June is celebrated as LGBTQ+ Pride Month. It commemorates the anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising in 1969, when the New York City Police raided a gay bar, but for the first time, met with significant resistance. LGBTQ+ people stood up for themselves and said “No More” to the harassment that had been heaped upon them for years. Today it is widely celebrated as a month when LGBTQ+ Americans are especially out and proud of their identity.
In the US, we celebrate cultural pride in many ways: Black History Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, National Hispanic Heritage Month, and many others. But Pride is deeper than a month or a parade or an official declaration of recognition. Pride is born of self-respect and dignity. It comes from our hearts and souls and loudly states our own worth.
I have thought a lot about dignity lately. It is easy for those of us with spinal cord injuries to lose some of our dignity and self-esteem. Being in public in a wheelchair causes some others to treat us as lesser, pitiful, or unworthy of respect. Those of us who have impaired bowel and bladder function and need others to assist us in the most basic daily routines have all felt moments of embarrassment, shame, and a loss of dignity. This can make us reluctant to ask for help with these intimate needs. And if we are not careful, these feelings can accumulate, causing us to avoid going out in public, or even question our own self-worth.