The battle for equality and acceptance is far from won
A FEW months ago I ticked San Francisco off my travel bucket list.
It was a city I’ve been desperate to visit for a long time and it lived up to expectations – but the area I think I loved most was Castro, the city’s gay area.
It was a mix of fabulousness, thanks to the retro signs on its main street and a sense of history across the whole district.
We were, in a total coincidence, there on the birthday of activist Harvey Milk.
Celebrations were being held to mark the role of the campaigner and politician who was killed alongside San Francisco mayor George Moscone by a fellow politician in 1978.
In Castro there were incredible window displays and even a Harvey Milk cake on offer in Harvey’s bar.
We walked the streets and read the markers for the Hall of Fame, saw Pink Triangle Park, named after the triangles the Nazis forced gay prisoners to wear.
We sat in Twin Peaks reading in our guide book that the long glass windows existed as a proud mark that this was a gay bar with nothing to hide.
Fast forward a few weeks, it was time to remind myself of the Hollywood telling of the story of Harvey Milk.
The area I’d romanticised in my head as I walked round it and crossed its multi-colour crossings hadn’t always been the place I had fallen for.
The film showed the struggles, often violent and painful, that started there which I had completely forgotten.
It’s so easy to romanticise history and something we can’t let happen – and it is dangerous if we do.
Over recent weeks and months I’ve worked with Pride Cymru and the gay community in Cardiff on a series of stories – from lost bars, Pride itself and the Pinc List, recognising the most influential LGBT+ people in Wales.
The stories have been inspiring, brilliant and interesting. The people featured on the list are all inspirational and, yes, there could have been plenty more.
The panel, which I sat on, picked Hannah Graf as our winner.
Hannah, who is originally from Cardiff, has spoken in the past about her transition.
An army captain who says she always knew she was female, Hannah has made her journey and taken plenty of people with her.
She is proud to tell her story so that others know there is light at the end of the tunnel.
She told us, in Saturday’s Echo, about her joy at finding love with Jake and, even for a cynic like me, it’s a heartwarming story.
Paul Dillane, at number two, told me that if 20 years ago I’d have told teenage Paul he would have been on that list, he would have been mortified.
Growing up in Swansea at that time, he couldn’t ever imagine being out, let alone being proud of it.
Now he’s changing attitudes and trying to change laws across the world.
Sophie Quinney saw a problem and did something about it.
She could see there was a breakdown between the trans community and healthcare professionals and her involvement as a trans ally has changed her own life and career path.
You can’t help but be amazed and inspired by their stories, but they would all admit it hasn’t been easy. Last weekend, thousands of people walked the streets of Cardiff at Pride Cymru. There was a parade, gigs, music, entertainment – plenty of good fun. The fact the event even exists shows there is still plenty to fight for. If you joined the crowd at the parade and asked if they had been abused physically, mentally or verbally because of their sexuality, it wouldn’t take you long to find someone. And that’s still all too common. Pride is rightly a brilliant celebration, but we can never take for granted the journey that has been taken, and is still being taken, elsewhere in the world.
There were moments of reflection during the weekend, but for everyone who asks why we are still running things like the Pinc List or why Pride exists, just take a moment and listen to those who know – they will tell you that the battle for equality and acceptance is far from won and we all have a part to play in getting there.