Ellen Page starred in Freeheld, the film based on a true story about a lesbian couple fighting for the right to domestic partnership benefits, alongside Julianne Moore. The movie was a tearkjerker, but we loved it!
The RISE Festival just commemorated its tenth year in the Nevada desert and pulled out all of the stops. Considered the world's largest sky lantern festival, the breathtaking event also serves as a safe space for everyone in the LGBTQ+ community.
Everyone had the opportunity to send gorgeous lanterns into the night sky and manifest positive energy or let go of burdens that are weighing them down in their everyday lives.
As if the beautiful views weren't enough, RISE Festival recruited some of the top talent from around the world to give attendees the opportunity to dance the night away. Headliners that performed all weekend included Calvin Harris, Disclosure, John Mayer, LP Giobbi, Rüfüs Du Sol, and more.
There were only a few dry eyes at the stunning celebration. With anti-LGBTQ+ legislation sweeping the country and so much negativity being spread at a rapid pace, RISE Festival couldn't have come at a better time.
Similar to many other popular music festivals, the LGBTQ+ community was in full force and bringing positive vibes that can only be felt amongst queer peers. In fact, LP Giobbi even spoke with PRIDE about specifically keeping an eye out for her gay fans as she performed at the unifying gathering.
"I am playing for you! I think it's a deeply important and beautiful community. I will do everything in my power to support and uplift. I'm just so grateful to be accepted into that community! I feel like I can be most myself around this community. My favorite version of myself is when I get to be with y'all!," Giobbi tells PRIDE.
It's safe to say RISE Festival wanted to make their tenth anniversary a remarkable occasion, so fans are already speculating as to what could be in store for next year. Let the countdown begin!
The writer was invited to cover this event by RISE Festival. Grab tickets to an upcoming show by visiting the official website here.
Footage still via TikTok @yourbarefootneighbor; Courtesy of Matthew Bounds
Queer joy is a radical act, so join us each week for more stories that uplift, resist, and shine. For more stories on Queer Joy, click here.
Facing empty shelves and worrying about how they were going to feed their community, a Tennessee food pantry was shocked when they found themselves flooded with donations from an unexpected source: TikTok.
A week ago, Knox Pride, a LGBTQ+ nonprofit resource center, put out a call on Instagram for donations because their food pantry was “almost empty” with no way to fill it after their funding was slashed. Luckily, one queer TikTok star saw the post and jumped into action.
Social media can feel like a vapid, superficial way to spend your time, but sometimes these apps that have taken over our lives are used to make real positive change in the world.
That’s true for Matthew Bounds, who is changing lives with his TikTok channel, one charity at a time. Better known as “Your Barefoot Neighbor,” the 42-year-old gay social media influencer creates simple, easy comfort food recipes for his 1.8 million followers, but on top of his cozy meals, Bound has managed to galvanize his fans, over and over again, to donate to local charities.
While killing time waiting in line by scrolling on his phone, Bounds saw Knox Pride’s plea for donations and knew he had to act fast. “I knew they had lost their funding. I knew things were tight for them. I had seen their updates on that, but that post right there just really hit me,” he told PRIDE.
Bounds rushed home and recorded a quick TikTok asking his followers to help him fulfill their Amazon Wishlist and stock their pantry shelves, after he had donated a handful of things himself. “History has shown that the Barefoot Neighborhood does not play when it comes to stuff like this, and ya’ll go crazy hard, crazy fast,” Bounds said in the video.
Asking his followers — he has approximately 3.5 million across all platforms — to help out nonprofit organizations in desperate need of donations is nothing new, but normally, Bounds carefully plans out any fundraisers he does so when the TikTok video asking for help for Knox Pride didn’t get as many views as he was hoping, he worried that very few people would order anything off of the nonprofit’s Wishlist.
But the next morning, he woke up to a message from Knox Pride’s executive director, John Camp, with photos of the trucks full of Amazon packages streaming in. This allowed them to fully stock their food pantry within 24 hours of the video going live.
“They’ve never let me down,” Bound said of his followers. “They love a good call, they love to rally and help people. So, I didn’t have any doubt that they would come through, I think I was surprised at how big they came through.”
Donations continued to flood in over the next week, and soon, Knox Pride had enough food to stock the pantry multiple times over. The fundraiser was so successful that they also received so many monetary donations that they were able to pay their rent through July, and volunteers started showing up in person. They even got enough truckloads of food delivered that Knox Pride was able to reach out to other local resource centers and help them stock their food pantries as well.
