An illustrated look at how readers spent their first Pride

Washington Post

8 hours ago

Social Issues An illustrated look at how readers spent their first Pride
We asked readers to share memories of their first Pride. Powerful responses poured in.
(Hannah Good/The Washington Post)
By Marissa J. Lang
and Hannah Good
June 7, 2025 at 8:00 a.m. EDT
5 minutes ago
1 min
As the nation's capital wrapped itself in rainbows this month to welcome visitors for WorldPride, one of the largest international observances of LGBTQ people and their rights, we asked Washington Post readers to think back to their first-ever Pride.
Did they go with a big, supportive group of friends? Or did they have to sneak out alone? What sights and sounds, sensations and feelings have stuck with them even years later?
Our call-out drew responses from people across the country. Readers from ages 18 to 82 shared a range of experiences at Prides in big cities and smaller communities. The first DC Pride, then known as Gay Pride Day, was in 1975.
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One reader, from Fresno, California, said he has attended Pride annually for 35 years — and only ever missed one parade. Others said they were planning to celebrate their very first Pride this year, and looked forward to making the kind of self-affirming memories so many others shared.
What follows are a handful of those reflections. These first-person accounts, drawn from written comments and follow-up interviews, have been lightly edited and condensed.
Tara Cheston (45) and Michelle Cheston (50) Lesbians, Falls Church, Va., pronouns: she/her
'My first Pride was June 2010 in Washington, D.C. My now-wife and I were both invited to the same house party in Dupont Circle and decided, last minute, to show up. The party was packed. I decided I didn't want to be around all those people so I went downstairs to watch the parade — and so did she. We saw someone go by with these Mylar balloons — and Michelle was like, 'Oh no, the poor sea turtles!' And I was like, 'Yes! The sea turtles!' We got coffee after that and just chatted. We've talked every day since then. This year is going to be our 15th Pride together. When we got married, we went to Kauai and had a sunset beach wedding. Afterward, we got to swim with sea turtles.'
Ash Lazarus Orr (34) Bisexual trans man, Morgantown, W.Va., pronouns: he/they
'My first Pride was here in Appalachia. I was a closeted trans man, and the son of a pastor, carrying so much silence and self-doubt. I'd always felt like I had to hide parts of myself just to survive — at church, in town, even in my own skin. I didn't have the language for anything I was feeling then. I was in high school and still so closeted. But on that day, something shifted.'
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Riley Reed (25) Queer, Washington, D.C., pronouns: she/her
'My first Pride was in Milwaukee in 2017. I was a junior in high school, closeted and navigating the early stages of understanding my identity. I borrowed my parents' car and drove into the city. I didn't tell them where I was going. I wasn't out yet, but deep down, I knew I was gay. That day changed everything. Surrounded by music, celebration and people who radiated joy and authenticity, I felt — for the first time — what it meant to belong.'
Davian Morgan (33) Gay, Washington, D.C., pronouns: he/him
'My first Pride was in Washington, D.C., in the summer of 2010. I had just graduated high school, was newly settled into my first year of college and had just come out to my extended family. With each conversation, I shed layers of fear, shame and self-doubt that had silently weighed me down. I went with a group of friends. As we emerged from the Metro, it hit me: I had never seen anything like this. Rainbows streamed from windows, flags waved high above buildings — the air itself seemed charged, with love, with history, with possibility. Everywhere I looked, there were people just like me: Black, brown, queer, fabulous, fearless. Holding hands. Hugging. Dancing. Living.'
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Maria Denton (56) Bisexual, Arlington, Va., pronouns: she/her
'My first Pride was in Washington, D.C., in 2018. I was marching with a company and I wasn't out yet as bisexual, except to close friends and my husband. I pass as straight because I'm married to a man, and it felt exhilarating to be among so many people who were out and proud. The next year, Pride became so much more than a catchphrase. It became a cause, a way of being. I wanted to show LGBTQ youth that you can be out and your value isn't tied to who you love — only that you love. Today, I never shy away from being queer. I hope I can be the example to others that I so sorely needed when I was young.'