrificed and fought for, that we must be incredibly grateful. We also must continue that fight, we must continue to create safe spaces for queer people, fight for our rights, and fight for the recognition that we deserve.
Being Queer means so much to me, there is so much we must celebrate, now more than ever before. Be proud of who you are, be proud of the community you belong to, be proud to be Queer.
Thank you so much for joining me, as always. I will see you next week, where I will continue to Celebrate all things, Queer!
Shot by Rachel Pechey
Shop My Lewk:
Shirt: Matalan, GIFTED, Old
T-Shirt: ASOS Curve, Old
Jeans: ASOS Curve
Shoes: Primury
Sunglasses: ASOS Earrings: Janet Bell