“It’s a 180 at the center,” Bounds said. “Not only was it the tangible physical donations, but you know, just a lot of people who may have kind of forgotten they were there or I even got comments from people who live in Knoxville and said they were unaware of Knox Pride and then they saw my video, so now they are donating and they’re showing up to volunteer.”
Knox Pride provides food to between 75 and 100 people every day at their food pantry so having empty shelves would have been devastating to the community. After the donations started streaming in, Bound began getting DMs from people who were grateful he had stepped up. “I had someone DM me and he said he’s a 55-year-old gay man who’s unhoused and the day I posted that video, he had gone there earlier that day and said they fed him with literally some of the last things on the shelves,” Bounds recalled. “He said, ‘I laid down last night and I didn’t know where my next meal was going to be coming from because they were out.’ And he said, ‘I woke up this morning and saw the video and the updates and everything. I’m going to eat today because of your followers,” which was really incredible.”
Bounds, who has published one cookbook and has a second one on the way in 2026, has made a name for himself by making easily accessible, comforting southern classics, but he has also built community outreach and fundraising into his platform since the very beginning. In fact, earlier this month, Bounds, who is a Gulfport, Mississippi native, rallied his followers to support a food drive for Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, and was able to completely stock the shelves of their food pantry in less than two weeks.
“My being gay, and then a lot of my audience is part of the LGBTQIA community, and allies and things like that. I think there’s almost the spirit of we’re here, we’re queer, we’ll handle it. I think that really rallies us a lot, too. You know, so many people just love to be a part of an inclusive, diverse community that is so committed to helping folks.”
The “vibe” of the community Bounds has created is one that loves good food and is devoted to helping their community, but he thinks people need the positivity in their lives more now than ever before.
“There’s so much negativity and awful news, and I don’t know about you, but I feel really hopeless a lot of days,” Bound admitted. “I think there’s so many people that just want a little win, and if I can say, ‘Hey, here’s an Amazon Wishlist, order something off of it, we’ll feed someone today,’ that’s a way for someone to chip in and make the world a little bit better and have a little control over it for a minute. We’re not victims of it, we’re contributing to some sort of solution."
Pride season is right around the corner, and while that means that your calendar is probably full of parties and parades, there are also Black Pride marches and festivities happening all across the country that should move to the top of your Pride Month calendar.
Pride Month is about demanding space and celebrating marginalized LGBTQ+ identities, but sometimes the Black queer community can be left out of the equation. That’s why Black Pride Month events are so important.
The very first Black Gay Pride event took place in 1991, when DC Black Pride had its inaugural celebration, paving the way for a movement of Black Pride protests and festivals across the United States. What has become a way to celebrate identity and demand a seat at the table started in response to how Black LGBTQ+ communities were disproportionately affected by the AIDS epidemic and encourages Black people to celebrate their own culture and heritage. Since then, events have cropped up all over the country to champion Black rights and joyfully gather in community with one another.
Don't see an event you're excited about? Email us at news@equalpide.com and we'll add it to the calendar.
Keep scrolling to see all of the amazing Black Pride Month events happening in America!
DC Black Pride (May 23 - 26)
Nicole Glass Photography/Shutterstock
This year Washington, DC will be home to the WorldPride celebration, but that’s not all. There will also be a four-day-long Black Pride festival that will feature electrifying parties, glamorous balls, health and wellness breakout sessions, and dynamic performances.
Tri-State Black Pride in Memphis, Tennessee will have a drag brunch, “dripping wet” pool party, and a music festival, and although you have to buy tickets the events make it worth the price of admission.
New Orleans knows how to do Pride right! The Black Pride weekend will start with a mixer before the Black Queer summit with panels, workshops, and meaningful conversations. There will also be a country-themed party, a community festival in Armstrong Park, a Nightcap Party with live DJs, and a Gospel Drag Brunch.
Indy Pride’s BLQ+ event is one part Pride celebration and one part Juneteenth event. The day is a way to honor the history of Junneteenth and the resiliency and solidarity of the Black queer and trans community.
On June 28, downtown Greenville, South Carolina, will become the home of the Black Pride Festival. The day will start with a march and end with a festival that is both an opportunity and celebration of the BIPOC LGBTQ+ community.
