CW: Queerphobia

The month of June has ended, and we weep the fall of the endless rainbows, glitter showers, proud folk, and corporations jumping on a trend to exploit a group of marketable consumers. The month of July has inevitably rolled around, dubbed ‘Pride Wrath Month’ by many a Tumblr user. This month signals not only the break between semesters, and both the relief of the end of exams and the gruelling hours of part-time work, but the return of many proud people to their families. Families that, in some cases, don’t and maybe never will know the truth about the pride that lies in their children’s hearts.

Humans are a tricky species. We’re pack animals at our core, and we’re obsessed with fitting in and being fit to fit in. We mock outsiders, and treat those that are different with distrust and suspicion. Thus, within a society that has standardised the heterosexual nuclear family, the reveal of LGQBT+ members to an presumably straight family causes this normative entity to shatter. This is particularly jarring on the sad occasion that this unit is unwilling to evolve and accept that normality, aside from being a ridiculous concept, is also a flexible one.

Though many would spout that ‘blood is thicker than water’ and would preach that the family you were born into is your family for life, these individuals have ignored the true meaning of this twisted analogy. The original line, ‘the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb,’ was intended to signify that the family you choose will be the family that stays with you forever, and that shared experience will bond people faster and more firmly than simple genetics. Giving birth or raising a child does not guarantee unconditional love, though Hollywood would have you believe otherwise in many of their heteronormative sensationalist films. Similarly, it does not always guarantee you happiness.

The breaking or frayed ties of a split or splitting family will leave the sharpest wounds, but it is in this season of wrath that we must understand that the blood that ties you to your chosen family will lift you up when you need it most. This year there will still be those who have walked home removing pride stickers, flags, rainbows, makeup, and suspenders so as to avoid scrutiny from those who will never be fully removed from their lives. To you, I say that those friends, teachers, acquaintances, strangers, idols, and inspirations that marched beside you this June (whether in the comfort of your own home or loud and proud out in the streets) will remain with you through this homecoming, and maybe even for the rest of your life.