Reflections on the meaning of Pride

As part of our celebrations for Pride Month 2023, RCVS British Veterinary LGBT+ Committee member, and RCVS Diversity and Inclusion Group member, Dr Dan Makin MRCVS, shares his personal reflections on the importance of Pride month.

June and July signal a start to the summer, to long warm days and to bright colours and sunshine. There is no better or brighter way to start the summer than with the annual Pride Month celebrations and parades that take place all around the world. 

Pride Month and the annual London Pride March are something that I look forward to every year. Marching at London Pride is not only incredible fun, but it is also a great privilege. There are very few experiences that I can liken it to and I never fail to be overwhelmed by the love, compassion and support displayed by the crowds of people lining the street. It is incredibly humbling to know that all of the people in the crowd are there to support us and to add their voice to ours.

Pride Month is also a time for reflection, and I am always reminded of the true reasons why myself and so many others make the annual trip to London.

Pride celebrations were borne out of the events of the Stonewall Riots of 1969 in New York, from this moment the world began to change. It is true to say that at this point a whisper started, a whisper of injustice, of wrong-doing and exclusion. Over time that whisper has become louder and now it is a shout. Pride Month and Pride parades all around the world are our chance to shout together, to shout for ourselves and to shout for our friends and colleagues. The Pride March in particular is a time to acknowledge and appreciate that there are members of our profession for whom marching is impossible, either because of their own personal challenges or challenges that society or colleagues place before them. So, whilst it is always a great day marching in London, the whole point is that we represent those that aren’t with us, that want to be with us or who can’t be with us.

I am fortunate to have found my voice, and I try to help others to find theirs. But in the meantime, myself and the other members of the BVLGBT+ will shout, laugh and cheer for them. I look forward to the time when those brave members of our profession overcome their challenges and join us to march.

Pride month reminds me just how bright, colourful and diverse our society, country and world are. Our profession is just the same and that is why it is so important for us to continue this journey of inclusion and equality.

Thankfully, our profession looks very different now from when I first qualified and whilst the changes that have happened so far are incredible, there is still a long way to go. Pride Month reminds me just how bright, colourful and diverse our society, country and world are. Our profession is just the same and that is why it is so important for us to continue this journey of inclusion and equality. I know that there are members of our profession who are hiding their true selves, who don’t feel comfortable or safe to be their true self to colleagues, friends or family. It is because of all of those vets, vet nurses, receptionists and practice managers that I march each year in London. I march so that they can all see that it is OK to be different, that you have a right to be who you want to be and that there are many other people like you that will help and support you. We all have a responsibility to make our world a better place to be.