It’s Pride Month, and this year’s Pride Toronto’s theme is “All In” and it couldn’t be more timely. In the current social and political moment we live in, this isn’t just a celebration. It’s a challenge.
It’s easy to be “All In” when it’s convenient; when rainbows are trending, the #LoveIsLove hashtag is trending or when Pride events are happening in every major city. But to me, being ‘All In’ means something deeper. It’s a firm, year-round commitment to the 2SLGBTQ+ community. It means showing up even when it’s uncomfortable, even when it costs you something, even when there’s no applause.
Being ‘All In’ means taking action. It’s about how you value, uplift, and support the 2SLGBTQ+ community through your conversations, your workplaces, your spending, your relationships, and the everyday decisions that you make.
Being All In Means Getting Uncomfortable
Just because your world is accepting of queer people doesn’t mean the work is done. Comfort is not the goal. Change is.
This message is especially important for cisgender, straight folks to hear. But it’s also a call-in for queer people like myself who hold privilege in certain spaces. With that privilege comes responsibility and I take that seriously.
I’m constantly asking myself:
- Am I doing enough to uplift the most marginalized in my community?
- Whose voices are missing from this room?
- What perspectives can I offer that help others truly see the full humanity of 2SLGBTQ+ people; especially those who are too often erased or excluded?
- Am I actively learning from a range of queer voices with different lived experiences; especially those different from my own?
The answers aren’t always simple but the questions are always worth asking.
5 Ways You Can Be “All In” for the 2SLGBTQ+ Community
In Your Personal Life
- Interrupt the jokes, micro-aggressions, and harmful language; even when it’s awkward.
- Talk to your family and friends about queer issues outside of Pride Month.
- Have meaningful conversations with queer people in your life – not to define them by their queerness, but to understand how it shapes their experience of the world. Ask with care, questions like: “How has being queer influenced the way you move through the world?”
- Support and create space for queer joy, not just queer pain and trauma.
In Your Professional Life
- Ensure your workplace is not just “welcoming” to 2SLGBTQ+ people, but actively enacting policies that promote equity, inclusion, and structural change.
- Ask: Who’s doing the inclusion work? Are they being acknowledged, compensated, and supported?
- If you’re in a position of power, ask yourself: Am I creating real opportunities for queer leadership – or is this just symbolic visibility?
- Don’t assume inclusion happens organically. It requires consistent, intentional effort.
- Just because a colleague feels safe with you doesn’t mean they feel safe with everyone. Ask how you can better support them in the workplace.
In Research and Representation
This is especially important in my world and a reminder to others in similar spaces:
- Don’t include 2SLGBTQ+ people as an afterthought. Design with them in mind from the start.
- Ensure your samples reflect the full spectrum of diversity within the queer community: across race, class, age, geography, and more.
- Go beyond identity labels. Explore values, lived experiences, and intersecting identities.
- Partner with queer-led organizations – not just for approval, but for real collaboration and shared power.
Through Economic Solidarity
Being ‘All In’ also means aligning your resources with your values:
Support queer-owned businesses all year (not just during Pride month).
Investing in queer people and their work; not just celebrating them when it’s convenient or trendy.
Ask yourself: How am I showing up economically for the 2SLGBTQ+ community when the rainbow banners and flags come down?
As someone who recently launched a side hustle, I’m personally recommitting to this – being more intentional about who I support, whose work I uplift, and where my time, money, and energy go. That’s what ‘All In’ looks like for me.
If You’re in a Position of Power
Especially in workplaces, this is very important to reflect on:
- Is your workplace psychologically safe for queer employees every day; or just performatively supportive during Pride?
- Are queer folks given true leadership and influence; or only visibility when it’s convenient or when you need a token person?
- Are you actively funding and resourcing inclusion; or cheering from the sidelines?
You don’t get to “celebrate” Pride if you’re not also willing to fund, protect, and stand up for queer people when it’s hard, quiet, and inconvenient.
Because inclusion doesn’t happen by accident. It happens through bold, consistent, and accountable leadership.
Pride Isn’t a Just a Parade and Party. It’s a Commitment.
Being ‘All In’ isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being consistent. It’s about showing up even when you’re tired, even when it’s inconvenient, even when no one notices and you won’t get the recognition.
It’s about helping to build a world where all of us; not just some; can live freely, safely, and unapologetically.
So to my queer siblings: I see you. I’m with you. I’m All In for you. Happy Pride!
To everyone else: We don’t need allies who stand behind us. The moment we live in right now means we need you to stand beside us; and sometimes in front of us when we need protection or rest.
This year, let Pride be more than a performance. Let it be your starting point and commitment to being ‘All In’ for the rest of the year.
