- Also called:
- LGBTQ Pride Month
Pride Month
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What is Pride Month?
Pride Month is an annual celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) identity, typically held in June in the United States and at other times in some countries. It commemorates the Stonewall riots, which started in the early hours of June 28, 1969, after police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City’s Greenwich Village. The events galvanized the LGBTQ community and sparked greater political activism. Pride Month typically includes events and concludes with a parade involving marchers and colorful floats. The rainbow flag is a recognized symbol of LGBTQ pride. Designed by Gilbert Baker in 1978, the colors reflect the diversity and unity of the LGBTQ community.
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When and why is Pride Month celebrated?
Pride Month, usually celebrated in June in the United States, commemorates lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) identity. The event recognizes the Stonewall riots, which occurred in June 1969 after police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City.
The riots sparked the LGBTQ rights movement, leading to the first Pride march in 1970. While early demonstrations focused on LGBTQ individual freedom and diversity, Pride Month events by the 1980s centered on political and social activism. Today, Pride Month is recognized globally with parades and events that attract millions.
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Who does Pride Month honor or support?
Pride Month is an annual celebration that usually occurs in June in the United States and at other times in some countries and celebrates lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) identity. Pride Month commemorates the Stonewall riots, which began in the early hours of June 28, 1969, after police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. The events of Pride Month welcome several hundred thousand participants across multiple countries, including cities where the celebrations face local resistance.
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What symbols are commonly used during Pride Month?
Pride Month, usually celebrated in June, commemorates the Stonewall riots and celebrates LGBTQ identity.
The rainbow flag is arguably the most visible symbol of gay pride. Designed in 1978 by Gilbert Baker, the flag originally had eight stripes, each with a specific meaning: hot pink (sexuality), red (life), orange (healing), yellow (sunlight), green (nature), turquoise (art), indigo (harmony), and violet (spirit). The contemporary six-striped flag (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet) is now the standard.
Other symbols include the pink triangle, initially intended as a Nazi badge of shame, which has been reclaimed as a badge of honor, and the Greek lambda ((\lambda)), an early symbol of gay liberation.
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How do people celebrate Pride Month in different places?
Pride Month is an annual celebration of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) identity, usually in June in the United States and at other times in some countries. Pride Month celebrations are usually a series of events culminating in a parade of colorful floats with participants from both the LGBTQ community and supporters.
Pride Month commemorates the Stonewall riots, which began in the early hours of June 28, 1969, after police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. As acceptance of the LGBTQ community increased, politicians sympathetic to the views of the LGBTQ community and LGBTQ-friendly businesses and corporations began participating in the marches. Pride Month events are held in many parts of the globe, including cities where they sometimes encounter stiff resistance (e.g., in Jerusalem, Moscow, and Warsaw). In cities such as Amsterdam, Chicago, London, Mexico City, New York, Paris, San Francisco, and São Paulo, Pride Month events usually attract several hundred thousand to more than a million celebrants annually.
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How has Pride Month contributed to LGBTQ+ rights and awareness over time?
Pride Month commemorates the Stonewall riots, which sparked the gay rights movement after a police raid in June 1969. The first march was held a year later and was themed "gay pride".
Early demonstrations focused on individual freedom and diversity within the LGBTQ community. As acceptance grew, Pride Month evolved to include political and social activism, addressing issues like AIDS. Sympathetic politicians and businesses joined marches, increasing participation.
Presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden officially recognized the month. Pride Month events now occur worldwide, promoting LGBTQ+ rights and awareness.
3 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Pride Month is an annual celebration, usually in June in the United States and at other times in some countries, of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) identity. Pride Month commemorates the Stonewall riots, which began in the early hours of June 28, 1969, after police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Pride Month typically involves a series of events and is often capped by a parade involving marchers and colorful floats from the LGBTQ community and its supporters.
Before the Stonewall riots, LGBTQ individuals had generally not broadcast their sexual orientation or identity, but the event galvanized the LGBTQ community and sparked greater political activism (see gay rights movement). In 1970, on the first anniversary of the riots, several hundred demonstrators marched along Greenwich Village’s Christopher Street, which runs past the Stonewall Inn, in what many consider the first Pride Month march (though other commemorations were also held that year). Early Pride Month events were often sparsely attended and confronted by protesters, particularly because of the outlandish costumes that some marchers wore. In 1978 what is perhaps the most-recognized symbol of LGBTQ pride made its debut at the San Francisco event: the rainbow flag. The flag, with its eight colors (sexuality symbolized by hot pink, life by red, healing by orange, the Sun by yellow, nature by green, art by blue, harmony by indigo, and spirit by violet), was designed by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker and has been adopted worldwide. The following year a six-color flag, which is in common use today, appeared (with red, orange, yellow, green, blue [harmony replaced art as symbolized by blue in the flag], and purple/violet), partially because of the unavailability of some of the fabric colors.
The early demonstrations often focused simply on participants’ being proud to be “out of the closet,” on individual freedom, and on the diversity of the LGBTQ community. But by the 1980s—particularly after the spread of AIDS—political and social activism had become central to Pride Month events, and many of the marchers carried placards that focused on the social issues of the day. As acceptance of the LGBTQ community increased among the straight (heterosexual) community, politicians sympathetic to the views of the LGBTQ community and LGBTQ-friendly businesses and corporations began participating in the marches. The total number of people participating—both LGBTQ and straight—mushroomed, and Pride Month events were held in many parts of the globe, including cities where they sometimes encountered stiff resistance (e.g., in Jerusalem, Moscow, and Warsaw). In cities such as Amsterdam, Chicago, London, Mexico City, New York, Paris, San Francisco, and São Paulo, Pride Month events usually attract several hundred thousand to more than a million celebrants annually; indeed, it was estimated that more than two million individuals attended the 2007 Europride event in Madrid.
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