Pride month: it’s here, it’s humid, it’s happening. And as parades march around the world, we’re thinking about the strides that have been made for gay rights since the first Pride march in New York in 1970, how much further we have left to go, and how to honor the LGBTQ community for its accomplishments to date.
Love is love.
Gay rights are human rights.
And this collection of Dribbble shots is our way of showing support and respect for the LGBTQ community around the world.
1. Simple. Obvious. Pride.
By David Connor
The concept stands for itself. June is a month to celebrate something that used to be hidden. To find joy in the struggle. The only word for the complicated experience of loving while mourning, celebrating while fighting, is—pride. Being proud. Living without shame.
So why make things more complicated than they are? Spelling out the rainbow makes the source clear. The LGBTQ community’s celebrations speak louder in June than words have to.
2. Ready, Freddie?
“In Nepal, people still don’t take LGBTQ community seriously,” Shresta, the artists writes in the drawing’s description. “They still hesitate to talk about it openly. Every time someone sees a LGBTQ community member, they either try to ignore them or look at them in a peculiar way.”
But the youth have found their home on social media. Shrastaj credits the online community for helping Nepalese youth realize that being gay, lesbian, or trans “…is not a curse, it’s a gift.”
Mercury, an out gay icon, symbolizes for many the freedom of being out and proud. Who’s a better icon for the season of celebration than the king of camp?
3. Celebrate community
What’s a celebration without people to celebrate with?
This image gets to the heart of pride: the folks building the movement. The queer ones raising the flag, calling for the protests, and making themselves visible.
Borges’ art, both Pride-related and not, shows a deep interest in highlighting the “other.”
4. Celebrate your elders
Sylvia Rivera, Latina-American gay and trans rights activist, said on the topic of visibility, “We have to be visible. We should not be ashamed of who we are. We have to show the world that we’re numerous. There are many of us out there.”
This illustration, by montana knudsen, is part of a continuous effort to honor the elders and earliest activists of queer history.
The events preceding the first pride celebrations weren’t happy ones. By amplifying the logic, arguments, and calls to action of the first activists, we’re constantly reminding ourselves, and the community at large, of where pride comes from and what we have to keep fighting for.
5. Coloring the future
By Deniz Gunsav
The future is the children. The future is education. If we want our children to not just be tolerant but accepting, that work has to start in school. Gunsav’s illustration shows us what education can be when queer history is weaved in: colorful, rich, and celebratory.
6. Pay it no mind
By Sam Moyer
Pride started when Martha P. Johnson raised her arm and threw something. Whether it was a brick, a stone, or a high heel, what was actually thrown doesn’t matter.
The P. in her name stands for “Pay it no mind,” what Johnson used to tell the busybodies and nosy Nancies who would inquire too far into her business. She was a boss lady, brave enough to defend her community in the Stonewall riots, and the root of all we know as Pride today.
7. Take it to the streets
By Leigh Anne
Pride didn’t start online, and its celebrations go deep into IRL land. This set of enamel pins, designed for a design challenge, are described by their designer as “both wearable art and expressive statements for those who know what they stand for. Happy Pride Month!”
Leigh Anne’s portfolio speaks to her understanding of the impact of design, on- and off-screen. Whether a rendition of Harry Potter character Luna Lovegood or a message calling for high standards and self-acceptance, Leigh Anne harnesses the visual to evoke emotion and power.
8. Wave your trans flag high
Martha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera are just two examples of the countless trans individuals who make the queer community such a force to be reckoned with. The rainbow flag is universally recognized as the symbol for gay pride, but the trans community has its own unique struggles to fight—and its own flag to celebrate.
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Shayna is Managing Editor of InVision's design publication, Inside Design. She lives in Tel Aviv with two big dogs.
