One of my favorite Taylor Swift songs is “You Need to Calm Down”. It’s a bouncy pop tune with a powerful message: hate speech against the LGBTQIA+ community needs to stop. The music video features numerous cameos from celebrities who identify as gay, transgender, cisgender, or non-binary. All take pride in being who they are.
This month (June), individuals and families across the U.S. celebrate diverse identities with rainbow-festooned clothes and colorful parades. Yet the current climate fostered by anti-diversity initiatives may create pressure to downplay pride-related activities this year. News outlets report that many companies are limiting their Pride Month merchandise and event support. This means parents and caregivers may feel more isolated as they help children show their pride.
So how might families lean into LGBTQIA+ pride in these complicated times? One way is to creatively embrace the rainbow as a symbol of your support for diversity through a variety of activities.
Fly a rainbow. Create a rainbow flag out of colored strips of cloth or paper. For example, hang different colored crepe paper streamers or ribbons in a doorway. Or color stripes on a sheet of paper and place the flag in a window. Use an extra large piece of paper if you want your flag to be visible from afar.
Dance a rainbow. Put together a playlist of songs that celebrate LGBTQIA+ pride, such as Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”, Diana Ross’s “I’m Coming Out”, Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”, and Village People’s “YMCA”. (Amazon Music also has community playlists for Pride Month.) Then grab some multi-colored streamers/ribbons and dance your hearts out.
Sing a rainbow. With younger children, sing along with “I Can Sing a Rainbow” (link in Related Resources). Then practice “singing everything you see” by making up a song about the diversity of people around you. Set it to the same tune or create your own melody.
Chart a rainbow. Assign each color of the rainbow an attribute. For example, orange might be ‘feisty’, blue ‘calm’, or yellow ‘inquisitive’. Invite children to think of people they know and write their names across the top of a piece of paper. Then encourage them to write (in colors) the attributes they associate with each person under their name. Notice how the many colors are like a rainbow when viewed together.
Imagine rainbow power. Invite children to sit comfortably and close their eyes. Say: Take a deep breath in (pause) and let it out (pause). Continue breathing slowly in (pause) and out (pause). Imagine that your breath is multi-colored like a rainbow. (pause) When you breathe out, it covers everything it touches with bright colors. (pause) Imagine something you want to turn rainbow-colored to celebrate Pride Month. (pause) Breathe out and cover it with your breath. (pause) Now imagine taking your rainbow item and sharing it with someone else. (pause) How do they respond to your gift? (pause) Take a final deep breath in (pause) and let it out (pause). Open your eyes when you are ready. Encourage children to share their meditations with each other.
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