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Pride is the time to come together, celebrate your differences, and own what makes you different and unique.
While photos from people’s Pride experiences may showcase the best of the events, sometimes the behind-the-scenes can be a little more tricky. If you’ve never been to a Pride celebration before, here are 10 awkward moments you could face along the way.
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Both empowering and a little uncomfortable, and believe me — been there, done that. I celebrated my first Pride in 2021, and I had just moved to my brand new city and knew absolutely no one. My social anxiety was through the roof and I was terrified, but you know what? I did it! And if I hadn’t, I would still be kicking myself for it. Sometimes you just have to break the ice, whether alone or not.
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Is it a jockstrap, a tank top, swimwear? Something less? Something more? There are always a million things going on during Pride celebrations, and it can be hard to be dressed for every occasion at any given time. This takes some planning, like knowing your agenda pretty thoroughly and dressing in layers so a quick change can happen in a blink.
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Or at least the tickets you actually want. Again, there’s a lot going on at Pride. Maybe you got tickets to a parade and you thought it was a festival. Maybe you got a weekend pass for one bar just to find out all the parties are at the one that’s now sold out. When it’s your first Pride especially, it can be hard to figure out and decide on what to do, but also remember, any experience is better than no experience!
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This can happen whether you go alone and meet someone there or go with a group of friends who just end up doing things you have no interest in being a part of. Advice: If they’re souring the experience, drop them. If they’re good friends of yours, meet up with them later, and if they’re not, deuces.
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Only you know the vision you have on what you expect Pride to be. Sometimes it will live up to your expectations, and other times it won’t. Try to keep an open mind when you’re going in for the first time (no pun intended), that way your experience won’t be ruined if it doesn’t live up to your expectations.
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Pride is all about being who you are in your most authentic body. That said, the Mean Girls still exist, and there’s always going to be someone judging you for how you look, talk, act, or anything in between. You can get an entire group of people who simply hate your hair color, and nothing else. While this can be a little intimidating (and honestly really obnoxious), don’t let it damper your spirits. Pride is about you feeling good in your skin, so as long as you’re doing that, you’re good!
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Be careful out there! If there’s one thing the LGBTQ+ community knows how to do, it is party! We have a great time out there, and there’s no reason you shouldn’t either. Just be safe and responsible in your decisions so you can make sure you’re having the best possible time.
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That’s a no no! You want to remember the experience, don’t you? Even if it’s nothing more than a picture of you outside of a bar in your outfit, you need to have something to remember the experience — especially if you were too messed up to remember anything in the first place!
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This, of course, can happen anywhere, at any time, but there’s something about being a newbie to Pride that people can smell on you, and it’s likely at least one or two people is going to make you uncomfortable with their approach to hitting on you.
Look, going to Pride is like getting a tattoo — it’s addicting. As soon as you’re done with the first one, you’ll be on your phone looking up how many other Prides you can make it to this season, then start planning on the best Prides to attend the following year. Once you experience the full liberation your first Pride can bring, there’s no going back.
