'Why I'm attending my first Pride'
manchestereveningnews.co.ukIt's Bank Holiday weekend and despite the gloomy weather, there's a massive celebration coming to town. Tens of thousands of people will descend on the city centre today to take part in the annual Pride event.
The streets around the Gay Village have been transformed into a spectacle of colour, with bars and pubs decked out in rainbow colours and flags for the four-day festival.
The iconic event - one of the biggest LGBTQ+ celebrations in the country - is a staple of the city's cultural calendar. Yet despite having lived in Greater Manchester my whole life, I've never joined in. Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features. While I want to show support for the LGBTQ+ community and its struggle for equality and acceptance, I’ve often worried whether it’s appropriate for me to come to Pride as a straight man.
But this year, I'm hoping to attend for the first time. Amid a rise in LGBTQ+ hate crimes, it's more important than ever that straight and cisgender people show their allyship and recognise the fight for equal rights.
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