This Saturday, June 27 from 2 pm to 4 pm, Everyone Is Gay and Autostraddle will host an all-ages pride party at Bluestockings Bookstore in New York City. The event will feature Everyone Is Gay co-founder Kristin Russo as emcee, music from out singer-songwriters Jenny Owen Youngs and Mal Blum, as well as spoken word by Gabby Rivera and Khalin Vasquez.
Pride can be overwhelming for LGBT youth, especially for those young people who have just come out and are experiencing Pride for the first time. As one of the only Pride events designed almost exclusively for youth, this party will provide a safe and sober space for LGBT youth to celebrate pride.
Events like these are also extremely important, as they allow LGBT youth to express themselves and meet other LGBT young people in a world where their identities are not always represented. In the coming out letter she published two years ago, Jenny Owen Youngs explains,
"I think it is damaging and isolating for young people to look out into the world and not see a representation of their experience. To encounter others who are like you is to know that you are not alone. Even if you never meet them in real life, these representatives help to contextualize you – they are proof that you are part of something. You are not an anomaly. You are not a mistake."
Be sure to RSVP for this special event on Facebook. Admission is free, but there is a suggested door donation of $5, which will be used to support the work of Everyone Is Gay, Autostraddle, and Bluestockings.