Clohey Horton
Community Manager
What does Pride Month mean to you?
Pride month to me represents an opportunity to embrace my entire self as a bisexual individual. I have been in a hetero relationship since high school, and a part of my journey has been not to invalidate myself in the LGBTQIA+ community. In the last few years, myself and many of my friends and family have come out as being a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. It has been empowering and helped those relationships to grow closer knowing we are allies to each other and a part of such a big movement.
What does it mean to embrace LGBTQIA+ pride?
Embracing pride to me is to liberate your truest version of yourself. Even if you are not a part of the LGBTQIA+ community you can still embrace its members with open arms, with no judgment and be an ally.
What is an issue the LGBTQIA+ community is facing that many people might not know about?
I think almost every member of the LGBTQIA+ community has at one point or another been made to feel ashamed or judged for accepting who they are. Each person has their own journey, and it may not apply to all but if you care about someone in the LGBTQIA+ community open a dialog with them about ways you can support them.
How are you planning to celebrate Pride this year?
I am planning on celebrating pride with my family and friends this month and going to the Seattle Pride Parade!
Who are some of your LGBTQIA+ role models?
Abby Wambach and Glennon Doyle are one of my favorite LGBTQIA+ couples. In history one of my role models in the LGBTQIA+ community is Marsha P. Johnson, and all involved in Stonewall riots.
Shawn James
Community Manager
What does Pride Month mean to you?
What Pride Month means to me is a time of the year when I can connect with people in the same community as me. Together we use this time as a time to share art, creativity, and thoughts on how we can come together to make the world more inclusive and accepting to what society considers “normal” – because when and if we think about it there is no normal. To be normal is to be different.
What does it mean to embrace LGBTQIA+ pride?
What it means to embrace LGBTQIA+ pride is to at minimum to tolerate that everyone is different and that it is okay to be different. If we were all the same people that wouldn’t be fun. I think that during Pride Month it is important to take the time to learn about the history of the LGBTQIA+ gender, laws, and the suffering that the LGBTIQA+ community faces every day.
What is an issue the LGBTQIA+ community is facing that many people might not know about?
I think that many people forget that many members of the LGBTQIA+ community face a lot of hardship, disadvantages, and other biased obstacles. So, I would like for Pride Month to be a month that all people recognize our pain, uniqueness, and freedom of expression to come together and celebrate, spread love and kindness, and support one another!
How are you planning to celebrate Pride this year?
I will be celebrating Pride this year by speaking at New York Pride! I will be partaking of a virtual panel part of the Trevor Project. I will also be promoting my own business, Broken Hearts Repaired, which is a business that brings the LGBTQIA+ together by sharing coming out stories, their experience within the community, and sharing their opinion on how they take we can make the world a better place to live in, not only for us but for the future generations to come!
Who are some of your LGBTQIA+ role models?
Lady Gaga, RuPaul, Sir. Elton John! All of these icons have shown over the last decade(s) pure examples of how to give back to the community, leadership and pure examples of how to be an appreciable global citizen.
Cait Pearce
Leasing Manager
What does Pride Month mean to you?
Pride Month is a month where I can try to talk about my community with more pride than normal, this month means I can have pride in who I am and who I’ve grown from.
What does it mean to embrace LGBTQIA+ pride?
Embracing our pride means being the very best person you can be, being accepting and gracious of everyone’s differences and knowing that we can be a better community with that acceptance of differences.
What is an issue the LGBTQIA+ community is facing that many people might not know about?
With Roe v Wade potentially being overturned, it is the start of all of the laws that gave us the freedom of same-sex marriage being overturned. It’s a big problem that only has bigger issues stemming from it if it gets overturned.
How are you planning to celebrate Pride this year?
I will be going to our Pride Festival and I will also be checking in on my friends whose families didn’t accept them for who they are and to make sure they know that found family is just as good as blood, if not better.
Who are some of your LGBTQIA+ role models?
Some of my role models are fairly lesser-known artists named Dezi and Xana. They are Bi Queens and make music that really speaks to Bi mentality and the struggles.
Chase Baucom
Assistant Community Manager
What does Pride Month mean to you?
Pride month gives LGBTQIA+ people a time to be proud of how far we have come and how much progress has been made in creating equal opportunities for us.
What does it mean to embrace LGBTQIA+ pride?
Showing up exactly as you are even when you know those around you may be uncomfortable or not like who you are.
What is an issue the LGBTQIA+ community is facing that many people might not know about?
Racism and weightism. Unfortunately, in our community (like most others as well) if you are not skinny and Caucasian you are generally pushed to the side when it comes to dating or being brought into friend groups. It is something many in the community are pushing to change as many of us see this as a major issue. We can’t preach acceptance if we do not accept everyone.
How are you planning to celebrate Pride this year?
I plan on attending pride and wearing my most prideful outfit! Spending each day being proud that I live in a time and a city where I don’t have to hide my gayness.
Who are some of your LGBTQIA+ role models?
Lady Gaga, Jane Fonda, and Billy Porter. These role models are always there to stand up for LGBTQIA+ Community and show them that it is okay to express themselves in whatever way they feel fits them.
Sarah Fassett
Assistant Community Manager
What does Pride Month mean to you?
Pride month to me means everyone should have the opportunity to step into the light and honor the long history of oppression of gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans individuals over time. The month of June is historically known for the Stonewall riots, but I grew up knowing of Pride parties and celebrations my uncle and mom went to that honored and uplifted LGBTQA voices and their rights. Pride month acknowledges the voices that shouted for our rights to not be discriminated against and honor the ones that never got the chance to be themselves.
What does it mean to embrace LGBTQIA+ pride?
To embrace LGBTQIA+ Pride, you are celebrating everyone and their own identity. The freedom to express oneself is the greatest feeling and to bask in our own authenticity is a right that everyone should be granted. Pride is not only about the celebration of oneself but the celebration and diversity of others and honoring how they identify and present themselves with support and love.
What is an issue the LGBTQIA+ community is facing that many people might not know about?
An issue that the LGBTQIA+ community is facing that many people might not know about is the idea that you must be one thing or the other. Myself, I identify as a bisexual woman and when being open about my identity people often assume that I must be gay or I must like one gender more than the other, and that simply isn’t the case. The entire idea of pride is the understanding that there is fluidity in gender, and sexual orientation and people don’t have to fit in a checked box. This not only makes it hard to come out to people that are unaware of my identity but makes me feel like I must hide it so other people are comfortable, and everyone should be able to embrace their authentic self no matter what their identity is.
How are you planning to celebrate Pride this year?
I’ll most likely be at chemo so I won’t be able to attend the pride parade like I normally do but I plan on sharing stories and posts of LGBTQIA voices online on social media platforms. To honor my uncle that inspired my comfort in coming out (he passed away before I got the chance to thank him), I plan on having an artist in Seattle turn a pair of his white Levi’s that he wore to white parties into a jean jacket that I can wear to remember and cherish him!
Who are some of your LGBTQIA+ role models?
My uncle is hands down my biggest role model in the LGBTQIA+ community even if he is no longer here with us. Blair Imani is a huge advocate and educator for the LGBTQIA+ community and I personally love her content.