Friday 10-06-2022 - 09:47

Your Postgraduate Academic Officer, Declan Merrington, shares what Pride means to him. 

As I write this, I am close to the end of my tenure at the SU. What this means is that on top of working, I now have the joy of applying to jobs, primarily on LinkedIn. And, as we are in the month of Pride, I can’t help but feel a little cynical that almost every role is accompanied by a rainbow version of the company logo. Don’t get me wrong, it’s useful to know that somewhere I am applying to are allies but knowing that this filter will go away at the end of Pride fills me with a sense of morbid humour.

This is in stark contrast with how I felt when I attended Durham Pride on Sunday. Watching the student body, local community, trade unions and organisations come together to celebrate love and diversity was nothing short of beautiful. Whilst I enjoyed the music, the speeches, the atmosphere and yes, the beer, for me it was the start of the Pride event which really stood out: a march from Palace Green to the Sands, with brass bands blaring and bold banners high in the air, cheered by onlookers down the street. Being in Durham, it wasn’t hard to compare this experience to the Durham Big Meeting. You might think it hard to compare the traditionally male-dominated atmosphere of the Big Meeting to a Pride march, but both events hold a common trait: they represent a community coming together both to celebrate, and to make a political statement.

For myself as a student leader, Pride is not only a time to celebrate, to have a party and an excuse to wear the Progress Flag at every moment – though don’t get me wrong, these things are great. Pride is a protest and a political statement. It is a reminder of how far we have come as a society – and how easily these hard-fought for rights can be lost. It is also a reminder that we still need to continue to fight for groups that haven’t enjoyed the acceptance that some queer groups now have: a reminder to continue the struggle for transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming members of our community, to continue to acknowledge the intersectionality of gender, ethnicity, class and disability, and to continue being proud in the validity of our own identity.

As a student movement we inherit the victories of those that came before us, and during this month of Pride it is important to remember and highlight the contributions of the LGBTQ+ community to this.