Saturday, 21st June was the Summer Solstice, the longest day, and many pilgrims and revellers alike attended celebrations at places like Stonehenge and Glastonbury Tor, to name but two. I’ve watched the sunrise at Solstice at both venues, and it truly is an experience to behold.
However, the small South Somerset village of Martock had a celebration all of its own, one that was attended by hundreds of people. And whilst this took place at Solstice, it was a different celebration altogether. The event? Martock’s very first Pride.
Why is Pride so important? It’s important because Pride is about human rights: the right to life, freedom from torture or inhumane or degrading treatment, the right to a private and family life, freedom of assembly, the right to marry and have a family.
Rights such as these are enshrined in law as part of the Human Rights Act, but they are rights the LGBTQIA+ community has had to fight for. It has been a long and difficult journey and, whilst things are better, we’re still not there yet.
It was only in 1967 that being a gay man was decriminalised in the UK—provided that sexual relations took place in private and were between men of 21 and over. And this only applied to England and Wales. It wasn’t until 1981 that a similar law was passed in Scotland, and Northern Ireland had to wait until 1982.
Gay men had to wait until 2000 before the age of consent was equalised, and it wasn’t until 2008 that spreading gay hatred became illegal.
Gay couples wanting to marry had to wait until 2014—just 11 years ago. Marriages among heterosexual couples have been taking place for centuries; in fact, the Marriage Act came into force in 1753, some 261 years earlier than for queer people. Same-sex couples wanting to marry in Northern Ireland couldn’t do so until 2020. Five years ago!
For many people, walking down the road hand in hand with the person they love most in the world is something they don’t even think about—it’s taken totally for granted. For an LGBTQIA+ couple, this could lead to verbal assault, physical assault, or even worse.
Martock, and many villages like it, are seen as tranquil, sleepy places. But I have been the victim of homophobic hate crime here on several occasions.
The Crime and Disorder Act 1998, and section 66 of the Sentencing Act 2020, brought in the concept of hate crime for crimes directed toward race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or transgender identity.
Look at how recent many of these changes in law are. It is staggering—and horrifying—to see.
On 28th June 1969, in the gay area of New York, police raided the Stonewall Inn for the second time in a week. The police threw 200 people out of the pub that night, beating many of them as they did so.
Something changed this time. The gay community got angry and fought back, resulting in a week of protests and riots. As news of this spread, similar protests took place across the globe.
The first official Pride in the UK took place on 1st July 1972, the nearest Saturday to the date of the Stonewall Riots, when crowds of a few hundred marched from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square in London.
Pride was born—and my, has it grown!
Pride is all about protest and resistance – it is political. The LGBTQIA+ community demands change and the right to lead normal, everyday lives, just like anyone else.
Asking to walk down the street hand in hand with your beloved isn’t asking for the world—it’s simply asking to live one’s life freely, without fear of persecution.
Insight2Excellence sponsored Martock Pride because we share Pride’s values. These are the values of solidarity, collectivity, and identity—a united resistance against discrimination, oppression, and violence.
Pride values are also about visibility, unity, and equality. Insight2Excellence embraces all these values, so it made sense that when the news broke of this little South Somerset village hosting its first Pride event—the village where I have lived for over 22 years—that I launched Insight2 Excellence there.
Our values are clear. We stand shoulder to shoulder with those who have been othered, who have been treated less favourably, who have struggled to live a normal human life because of the attitudes of society.
Neurodiverse people, autistic people, neuroqueer people, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, non-binary people, people of all faiths and none, all ethnicities, refugees, victims of misogyny—and all marginalised people—we are about supporting your right to free and equal treatment and the right to be who you are.
We do this by working with individuals, teams, workplaces, organisations, committees, public bodies, education establishments—anyone and everyone who will listen.
And we will, hand in hand with these individuals and groups, see the development of safe spaces where people feel safe and confident to be their whole selves.
Imagine, for a moment, having to hide the fact that your beloved is a member of the same sex. When the usual workplace conversations strike up about love and marriage, and someone asks if you have a partner—you don’t feel safe enough to answer.
You have to deny part of you, and your loved one’s very existence. It’s as if part of you dies each time you have to do this.
This is why visibility is so important. A little Pride celebration in a seemingly sleepy village might not seem like much to many, but to the LGBTQIA+ kid in the village, who gets bullied at school for being “different” and cries themself to sleep each night—it’s the world.
Insight2Excellence seeks to work with businesses to support the development of inclusive cultures. We also work with individuals who are looking for coaching to remove personal barriers to freedom, or who wish to live more fully, more openly—who want to grow in personal and professional confidence and freedom.
This is why Insight2Excellence launched at Martock Pride, and this is why we were Gold Sponsors.
