June is Pride Month and since I wore this tee last month and hadn’t used the shots yet I thought it would be apropos..
THE STORY
…Anyone who knows me at all, knows that I have no problem being vocal in regard to gay rights. Or as I like to call them, basic human rights. I have been known to, on occasion, get up on my soapbox about it. I decided that today I’m not getting the soapbox out, I simply want to chat. With that in mind, let me just say that while some may be thinking, “This is just a fashion blog. You shouldn’t be talking about things like this,” no, this is not “just a fashion blog”. This is my space to do with what I please. Yes, I want to inspire women to dress in a way that expresses their most authentic selves. But I also want to share my thoughts and ideas on things and perhaps every once in awhile inspire someone to stop and think. So please, keep any snarky comments to yourself. I don’t tolerate snark in real life and I won’t tolerate it here.
Many who are opposed to gay marriage and homosexuality in general hide behind a religious argument. “But the Bible says it’s a sin.” Friends, there are so many common everyday things that we all partake in to one degree or another that the Bible says are sins. Don’t even get me started on Leviticus. I am not disparaging anyone’s belief system; you are most certainly entitled to believe whatever you’d like. What I’m saying is this, if you don’t like gay marriage, then don’t get gay married. Who you marry and choose to sleep with at night is your business. Who anyone else chooses to marry and sleep with at night is not. You may not understand it, and you may not like it and that’s okay. What’s not okay is to judge or condemn; especially when it bears no relevance to you or how you live your life.
There are people who believe that being gay is a choice. To those individuals I pose this query, did you choose to be attracted to members of the opposite sex? As a young girl, did you wake up one day and think, “Hmm…today I am going to be sexually attracted to boys.” I didn’t think so. And guess what? Neither did my son. Did you choose to have brown eyes? Did you choose to be right-handed? Do you get my drift here?
While we may not agree on some concepts, I think that we can all pretty much agree on three basic things that we all desire from life…
- We want our families to be safe and cared for.
- We want to be valued for who we are.
- We want the right to live our lives as we see fit to live them.
Of course we want our families and those that we love to be safe and cared for. We want them to be able to go out into the world knowing that they are, for the most part, safe from physical, mental and emotional harm. And that goes for everyone; not only the heterosexual members of our families. Just like you want your son to be able to go out to dinner with his girlfriend/wife and hold her hand without fear of repercussion, I want my son to be able to do the same with his boyfriend/husband.
Our value to others should be based upon one simple premise and that is, what kind of human beings are we? Whether or not I (or anyone) choose to love a man or a woman has absolutely zero bearing on what kind of human being that I am. None. Nada. Zero. Some of the most awful human beings that I know are heterosexual, while some of the most spectacular human beings that I know are homosexual. Which do I value as part of my world? Do I really have to tell you?
Each and every one of us has the right to live our lives in a manner in which makes us happy, assuming that we are doing no harm to others. If your friend or neighbor chooses to live his life with another man and that makes him happy, is it harming you in any way, shape or form? No. No it is not. If your sister is in love with a woman and she has truly found her bliss, does that take anything at all away from your own happiness? No. No it does not. Does the fact that your best friend is crazy in love with her husband have any bearing on your relationship with your husband? Again, nope.
Simply stated, you do you. Don’t worry about what anyone else is doing. Not only is it not your business, it also quite honestly has nothing to do with you. Don’t be cruel. Don’t judge. Don’t try to force your beliefs on others. Just be a good human being. Really, isn’t that what’s truly important? Just be good to one another regardless of sexual orientation, religion, race or any number of other variables that make each and every one of us different. Because even though we are all different, underneath it all, we’re really just the same.
THE OUTFIT
Okay, I think I pretty much covered the reasons for the pride tee shirt. I do have to say though, this is one of those fabulous graphic tees that came out of the package feeling all soft and vintage-y. Don’t you just love that? I hate when a cool looking graphic tee has one of those stiff awkward graphics that makes it uncomfortable to wear; like you have a piece of cardboard taped to your chest. Not the case with this one. And the Human Rights Campaign has a huge selection of other cool graphic tees and other paraphernalia so do check them out. Bonus point because 100% of every sale goes towards fighting for LGBTQ rights.
I’ve had this skirt for something like a thousand years. I got it from Victoria’s Secret way back in the day and it’s still one of my favorite Spring/Summer skirts. It’s lightweight and the adjustable drawstring waistband is fabulous; you can wear it higher on the waist or lower on the hips just by simply adjusting the drawstring. The only thing it’s lacking is pockets.
THE TIP
For some reason there is an antiquated belief that women past a certain age (I’m not sure exactly what that age is) should not wear graphic tees. I’m not sure why that is, but it’s absurd. I’m especially fond of graphic tees that have meaning for me like the pride tee shirt that I’m wearing today. Whether the graphic has meaning to you or not, if it speaks to you then wear it. Cool does not have an expiration date.
THE LINK UPS
Check out the weekly link ups I participate in for even more fashion and style ideas…
Tee shirt: HRC; Skirt: Similar; Sandals: Birkenstock
