“You spend so long hiding to make other people who are straight and cis feel comfortable…but at pride, you don’t have to worry about that,” said Bee Swan (‘23) with a smile on his face. 

Swan, who is a 16-year-old self-defined demi-boy, attended his first pride festival ever on Sept, 5. 2021 in Burlington Vt. This was Burlington’s first pride parade since Covid-19.

When asked about his experience, Swan said, “The energy was so nice, cause you don’t have to worry about being judged.”

Although the pride parade is mostly a safe space for all LGBTQ+ people, there is still the lingering fear of encountering someone who doesn’t agree with your identity. 

“But it is scary because it’s a public event, so you know that people who don’t really agree with gay people could go…It’s kind of that fear, too, which is [like] going to a public event and being open, you also are scared that somebody is gonna come with a gun,” Swan said.

When asked about the other events going on during the pride festival, Swan said, “There was a quiet place [at the festival].  Not only are they [people at pride] really accepting about being gay, they’re really accepting about special needs, mental illnesses or disabilities that a lot of other groups wouldn’t be so accepting of.”

The quiet place that Swan was referring to was a small tent away from any loud festivities with coloring pages and other crafty activities for people to go to if they needed a peaceful space.

“People with that kind of disadvantage aren’t going to be recognized at different events, but here they were,” Swan said.

Swan mentioned a small wedding had also happened during the parade.

When Swan was asked about how attending his first pride festival felt, he said “It’s like getting a hug from everyone. I like that.”