August 11, 2020
How the term “gay pride” was coined
The term “gay pride” was coined in 1970. Brenda Howard, a bisexual activist, is known as the "Mother of Pride" for her work in coordinating the march, and she also originated the idea for a week-long series of events around Pride Day, which became the genesis of the annual LGBTQIA Pride celebrations that are now held around the world every June.
To describe the series of events, the slogan "gay power" was tossed around for a bit, but when committee member L. Craig Schoonmaker suggested "gay pride," everyone else agreed on the phrase right away. "People did not have power then; even now, we only have some," Schoonmaker said in a 2015 interview with The Allusionist's Helen Zaltzman. "But anyone can have pride in themselves, and that would make them happier as people, and produce the movement likely to produce change."
📸 Philadelphia’s first Gay Pride rally, 1972
Taken by Kay Tobin Lahusen / The New York Public Library
To describe the series of events, the slogan "gay power" was tossed around for a bit, but when committee member L. Craig Schoonmaker suggested "gay pride," everyone else agreed on the phrase right away. "People did not have power then; even now, we only have some," Schoonmaker said in a 2015 interview with The Allusionist's Helen Zaltzman. "But anyone can have pride in themselves, and that would make them happier as people, and produce the movement likely to produce change."
📸 Philadelphia’s first Gay Pride rally, 1972
Taken by Kay Tobin Lahusen / The New York Public Library