This year’s Harlem Pride has a “Kween & Qing” theme that will honor the unique contributions of community leaders. There will be a Kween and Qing pageant and crowning ceremony, a Pride Sweet 16 party, and a festival with live performances, local vendors, community resources, and amazing food.
San Francisco Soul of Pride is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. What started as a place to uplift Black LGBTQ+ community in San Francisco has become a vibrant celebration that blends art, activism, and fellowship. There will be performances, art, and activism during Pride weekend that will celebrate the rich diversity of the Black queer community.
Hosted by the Boston LesBiGay Urban Foundation, Boston Black Pride takes place over five days and includes a Pride Parade and music and arts festival. There will also be an open mic night party, a teen party, an R&B brunch, a Black Pride Ball, and a Met Gala.
LA Black Pride is a five-day festival meant to uplift and celebrate the Black LGBTQ+ community, and includes an R&B party, a block party, a brunch, a Soul Sunday event at The Abbey.
The 8th annual Black Pride RVA Festival takes place in Richmond, Virginia, and kicks off with a big party, which is meant to celebrate unity and culture. The rest of the event includes a Root Award ceremony at the Black History Museum, a Day of Purpose festival, a Blacktopia Ball, and a Pride in the Park celebration.
Twin Cities Black Pride celebration will include an awards ceremony recognizing outstanding contributions within the Black LGBTQ+ community, a party boat, and a Sip, Paint, and Smoke event where a relaxed atmosphere, drinks, painting, and socializing.
TikTok creator Josselyn Morris and her livestreamed speed dating show.
Footage still via TikTok @Josselynmorris; Courtesy of Josselyn Morris
Queer joy is a radical act, so join us each week for more stories that uplift, resist, and shine. For more stories on Queer Joy, click here.
While people everywhere are becoming disillusioned with dating apps and are desperately seeking new ways to find love and connection, one TikToker is forging a new path for her LGBTQ+ Gen Z peers.
What started as the dream of a queer woman with only $600 left to her name has turned into a viral sensation and created a community for queer people to find love in the messiest way possible.
Josselyn Morris, a 26-year-old rising star on TikTok, started the app’s first-ever livestream LGBTQ+ speed dating show that has now grown to have more than 370,000 followers and gets a minimum of 50,000 viewers per night. She streams four nights a week to help queer singles find love on her TikTok live show. Some singles have applied to be on the show, and others are picked from the live audience so that Morris can help them find a match.
“I started this show with $600, a ring light, and a dream. And now there are people saying they found the love of their life in my comments section? That’s unreal,” Morris tells PRIDE.
The premise is as simple and effective as it is wildly entertaining: Morris holds up a sign that says “LGBTQ+ Speed Dating” and has a split screen with the curious single she invited on the show, and tries to connect them with people in the chat who feel a spark with the guest.
“The space I’ve built became what I needed when I was most alone—and now it’s that for thousands of other people too,” she says. “People come back every week. They root for each other. They stay. That means more than views ever could.”
HOW DID I DO YA’LL BE HONEST 😫👀💍👀 CONGRATS TO THE HAPPY COUPLE @ROSE 🌹 @🏳️🌈BBBOŚŠŞȘWWWÖMBMÅŅ👄👅 #wedding #marriage #marriagehumor #lgbtq #lgbtqia #🏳️🌈 #married #josselynmorris
Sometimes Morris helps people find a match and other times the people in the chat investigate the guest and figure out they’re actually in a relationship already or are lying about themselves. Combine that with Morris’ hilarious facial expressions, and sharp sense of humor and you’re in for an entertaining night even if no one finds love. Think speed dating mixed with internet sleuthing, and reality TV shows like Catfish and Maury.
Yes, it’s messy and full of gay chaos, but it’s also sweet and hopeful as young LGBTQ+ find love and build community on an app that can often make people feel even more isolated and pressured to be performative.
“It can be chaotic, funny, and unpredictable, but it’s also full of warmth, connection, and real vulnerability,” Morris explains. “Every night is different. One moment someone’s cracking jokes, the next someone’s talking about what it’s like to date while not being fully out. That kind of shift feels natural because the space allows for all of it.”
Originally from Yuma, Arizona, Morris knows what it’s like to be Black and queer in a small town with no community. A self-proclaimed stud, she started her TikTok channel with one main goal: to create an LGBTQ+ dating show made by and for the community.
And she’s found success doing just that. She’s created a community of devoted followers, who call themselves “Team White Braids,” has helped create 100 real queer relationships, was once even invited to a proposal between two contestants on her show, and heard that one couple she set up has a baby on the way.
