It wasn't that long ago when my sister told me she didn't understand why the Toronto pride parade is a thing. To be fair, her argument was that there isn't a set of demands from people in the pride parade. I guess what she really was trying to ask was why is the pride parade happening if it isn't a protest.

Well, I have thought of some good answers since then.

1. It actually is a protest. It is annual act to fight for equal rights and legalizing marriage everywhere.

2. To help people feel more empowered and comfortable in their own skin. There is a lot of discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, so it is important to have a reminder of that empowering feeling. Youth who identify as LGBTQ are more likely to commit suicide or even get murdered. Pride is a place to both help young people feel safe, accepted, and love themselves as well remember the lost and prevent history from repeating itself.

3. A place to be gay. I realize this must sound obvious, but really think about it. You can be straight everywhere, this is a place to be gay.

When I was in high school there were two women holding hands at a bus stop. (I’m sure friends holding hands too, so you can’t even assume they were together, but that didn’t stop the hate). The girl I was with blatantly said, “It’s ok to be gay at home, but don’t hold hands in public.”

So let’s think about it again. Being able to hold hands is something straight people take advantage of. So, I can understand why they don’t realize the significance of pride being a time place to be blatantly gay... or maybe just a safe place to hold hands.

4. To make a statement. The pride parade makes the gay community more visible. This is more political than personal, it’s important to remind everyone that equal rights are a thing now and they are here to stay. The pride parade is where and when newspapers suddenly have an interest on the topic.

Even more, it’s a time to be bold and be your self. Some of the bold stuff might make some people feel uncomfortable... but that’s the whole point... why does it make them feel uncountable? Challenge it!

5. Because we can. In Canada, we have lots of pride parades and it's a big thing because there are other countries were this kind of thing still couldn’t happen. The right should be exercised as long as we have it.

Having pride parades is also like Canada being a good role model to other countries. Once Canada has equal rights, why stop there?

6. Celebration! I feel like we don't really need an excuse to celebrate love, but a pride parade is certainly a time to celebrate who you love.

So, why is there a point to pride parades even though they don’t have a set list of demands?

If pride parades had a set list of demands with their marches, there would be an awkward obligation to stop marching if the demands are met, when pride is so much more than getting legal rights. Yes, the legal stuff is there too, I’m not saying it isn’t. Pride parade is about young people accepting who they are and being proud of it and older people celebrating everything they have fought for to get where pride parades are now.

Thank you for reading my article, if you feel I am missing something or maybe got something wrong just let me know and I will do my best to update it as soon as possible.