In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s Pride month, and it culminates in London this Saturday with the Pride in London Parade. Thousands of LGBTQ+ individuals and allies will congregate to celebrate, laugh, love, be proud of who they are, and how far society has come. Of course, there’s still a huge amount of work to be done, especially in terms of intersectional representation and equality, and society’s treatment and understanding of non-binary and trans individuals.
As with so much online activism today, it is largely led by the ‘millennial’ and ‘Gen Z’ generations, who use social media to tell their story, and spread their message in a way that is engaging and thought-provoking.
There are those who shout from the rooftops, powerfully arguing the importance of LGBTQ+ rights, understanding and pride, and there are those who integrate it seamlessly into their work and content. Together, these have the dual effect of normalising and creating a genuine understanding for people to work from. The teaching begins on social, and spreads out through society. We’ve taken this opportunity to highlight some of the voices online doing brilliant work for the LGBTQ+ community!
- @makedaisychains – Hannah Daisy is an artist, illustrator and mental health activist who creates beautiful and colourful content to portray the importance of various ideas and movements. Her work ranges from the topics of ‘boring self-care’, to sexual violence and body positivity.
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- @riyadhk – Riyadh Khalaf is a delightfully frank and funny blogger, writer and documentary filmmaker. Host of BBC1 Podcast ‘Unexpected Fluids’, he’s definitely one to follow for an honest discussion and an interesting take on how LGBTQ+ activism fits into daily life.
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- @travisalabanza – Travis is a London based performer, writer and artist. Their unique style and expression has made them a leading voice in the London scene, embracing everything that is so often forgotten or pushed to one side in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights. They speak fluently and openly on the importance of remembering those ‘weirdos’ and individuals who represent the fluidity and diversity of pride. They’re also really well dressed.
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- @lezbackpack – Mel and Con are a couple based in Austin, Texas. They go to cool places, take beautiful pictures, tell their love story and weave in important messages along the way.
There are thousands of brilliant people out there, doing incredible work both off and online. We’d love to be able to celebrate each and every single one, but I think we’d run out of room…luckily that’s what Pride is for!
