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Washington Post

Capturing the tender, human moments of Pride

Pride, to me, is community. It's family — chosen and biological. It's a feeling of home. It's a place where we don't have to justify our existence, where we don't need to prove a thing. We are simply here. We show up exactly and completely as we are, and that is enough. At a time when LGBTQ+ people, especially trans folks, are vehemently politicized and pathologized as 'abnormal' and 'dangerous,' I set out to make images of warmth and connection. Attending events during Washington, D.C.'s WorldPride festivities — the parade, parties, a drag brunch, a music festival — I turned my camera toward quiet moments that felt, first and foremost, human. Story continues below advertisement These photos trace the shape of love I came across throughout Pride. Love for romantic partners. Love for friends. Love for self. Love for family. Love for community. Love for the spaces we create for ourselves in public and in private. These are moments of intimacy in our here and now, but they are also glimpses of a future where we can exist without fear or violence. Kai Cho, 26, right, and Sunny Cho, 25, at an API (Asian and Pacific Islander) party during WorldPride on June 6. Attendees dance at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds on June 7. Yikai Wang, 34, at the Capital Pride Parade on June 7. Brian Grundstrom, 62, and David Rubenstein, 64, have been together 25 years. They married in 2021. 'The more visible that we are, the better it is. They are going after the trans community because they can. And they would go after the gay community if they can because they did for many years. We need to be reminded that we need a lot of love in this world.' Brian Grundstrom Lisa Lenihan, 66, and Marie Cini, 67, have been dating five months. The crowd at the Capital Pride Parade. Kailani White, 18, dances with her friends at the 17th Street Block Party. 'Walking down the streets of Pride is like a wonderland — seeing a bunch of people of different backgrounds coming together for this one thing of beautiful queerness. You don't question it. You don't question what you are, who you are, who you're with.' Kailani White Members of a lesbian motorcycle club prepare to kick off the Capital Pride Parade. Citrine the Queen, who uses her name on and off the stage, wears a dress she made during a performance at a Purple Patch drag brunch. 'Listen, getting out of bed and showing up is really the first and most important step. Go to a drag show, and be with your community. If you don't show up, we're going to be erased, and no one's going to be there for us. That's really the most literal and best way to uplift your community: to physically be there.' Citrine the Queen About this story These photographs were taken during WorldPride events in May and June. Photography, text and design by Josh Chen. Editing by Christian Font, Tara McCarty, Mark Miller and Robert Miller.