Allies, now is time to put away the rainbow tees and face glitter.
Beyond the food, music and parade, the Twin Cities Pride Festival in Minneapolis this weekend is a time to show up, listen up and smarten up about the experiences of those in the LGBT community.
June was chosen as the official lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Pride month to commemorate the Stonewall riots of 1969, when police raided a gay club in New York City. The arrests sparked a riot that lasted for six days.
Minneapolis is also home to LGBT history. "Fresh Fruit", on KFAI, a Minneapolis noncommercial radio station, is the longest-running weekly queer radio show, on air since 1978. In honor of Pride, we talked to host Quinn Villagomez about social media, being an ally and why it's not OK to say "Hey, ladies."
Q: What are the do's and don'ts of attending the Pride Festival?
A: The "do" is, of course, to go and to support and to learn about LGBT culture, to learn about the transgender community, things like that. Have a great time and be supportive.
The don't is you definitely need to be careful about pronouns. Instead of saying, "Hey, guys" or "Hey, ladies," learn from people. Not everybody identifies as masculine and not everybody identifies as feminine.
You also have to be really sensitive about taking photos and posting things on social media because not everybody that goes to Pride is openly out to their family, friends or co-workers.