The need for Straight Pride

You see it every year: when Pride month/day/parade comes around, some (presumably straight) people will ask loudly "Why is there no straight pride day?!"

Well, as with the last article, a straight, white, cis male will now explain it!

While expressing "pride" in something a person had no control over (your last name, height, country of birth, race, sexuality, gender, etc) is not normally something I'd advocate, LGBTQ[A-Z]* "Pride" is a little different and is an exception to that rule.

As a class, LGBTQ+ people suffer for being LGBTQ+. LGBTQ+ people are made/told/encouraged to feel ashamed of who they are. So "Pride" is a big "Screw that! I'm not ashamed, I'm proud of being queer!"

In contrast, in most of the world, a straight person doesn't usually suffer for being straight. Historically, extremely few straight people have been persecuted or shamed for being straight. It's just not a thing. There's no reason to say "Screw that! I'm proud of being straight!" The word "that" has no antecedent that makes sense. (However, don't let this little bit of identity politics confuse you: just because straight people don't suffer for being straight doesn't mean individual straight people don't suffer at all for any reason.)

Of course, the "Why is there no straight pride day?!" question is not a sincere question. I'd wager money the people asking that question have no actual desire to sponsor, hold, or even visit a parade dedicated to "being straight". I mean, there's nothing stopping anyone from having a straight parade right now. Mostly people are insincerely asking the question because of some general feeling of being excluded, or some vague idea of a "double standard", or because they don't want LGBTQ+etc people to exist publically.

PS: While the usual answer to "Why is there no straight pride day/month?!" is "Every other day is straight pride day!" But I don't really like that answer, because it's false. "Being straight" isn't really "celebrated" or "observed" or even "noticed". "Being straight" is just the default in society.