I don't usually do much for pride, but I suddenly felt like doing at least one small thing for it this year. I'm not entirely sure why. Sooo here you go. Bit of a different style, chibi and stuff. I've been using it on and off for doodles but never posted anything with it before. The flag is the gay men's flag.
While I'm here, I might as well offer up my own experience as well: I never really identified with the LGBT label, or the community associated with it, even though I clearly belong to it. I'm not sure why. It could be because being gay was always kinda normal to me, or that, despite always having liked men, I didn't find a reflection of myself in the media's depiction of homosexuality. It was never a huge part of my identity, not something I really thought much about or that caused me trouble or inner turmoil... but still, I do think it's an important part of who I am at this point. In that respect I was very lucky to be spared the worst that some keep in store for this type of identity.
Even though I say being gay was normal to me, I also still clung to some amount of straight attraction for a long time, or even avoided the label proper. Most likely, it had to do with not calling attention to myself, and with fulfilling expectations. I called myself asexual at first, because the prospect of sex was somewhat frightening. But, even then, I still did want to have sexual experiences, just in a different way from what's typically thought of as sex, even among gay couples.
I called myself bi afterwards, because I wanted to keep the door open to a straight relationship as well. But, I never was properly attracted to a woman (despite a passing appreciation for the female form), and with time I came to accept that I never would go out of my way for a straight relationship. I'm still not closed off to the idea - you never know who you'll grow fond of - but I'm also aware of how unlikely it is, and for that reason, when speaking about sexuality, I now prefer to lead with "gay" instead.
I don't know how valuable that whole testimony is, but I hope someone can at least somewhat identify with it. I have a lot of respect for those who are openly gay, trans, etc. in worse circumstances than mine, and who have gone through greater troubles, and while pride month is an opportunity to elevate and celebrate them, I'd like to think it's also an opportunity for everyone - even those with lesser struggles - to share their experiences with alternative identity and sexuality.
