Emotional video about why Pride is still important to air on national television
(Pride In London)
An emotional short film about why Pride still matters in 2018 is set to air on national television.
Ahead of this year’s Pride in London, the group released a new short film that is set to air on Channel 4 at 6.45pm on June 21.
The “Pride Matters” film features a group of LGBT+ people who face difficulties due to their sexuality or gender coming together to sing a chilling version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
The video begins with several painful incidents, including someone being beaten and another person who is told that “it’s just a phase” when they attempt to come out to their mother.
The film also shows a young person trying on makeup in their bedroom before being interrupted by a parent, along with a woman who faces transphobic harassment on the street.
The video begins quite painfully (Pride In London / YouTube)
However, the short film then takes a more positive turn as the people turn to their loved ones and their community for support.
We see people coming out to their families, partners holding hands in the street and others proudly wearing rainbows and flags.
The video ends with a hopeful and important message, stating: “We’ve come a long way, but there’s still a way to go.”
The video exclusively features LGBT+ people, including Jake Graf and Hannah Winterbourne, two transgender campaigners who married earlier this year.
Jake Graf and Hannah Winterbourne (Pride in London / YouTube)
Releasing the video, Pride in London said: “We want to reflect on why Pride is still important in 2018 – whether as a protest, celebration, symbol of freedom or platform for diversity.
“Most importantly we wanted our theme to be an inclusive part of the Pride experience – and so we encourage everyone to ask themselves ‘What does Pride mean to you?'”
The video has a hopeful message (Pride in London / YouTube)
The video and campaign was accompanied by a report from Pride in London about the state of LGBT rights and hate crime.
Data published in Pride in London’s Pride Matters report found that 1 in 3 LGBT people have been verbally abused for being LGBT, and over 75 percent of LGBT people feel uncomfortable showing affection to a partner in public.
The report also revealed that while 84 percent of LGBT+ respondents said it is harder for them to be their true selves compared to straight cisgender people, just 40 percent of straight cisgender people agreed.
Elsewhere, data showed that many LGBT people are still in the closet.
The report also found that straight cisgender people care more about animal rights than equality for LGBT people.
Shiro, a Siberian Husky, plays with a rainbow flag as the LGBT community celebrates Pride in London (Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty)
The survey, carried out in partnership with YouGov by Pride’s Community Interest Company, asked participants to pick three issues from a list “[that] most concern you about the future.”
Just three percent of straight and cisgender people picked ‘tolerance for individuals of different sexualities/gender identities’ as one of the most important, behind ‘animal rights’ on 7 percent.
Meanwhile, just two percent of straight cisgender people picked ‘gender equality’ as a top issue.
A parallel survey of LGBT respondents generated significantly different results. Among LGBT people, 44 percent said that LGBT equality remains a top concern, and 22 percent said gender equality.
