In the early days of Pride, it was Gay Pride. Later, it became Gay and Lesbian Pride. Today, in an effort to be more inclusive, many celebrations have tacked on LGBTQ or Queer or opted to let “Pride” stand alone. But despite these shifts toward recognizing that women, and bisexual, queer, and transgender people are part of the community, not everyone is feeling the love.
According to Bustle, more than a third of LGBTQ women surveyed by dating app HER reported that they don’t feel included at Pride. Of the more than 3,000 respondents to the June 9 survey, queer and bisexual women were less likely to feel welcome or well-represented at Pride—only 47 percent and 57 percent, respectively. The survey does not appear to have isolated responses from transgender women.
While women don’t always feel welcome at Pride and fewer than half those surveyed planned to attend this year, most have events in their city (74 percent) and believe the annual celebration plays an important role in the community (89 percent). The most common reason stated for not attending is not having anyone to go with (33 percent), followed by not being interested in the events (24 percent). Whether that’s because their friends are in the 60 percent that hasn’t committed to attending, or because they don’t know other LGBTQ people is unclear.
The report didn’t mention what factors were likely to increase feelings of welcome and representation, such as the presence of a Dyke March or other events tailored to queer and trans women.
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