Weird Pride in a Hostile World
This year’s Weird Pride Day has a specific theme, for the first time, on account of… world events.
It’s never been easy being seen as weird, especially if there’s more than one way you don’t meet what some people think of as the ‘default human’. This is an exceptionally difficult time for many of us. Various governments have been ramping up the persecution of people who are trans, migrants, queer, neurodivergent, disabled, don’t belong to dominant ethnic or religious groups, or just have unusual ways of thinking about the world.
Weird Pride is a celebration, but it is also, always, a protest: an act of resistance and solidarity, in a world where nonconformity is too often punished.
Right now, it feels more important than ever to emphasise that. We salute the inflatable frogs of Portland, and pay tribute to everyone who resists the backlash against diversity, inclusion and equality through creative means that push their humanity to the fore: from Ned Ludd to the Situationists to Audré Lorde and beyond. Joy, connection and individuality are powerful – and necessary.
People fear what they don’t understand. That’s what drives the far right. It may also be their greatest weakness.
As ever, you are invited to reflect, write, make videos and join discussions about your experiences and what any of these ideas mean to you. We will share a collection of posts on this site, and publicise any relevant events ahead of time.
The above illustration is by Nikkolas Smith; there is also a version here with “priests, and chickens, and Chicagoans, and T-Rexes, and more… all of us who refuse to bend the knee.”
The theme for Weird Pride Day 2026 was suggested by David Gray-Hammond.