What pride means to you - with the ohne community
By Nikki Michelsen
Oct 7, 2022
what does pride mean to you?
Pride means a lot to us at ohne - both those of us in the LGBTQ+ community and those of us working to be the best allies we can be. We’ve dedicated this week to celebrating pride - virtual style - with a series of instagram events and discussions and the release our our limited edition pride pouch - designed by the incredibly talented Natasha Morley.
You know what else means a lot to us? You guys. That’s why we’re handing over the mic to you, the ohne community, to tell us what pride means to you.
Natasha Morley
“For me Pride is about friendship, laughter, celebration, solidarity, struggle, and justice.
I’ve been blessed with a vibrant LGBT+ friendship group that has bolstered me, supported me and loved me unconditionally- understanding my own sexuality as a bisexual woman was made easy and painless by having such a firm, fierce group of champions shining a light and leading the way. Pride is a celebration of that love and how far it’s brought us and a sobering reminder of how far we’ve left to travel- particularly in regards to trans and non-binary people. I was really aware when designing this that the purpose of the pouch will be to carry tampons- for this reason I wanted my design to be inclusive of all identities and gender expressions. People who have periods all deserve to menstruate without shame or fear- only with pride (and occasionally chocolate, a hot water bottle and some ibuprofen)”
Nina Feeny
“This is such a hard question, I keep rewriting this answer as it means so many things to me. Pride is almost unexplainable, it feels warm, it feels like home, it breathes acceptance and love, I would defend it with all I have. When you are surrounded by people in your life that do not understand what it is like to be lgbtq, the validity of your sexuality is constantly questioned and you feel the pressure to answer all of everybody's questions without mistake, for if you make a mistake in your wording, they will exploit that.
Pride is the opposite for me; there is no pressure, there is room for mistakes and most importantly there is equal love for everybody. Pride takes away all of that and loves you however you come and it is my favourite time of year, for whenever I see a rainbow flag, my heart smiles.
Pride is so important to me, it is something I try to bring into my life all year round, but the pride-focussed months of the year fill me with so much joy, love and warmth.
All year round I try to educate myself about lgbtq history, along with the modern day struggles faced around the world; but I love the amount of information and knowledge that is spread during Pride season. In this Pride season I have educated myself much more on the transgender people of colour that fought for our rights at the Stonewall riots and my appreciation for them is enormous. Yet unfortunately, their bravery and solidarity could not solve all our struggles and there are so many worldwide.
Everybody deserves to feel loved and accepted and celebrated for who they are and their differences, and when that is practiced, that is Pride.”
Rosie Fiddy
“At my first pride I cried as the parade went past. I was overwhelmed with love and community. The bright colours and smiling people filled me with so much love and happiness. I felt like I was in a place I could truly be myself.
I grew up knowing about the LGBT+ community from a young age. I didn’t realise till I was older that I was part of that community as a someone who identifies a pansexual. I always knew I was different but coming to the realisation took a lot of pain, self-hate, and time. It was a really confusing and dark time for me as it is for a lot of people in the community. I was lucky enough to have an amazing support system of incredible, understanding and gentle people who were LGBT. I also had the support of the community and I’ll forever be grateful for all the support I received then and all the support I still receive to this day.
Pride to me is all about love, acceptance and community. It’s being able to be yourself without judgement and being able to love who you love. The amazing thing about pride is it means something different to everyone. Pride makes me feel so full of love and happiness for the people who used to not feel supported and felt like they were alone and can now be themselves.
There are still so many people that can’t express their sexuality or are punished when they do. It’s so important we spread awareness and donate to charity when we can to support our community so they can feel the love, support and acceptance that we feel. The LGBTQ+ community can be such a beautiful place and I’m so unbelievably proud to be apart of it.”
Ohne Team
Image credit @ Jason Kent
