#Sharethepride by @thequeerestplaceontheinternet
Day 3: 🌈 Something Rainbow 🏳️🌈
This is the very first rainbow thing I bought and for quite a while it was the only specifically queer thing I owned. Before I came out I didn't understand the extent to which my pride flags would become important to me or how and why I would come to collect and treasure such visible signals of my queerness. I love this tiny slice of Scottish pride I brought home 🏳️🌈🏴
It is special to me for a number of reasons:
1. It's a permanent record of my trip to the UK. A trip initially planned as a solo exploration, a time to reflect on being biromantic and asexual and a chance to finally meet in person two of the people who'd been part of that journey from ignorance to awareness, questioning to pride. With the support of my best friends (Michelle @ladymatt & Jaskier @jaskofalltrades ) It was going to be a chance to plan and centre myself before I came out to my family on my return.
2. That plan had to be somewhat hastily remade because my family decided to join me (it was a good thing because we’re very close knit but still it kind of threw everything into chaos) which meant I ended up coming out to them at the proverbial 11th hour and so, unexpectedly, this trip became a quiet celebration of having taken my first nervous steps out into the open as myself. I more knew I was happy than felt happy about it.
3. I didn't realise when I saw it in multiple stores on that first jet lagged day in Edinburgh that it was only something you could get in Edinburgh so with trepidation and the best big sister you can imagine at my side (most people were polite but she was indispensable when I would have abandoned all hope at the constant rebuff when I proceeded to ask if tartan shops had it in all of the other Scottish towns we visited. In the end it was bought as part of a somewhat wild dash in the rain across Edinburgh between dropping back the car and catching the train to York and my sister bought champagne to celebrate.
4. It's also significant because it was by wearing it often that I found my courage to own and wear symbols of my sexuality openly. It wasn't as recognisable as the traditional rainbow flag but it mattered to me and I drew strength from being able to wear it, to find pride in that flag. It would be almost a full year before I owned a real pride flag or displayed them where others could see them. (and once I started I coolant stop: my house, my office, my everything are now blatantly queer 🌈♠️🥰)