“It’s become this tight-knit, almost sacred digital living room. We’re live almost every night, and the energy is always the same: safe, chaotic in the best way, and full of love,” Morris says. “You don’t need a label, a storyline, or a “look” to belong here. People who aren’t even out yet–people from towns where there’s no gay scene–come here and feel seen.”
Her live queer dating show proves that love is messy and radical joy is not only possible, but is at your fingertips four nights a week.
Back in 1993 the direct action group the Lesbian Avengers organized the very first Dyke March in response to how male-dominated LGBTQ+ space were at the time. It started as a raucous show of solidarity, joy, and anger, and in the decades since, it has continued to be a way for Dyke-identifying folks to build community and fight back against an unjust system.
Much like the first Pride Parade, the first Dyke March was a protest, not a party, and that indomitable spirit of radical resistance and claiming of space is still alive in today’s Dyke Marches. Thousands of lesbians march for visibility, justice, and community every year in marches across the country, and now the events are more inclusive than ever before. Modern Dyke Marches work hard to fight for the most marginalized dykes, and welcome all dyke-identifying members of the cis, trans, and nonbinary community.
There are fewer Dyke Marches now than there were in past decades which is why we need to celebrate them and march and protest alongside the rest of the sapphic community.
Don't see an event you're excited about? Email us at news@equalpide.com and we'll add it to the calendar.
Keep scrolling to see the radical Dyke Marches happening all across the country!
Dyke March Long Beach (May 16)
Erendira Elizabeth/Shutterstock
Dykes and their allies will gather at Bixby Park in Long Beach for the annual Dyke March. This year, the organizers are hoping to make it the biggest event in the march’s history and are encouraging participants to posters, drums, and chants so the community can take a stand and make some noise together.
On the Saturday before Philly Pride, the Philly Dyke March will take off from Kahn Park at noon. Not only will dyke-identifying folks and their allies march through the city, but there will also be a drag showcase on Friday, May 30 at William Way.
During WEHO Pride week there will be a Women’s Freedom Festival and a Dyke March, put on by the The L-Project, a lesbian nonprofit that promotes and supports LGBTQ+ BIPOC women and nonbinary creatives. The Dyke March is lead by the motorcycle group Pride Riders LA, who are starting the very first LA chapter of Dykes on Bikes.
Not only is Washington DC home to WorldPride 2025, but it was the site of the very first Dyke March back in 1993. This year’s DC Dyke March theme is “Dykes Against Fascism” because the organizers are just as sick of Trump’s presidency as we all are. “With the new administration, we are enraged, mobilized, and READY to take to the streets,” The DC Dyke March Instagram account posted. “We’ve had ENOUGH!! —so bring your signs, your rage, and your community to march with us on June 6th at 7 PM!“
LA Pride’s Dyke March has been going on for more than two decades and is one of the biggest in the country. This year, it will take place on June 8 at the Sal Guarriello Veterans' Memorial on Santa Monica Blvd. The night will start with a live DJ set and protest sign making workshop, followed by guest speakers and a rally. Then, the night will culminate in a march down Santa Monica Blvd to San Vicente and back, ending in another live DJ set.
The Boston Dyke March, which started back in 1995, is a grassroots Pride event that will have musical performances, guest speakers, and community tables before the march itself. The event is not only focused on anti-capitalism and intersectional gender liberation but also values accessibility, which is why masks are required, it’s wheelchair and scooter accessible, and will have an ASL interpreter.
The NYC Dyke March will start at Bryant Center on June 28, where thousands of people will march through the street in protest discrimination, harassment, and violence, but also celebration of the rich diversity of the dyke community. This large-scale event welcomes everyone “regardless of gender expression or identity, sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation, race, age, political affiliation, religious identity, ability, class, or immigration status.”
This year will mark the 33rd annual San Francisco Dyke March, held on the Saturday befor ethe big Pride Parade, which is meant to celebrate the unity of the dyke community, raise visibility, and advocate for justice for dykes around the world. Before the Dyke March there will be a rally at Dolores Park where allies are welcome before the march begins. Just like every year, Dykes on Bikes will be front and center since they got their start at San Francisco’s first Pride Parade way back in 1976. Leading up to the event there will also be a Super Big Gay Dance Party on May 10 to benefit the Dyke March.
Kirkam/Shutterstock
