Pride with Cody Kennedy and Timmy

Pride With Cody Kennedy and Timmy

     Here we are on the last day of June and that means LGBT PRIDE Month has come to an end. But before it does, I'm so incredibly lucky to have two very important people visit. Cody Kennedy, the extraordinary author of "Omorphi" and "Safe", has kindly agreed to be here today. I'm so thrilled to have him. And to make a great thing more amazing, my dear friend and nephew, Timmy is here to share his thoughts. You may remember that he is the talented artist responsible for the look of my blog. Before I hand things over to them, I want to thank you all for coming to visit! Take it away Cody and Timmy.

PRIDE versus FREEDOM, and a little history about our flag

Thank you, Jase, for the honor and privilege of being on your blog! As PRIDE month draws to a close, our good friend Timmy (Jase’s ersatz nephew) and I are here to discuss a little about the history of the PRIDE flag and, more importantly, how our LGBTQIA youth of today view PRIDE.

As an author who writes LGBTQIA works and someone who wishes to bring awareness to literary works and those who identify with non-binary gender, I hope to bring attention to the current, crucial socio-economic, political, and very personal issues surrounding PRIDE and those who don’t identify with the strict binary categorization of sexual identity.

Long, long ago (30 years) in a land far, far away (San Francisco, California, USA) the world's best-known version of the rainbow flag, often referred to as 'the freedom flag', was popularized as a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) pride and diversity by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker in 1978. The different colors symbolize diversity in the gay community, and the flag is used predominantly at gay pride events and in gay villages worldwide in various forms including banners, clothing and jewelry. For the 25th Anniversary of the Stonewall riots, held in 1994 in New York city, a mile-long rainbow flag was created and post-parade cut up in sections that have since been used around the world.

The flag was originally created with eight colors, but pink and turquoise were removed for production purposes, and since 1979 it has consisted of six colored stripes. It is most commonly flown with the red stripe on top, as the colors appear in a natural rainbow. Aside from the obvious symbolism of a mixed LGBT community, the colors were designed to symbolize: life (red), healing (orange), sunlight (yellow), nature (green), harmony (blue), and spirit (purple/violet). The removed colors stood for sexuality (pink) and art/magic (turquoise).

The original flag

The youth of today have a different take on PRIDE than we "older" folk do—FREEDOM—the very basis for our country’s foundation. Timmy gives us a twelve-year-old’s take on what PRIDE means to all of us.

Timmy on PRIDE versus FREEDOM

"I know the meaning of the word pride, but is this how we mean it? I think pride in the LGBT community is yet another label and a wall we hide behind. Pride is a feeling that we should all have whether we’re LGBT or not. LGBT doesn’t own this word and we shouldn’t use it like we do. We walk in Pride Parades as though we are entitled, and all the time we have our own groups and cliques. We also discriminate within our own community. Pride is not about safety in numbers, it’s not about hiding behind labels and others like us, and it’s not about parades. How offended might we be to see a heterosexual parade going down our street? I think it shouldn’t be about pride, but it should be about freedom. We have the freedom to be us, and that includes everyone. Pride is a personal emotion not a public show.

"I won’t hide in the closet anymore. I have been beaten, almost raped in the locker room at school, and called names repeatedly, but I am still FREE to be me. One thing I have learned over the last five months is that it is not about what I wasn’t allowed to be. I was treated and hurt badly, showed daily that I wasn’t loved, but I survived. I am so damn proud of that. I’m not the only person with stories like this. Heterosexual, gay, bi, transgendered, lesbian, or any other letter of the alphabet you choose, we all have a story. Being me does not define pride, it’s my FREEDOM that defines how I feel about myself that gives me pride. It’s hard to feel it and see it some days, but I know that deep down FREEDOM is there for me. Days that I feel weak, useless, unwanted, or lonely, I take my freedom out and say "hey, I made it, I’m here" and THAT is pride. People can’t give it to you, parades and parties are not pride. Look inside yourself to find your freedom first, before you label it pride."

Thank you, Timmy! Great comments! As PRIDE month draws to a close we find ourselves in a time of change; not only one of change in perspective but also one of behavior and the law. Now, more than ever before. I am proud to be an author of LGBTQIA literature and hope to bring you works that inspire you, give you strength and, above all, give you hope. Thank you for taking the time to read our post and rock on!

     Thank you again, Cody and Timmy! I'm so happy you stopped by to share your thoughts as well as a bit of history with us. Though the month of PRIDE has ended, I'd like all of you to take Pride in the Freedom to be you. You are Free to be who you are and should be proud of who that is. You are amazing and wonderful and perfect! Thank you all once again for stopping by. It really means a lot to me. I hope you have a great day!! **HUGS**

Check out Cody’s Books and Blog here. Like Cody on Facebook, find Cody on Goodreads, on Twitter @CodyKAuthor, on Amazon, and read Cody’s free serial story, Fairy. Check out Timmy’s Thoughts and Book Reviews here.

Available from: Harmony Ink Press

Όμορφη.　

Ómorphi. Greek. Meaning pretty

Pretty.　adj.　/pritē/ Pleasing by delicacy or grace

~*~

High school senior Michael Sattler leads a charmed life. He’s a star athlete, has great friends, and parents who love him just the way he is. What’s missing from his life is a boyfriend. That’s a problem because he’s out only to his parents and best friend. When Michael accidentally bumps into Christy Castle at school, his life changes in ways he never imagined. Christy is Michael’s dream guy: smart, pretty, and sexy. But nothing could have prepared Michael for what being Christy's boyfriend would entail.

Christy needs to heal after years of abuse and knows he needs help to do it. After the death of his notorious father, he leaves his native Greece and settles in upstate New York. Alone, afraid, and left without a voice, Christy hides the myriad scars of his abuse. He desperately wants to be loved and when he meets Michael, he dares to hope that day has arrived. When one of Michael’s team-mates becomes an enemy and an abuser from Christy’s past seeks to return him to a life of slavery, only Michael and Christy's combined strength and unwavering determination can save them from the violence that threatens to destroy their future together. Readan excerpt of Omorphi. 

Available from: Harmony Ink Press

Safe

Caleb had one mission in life.

To keep his boyfriend safe.

They met at ten, kissed at twelve, and were madly in love by eighteen. Caleb Deering is the captain of the swim team and the hottest senior in school. He comes from a loving home with a kind father and a caring, but strict, mother who is battling breast cancer. Nico Caro is small and beautiful, and has a father who rules with an iron fist—literally. One morning Caleb forgets himself, and he pecks Nico on the lips at school. A teacher sees them and tattles to the Headmaster. The accidental outing at school might be the least of their problems, because the ball set in motion by the school’s calls to their parents could get Nico killed. In the face of that very real danger, Caleb knows he has only one mission in life: to keep Nico safe. Readan excerpt of Safe.