Why a “Family Friendly” Pride Event?

The people within our community are so supportive and so caring and so loving, most of the time towards people they don’t even know… we are more than a community — we are a family.” — Courtney Carola, Have Some Pride: A Collection of LGBTQ+ Inspired Poetry

The history of Pride is one of rebellion and riots and certainly does not evoke the image of a peaceful day at the park. But that’s the point of progress. Before the Stonewall Riots, a queer person couldn’t spend time with friends in the sunshine without risking their safety. The only way to exist as a queer person was to find security in a closed off space, away from the general public. It was a respite from the daily act of hiding who you truly were, and having those spaces meant that queer people got the chance to survive. But it’s time to expand our spaces.

There are people who worry that making Pride events family friendly will sanitize the past struggle for rights, or de-value the history of gay bars and their role in those struggles. This is a real concern, and I would hate to seem like I’m dismissing that idea. But I also want to think about what those struggles meant and what was being fought for exactly. It’s my opinion that one thing our queer elders fought for us to be able to spends days with our families – biological, chosen, foster, or otherwise – in plain view without stigma. That’s what makes the continued fight for our rights worth it: so that generations after us can enjoy the freedoms that we won.

There are many talking points about how kids are “too young to know” if they’re queer, or how being queer is “inappropriate” for kids. This has led to detrimental effects on the mental health of queer youth. In Cortland County in 2025, 43.2% of queer youth reported experiencing depressive symptoms compared to 10.2% of their straight, cis peers. 55.2% of queer youth reported feelings of loneliness compared to 20.8% of their straight, cis peers. The numbers for substance use show similar disparities. Anything we can do to let kids know that we believe that they know themselves, and that we support them can lower these numbers.

“Family Friendly” doesn’t have to mean “for children only” or “totally sanitized”. It just means celebrating in a way that includes community members of all ages. We all remember the isolating experience of being a queer kid. Now imagine if you had been invited to celebrate with the adults you wanted to emulate, and you could feel safe and respected in that space? There are plenty of options for “adult only” Pride events, so I don’t think there’s anything wrong with making some space for the younger members of our community. Pride is for everyone, after all.