Rainbows are colours of hope!

Pride is a fantastic event which shows the best of the LGBTQA+ community. In my view, it embodies the beauty of human beings who are ever so present to make the world know they are here stay.

Regardless of the set backs, the daggers thrown and our words and march misconstrued, we continue to persevere to show up and shout in love and with love.

Pride 2023

I am full of Joy, ecstatic and hopeful for a better tomorrow. Through the tears, and the jubilation of representation, I sit high on my crown, proudly and unapologetic.

I accept and navigate the nuances of truth and transparency, so kids can see that choosing love and life, is so much better than internalising self rejection.

Pain is part of the journey of life, our journey as LGBTQA+ is one soaked in the prayers, hope and optimism, so this pride, I challenge you to just allow your rainbow to burst in the air and dance to the music of pride, love and acceptance.

What does pride mean to UON staff?

In hopes to impart some inspiration, we asked some of our members of staff here at UON to share their views on Pride and Allyship. Here are the questions we asked them below, followed by their answers:

• What does Pride mean to you?
• As a member/ally, how do you show your support/allyship to the community?
• What are you doing this pride to showcase your activism and celebration?

Louise MC Kenna

Customer Service Assistant

What does pride mean to you?

“PRIDE” inspires me to take a moment to pause and to reflect on the courage and bravery of the LGBTQIA+ Community. I am so grateful that they fought for our progressing rights so that I now might be marrying my Wife-to-be and living my life as an out and proud Lesbian.

However, I do not forget the struggles and pain that were experienced throughout the past and am very aware of the pain inflicted today on those trying to live their ‘truth’. The world is not yet entirely safe and accepting – there is a lot of legal and protective rights that need to be established across the globe. Until then, whilst I feel a lot safer celebrating “PRIDE”, I would still like to feel such joy and peace as I hold my partner’s hand in public during our daily lives.

As a member /ally, how do you show your support/allyship to the community?

I have worked in Libraries for many years. I have always enjoyed promoting great fiction and non-fiction titles written by and featuring LGBTQIA+ authors and characters. I believe that children of all ages should be educated in the how wonderfully diverse the world can be – how families can be different and are bonded by love, how people express their identity in unique ways to them and how ultimately “love wins”. It is my hope that no matter the age of the individual, people should not fear prejudice or hurt just by being themselves.

What are you doing this pride to showcase your activism and celebration?

I am readily sharing and promoting “coming out” and “transition journey” videos on social media. I am sharing my own experience with others and making people aware of the power and difference that an ally’s support can make. Although I cannot attend a “PRIDE” in-person this year, I am making others aware of the one in Northampton taking place.

Jason Day

Senior Public Relations & Corporate Communications Officer

What does pride mean to you?

The tagline to a famous movie is ‘Love means never having to say you’re sorry’ and I think that can be applied in some way to LGBTQ+ Pride. For me, pride at being gay means never apologising for that part of you and encouraging others to feel the same way.

I use social media for my job and in my personal life and the deluge of negative, ignorant and downright toxic conversations, debates and ‘jokes’ over the past few months has become distressing to see, sometimes overwhelming. So, I also see pride as being able to hold your head up high when it feels like the world is against you.

As an ally, how do you show your allyship to the community?

Allyship when I was younger was a different ‘beast’; I was not backwards in coming forwards if I sensed injustices. I’m a lot calmer now, with more experience of the world and subtleties at play. I’m a bit of a mentor I suppose; friends who have LGBTQ+ children seek me out for advice, and I talk with family members about LGBTQ+ stories that come up in the media, as their take on them can be biased toward one side of a debate. It’s good to see the bigger picture and get a more rounded perspective on cultural and social events.

What are you doing this pride to showcase your activism and celebration?

I don’t see myself as an activist, but I applaud those who are confident enough to put their heads above the parapets and will certainly support those who do this. The University will host Northampton Pride celebrations in July, so I will also help promote the event.

Lorna Jowett

Professor of Media & Culture

What does pride mean to you?

I have struggled with my gender identity most of my life and am perhaps generally taken as LGBTQ+ because of how I present, but I have only recently started to verbally identify myself as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Pride is an opportunity to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and its multiplicity of identities.

As a member /ally, how do you show your support/allyship to the community?

I am vocal about inclusion, and speak up about LGBTQ+ issues at work and in my personal life, trying to educate people in a positive way about experiences and perceptions of LGBTQ+ identities.

What are you doing this pride to showcase your activism and celebration?

Since Northampton Pride will be on campus this year, I will be attending for the first time with friends and colleagues.

This is an open invitation to the community, our students and staff. Lets sing in colours of the rainbow, today, tomorrow and always.

We would love to hear your views on what Pride means to you either in written or video format. Send this to brand@northampton.ac.uk.

Junior-Cudjoe Impraim

Junior-Cudjoe ( JC) works in the marketing and international department, an alumni to the university. He is part of the LGBTQ+ and GEM Staff Network.