WHY THE LIFESTYLE IS PART OF PRIDE
We are what is called "in the lifestyle." People don't often associate Pride Month with those in the lifestyle, but the inclusion of open relationships, swinging, BDSM, exhibition, voyeurism, kink, and everything in between, deserve a place in Pride as much as anything—and here is why.
Being in the lifestyle means being accepting of any and all sexual orientations no matter what they are. Our audience and guests consist of many facets of LGBTQ+, we have bisexual men, bisexual women, people into kink, people who just want to watch (voyeurs), people who are pansexual, people who are polyamorous, people looking for answers, and people who are simply undefined.
It's a lifestyle because we integrate our sexual freedom into our everyday lives. We practice open, honest conversations with our partners, we've mastered the art of flirting, we explore different things with our sexual behavior in the safest ways possible, we know how to ask for consent. Our #1 rule is "no means no," we respect each other's boundaries, and at the end of the day we know how to have fun with our sexuality. The lifestyle is full of people with different sexual orientations, different needs, and different approaches to pleasure.
We don't always fit in with the masses. Our sexual orientations can be seen as lewd, freaky, and disrespectful. We often deal with our friends and families disapproving of our choice to have open relationships. Being non-monogamous/polyamorous/in the lifestyle is a sexual orientation, not a preference, because it is how we are born. We are taught to be monogamous, THAT is the choice, it is not inherent in our DNA.
Science has confirmed that different sexual orientations are not “choices” but a difference in the genetic makeup of who we are. Many of us do not have a choice to our sexual orientations, even though many of us are taught to suppress and deny the feelings that we have inside. Pride is about standing up and saying “No, this is who I am and I’m proud of who I am”.
We know that makes it hard for some of the "vanilla" people in our lives to accept. So we end up forming our closest relationships within the lifestyle because we find they are the ones who understand and accept us the most. And your lifestyle friends end up knowing you in ways no one else can.
We accept you as the wonderfully unique individual you are and we don't care about labels. We don't need you to tell us exactly what you're into because we accept and celebrate you anyway. We support adults consenting with other adults, we support having fun, being honest, being safe, and always being respectful. We support you, being you.
Happy Pride! Be proud of who you are, be proud of who you want to become, and know you always have a place with us.
