Happy Pride Month to all my fellow LGBTQIA+ friends, family and customers. My hope is that even in the midst of these scary, confusing, and uncertain times we’re all able to carve out some beautiful, colourful queer joy for ourselves and those around us. This year I’ve been contemplating a lot on the idea of family. As many of you know, I spent the first half of my life growing up in America, and my biological family still live there. While I love them tremendously, I have also (as so many queer folks have done throughout history) created my own chosen family of the most wonderful people. I have a community of care and support and solidarity across Ireland, which looks nothing like a nuclear family. However they bring me so much peace in life. 

While meditating on my own family and community, I started thinking about what I wanted to do for Pride Month, and where I wanted to focus my energies. Last month we celebrated 10 years of marriage equality in Ireland, and we have so many reasons to celebrate. What a proud moment in our history! However, despite the concept of “family” being the main focal point of the 2015 referendum, the children of same-sex couples STILL do not have the same rights and protections under the law as their peers with opposite-sex parents. Only one parent is allowed to be on that child’s birth certificate, which throws the non-biological parent’s rights straight out the window. Things like travel, schools, medical emergencies all suddenly become very legally complicated and distressing.

I also cannot stop thinking about the children in our global family as the situation in Gaza becomes more and more dire. Seeing aid trucks being denied entry and images of entire square miles reduced to rubble has a lot of times filled me with hopelessness. I think that’s what Israel want. I think they want people to stop volunteering and donating, because they want you to believe there is no point, no use in it. But recently beloved children’s host and my own nephew’s favourite person in the whole world, Ms. Rachel, posted a clip on Instagram of her singing and dancing with a beautiful little 3-year-old girl named Rahaf, a double amputee who had received medical care in the States thanks to Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. 

For June I want families and our next generation to be the focus of this year’s fundraiser with 2% of this month’s sales going directly to PCRF and Equality for Children.  The more you treat yourself during Pride Month, the more we’ll be able to support these wonderful charities. If you’re not in the market for any extra toys or accessories this month or if you can only choose one thing or another, I would still encourage you to donate directly to either or both PCRF & EFC before buying something for yourself.

And just for funzies, I have 2 rolls of pride flag stickers (see above) that I’ll be popping in with orders this month along with the usual “Unhinged Cat” stickers that I already give out. If you’re buying something and have a particular flag you’d like me to include, just shoot me an email and I’ll make a note on your order.

Sending you all so much love!

Shawna x