Volume 2 – June 2022
2022 Reflections on Pride
As Pride month is a time to commemorate the valued contributions and people of the LGBTQIA+ community, here we share some reflections around Pride from members of our community.
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Pride is an occasion to support each other and to recognize and celebrate our differences. Differences of many sorts have been used politically to bolster a superficial sense of identity in a “us vs. them” kind of way. I like Pride month because it reminds us that our identities do not have to be defined by opposition and that differences between people can be a fantastic and humbling learning experience. As new parents, we now spend a lot of time discussing with our kids what kind of family we aspire to be and what unites us. The answer is obvious to them but grown-ups have Pride month to remind each other of what that is.
Patrick Allard
he/him/his
Associate Professor, Institute for Society & Genetics at UCLA
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Pride demands recognition of our existence and humanity. Pride is a time to honor those who have fought for our equality, safety, and representation, and to mourn the victims of hate—from those who could not be their true selves, to those who suffered unimaginable violence, to the life lost to another infamous pandemic: AIDS. But Pride is also a time when we experience, in many public spaces, what it is like to be a majority. This feeling is ironic, but it is also exhilarating, sketching the freedom on our horizon.
Idan A. Blank
he/him/his
Assistant Professor, Psychology & Linguistics
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There is joy and strength in community, in being seen and seeing others. Pride month matters as a celebration of the freedoms gained, an acknowledgment of those who came before us; it also matters as an act of resistance against the dehumanization and hate that persists today, here in our community, in our state, in our country, and globally.
Siobhan Braybrook
she/her/hers
Assistant Professor, Molecular, Cell & Developmental Biology
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Pride month is important because so many generations of LGBTQ+ people had to hide their true selves, living in constant fear of what would happen if/when their identity was discovered. In too many parts of the world, and even in this country, LGBTQ+ people are living in fear of being ostracized, harassed or killed. It is on all of us who can live freely and openly to do so, and to celebrate what makes us unique. We honor the generations that didn’t get to live full lives and be themselves but who fought for the right to exist. And we stand up for LGBTQ+ people today who are targeted by hatred and bigotry. During pride month, and throughout the year, being ourselves and being joyful is a powerful act of courage.
Andrew Goldstein
he/him/his
Associate Professor, Molecular, Cell & Developmental Biology
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PRIDE Month is a time to celebrate the rich culture and community that queer folks have cultivated, despite the narrow norms of a cis-heteropatriarchal society. This PRIDE month, I am reflecting on the enormous impact that queer women of color have had on changing the discourse in our society. I am immensely grateful to my queer ancestors and contemporaries for laying the foundations and giving me helpful narratives for navigating my own queer identity.
K. Supriya
she/they
Associate Director, UCLA Center for Education Innovation and Learning in the Sciences
Here are some educational resources to learn more this Pride Month:
“The rainbow ceiling: LGBTQIA+ leaders are absent from STEM (and elsewhere)”
2021 MUSC article
