 As a Christian, pride can be a dirty word. Perhaps we shouldn't be so prideful because that means we're boastful, full of ourselves, not aware of how very flawed we can be, thinking we're better than others. But to have pride as an LGBTQ person means, for me, the opposite of being ashamed. It means that I know that God loves me just as God made me, which is queer, and that this part of me needs not an ounce of shame, but instead a pound of pride.