It took me hours to think of ways to connect the pride month with baking. Only to realise in the end that it does not need to be explicit. June, the month of pride, the month to recognise and celebrate everyone and every choice has to be the one where we talked about pride too. The few values that we initially started working with are the ones we still hold close to us- in our workspace and personal lives as well. One of these values is Love. And if we would be silly enough to not talk about love and its various forms in the month dedicated for awareness around love, all our belief in these values would be in vain.
“Love is love” so we have heard, a lot of times. Some of us have said it and believed in it too. But it has been difficult for a whole lot of us to really internalise it and accept it with an open heart. There are still others who do not yet know even the full form of LGBTQIA+. Which is why I can’t help but realise how much this month is actually needed to spread more awareness around what pride even means. If you wish to know more about the why this month, I would recommend you to acquaint yourself with the Stonewall Riots.
When there is a mix of colours, there's always something for everyone.
How does all of this relate to me, you would ask. And that’s the beauty of pride. I don’t have to have anything in an understandable way to make me a part of all of this. In this sense, the rainbow that we associate pride with becomes most inclusive of everyone, regardless of who they are and what they do. I write this as an ally of all those people who the world deems different, refuses to understand simply because of their choices and fails to empathise with because of ignorance.
At some point I would have thought and would be convinced that I am not in any capacity to do anything in support of this ever growing, loving and accepting community. But today, I am more confident that not just me, but each person around me- with or without having a huge audience, can be an ally. The simplest of these ways is to make oneself more inclusive and accepting. In whatever field we work, whatever our position might be, we can all help create safe spaces.
For many businesses, embracing the rainbow works wonders as a marketing strategy during this month.
I will admit that I had started thinking of writing this piece with this in mind. However, in our attempt to make Bake-a-Diem a safe space, I want to extend this for anyone concerned, that we say this not just because it is June, and the pride month. Yes, it took us a designated month to start talking about this, but it does not mean that our belief in these values stays restricted to this month.
Cheers!
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