June is Pride Month and to celebrate we’re talking about famous members of the LGBTQIA+ community, the notable things they have done, and the impact they’ve had on the community. Following on from our award-winning Pride in... series, we will be focusing on LGBTQIA+ members in the arts.
To have pride means to feel good and worthy about who you are or what you have done. As well as being a word to describe how people feel, Pride is also the name of a march and a celebration of people from the LGBTQIA+ community. Pride is a time for people in the LGBTQIA+ community to celebrate and take pride in who they are. It is also a time for people to talk about what still needs to be done for the LGBTQIA+ community.
Here's a look at some famous members of the LGBTQIA+ community and what they’ve been up to since we released our PRIDE in… series:
- Paul O’Grady
Paul O’Grady was a TV presenter and comedian, known for his drag persona Lily Savage. He sadly passed away earlier this year but was regarded as an icon in the gay community. One thing O’Grady did to support the gay community was visit AIDS wards in the 1980s dressed up as Lily Savage to cheer up patients. He used his drag act to speak out on important issues such as the HIV/AIDS crisis.
- Queer Eye
Queer Eye is a popular tv show where five advisors, known as the Fab Five, spend a week each applying their own expertise to help improve someone’s life. The show has had an impact on the way people view gender and sexuality and has been praised for its diverse and positive depiction of gay men. The Fab Five are all members of the LGBTQIA+ community and they consist of:
Jonathan Van Ness – hairstyling
“I don’t want to waste any of my life not being who I am.”
Karamo Brown – culture and lifestyle
“Being vulnerable is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign of strength.”
Antoni Porowski – food and wine
"My sexuality's something that's intimate. It's not anything that I'm ashamed of".
Bobby Berk – interior design
“In a sea of millions of people, you really have to set yourself apart to make a statement.”
Tan France – fashion
"There's no right or wrong way to be gay. No right or wrong way to come out. It's your journey, do it the way you wanna do it".
- Pierre Davis
Pierre Davis is the co-founder and head designer of a fashion brand called No Sesso. No Sesso is Italian for ‘no sex/gender’ and is a fashion label that focuses on empowering people of all shapes, colours, and identities. Davis was the first transgender woman to present a collection at New York fashion week back in 2019. Davis teamed up with Issa Rae and LIFEWTR on the “Life Unseen” project, highlighting the inequalities in representation of people of colour, disabled people, the LGBTQIA+ community, and women in the arts industries.
You can learn about more famous members of the LGBTQIA+ community in our award-winning PRIDE in… series, which can be found here.
