In the bucolic villages of the Hudson Valley and the conservative towns of Long Island, Pride events have drawn a wide range of people: gay and transgender adults who make their lives outside the urban centers that have been the community’s traditional haven, young people who recently came out of the closet and straight parents who want to demonstrate inclusivity to their children — no matter their sexual orientation or gender identity.
For LGBTQ people in smaller towns, day-to-day life is often lived with a nagging anxiety “in the back of our minds,” said James Diele-Stein, who co-founded Patchogue Pride in Suffolk County. Like other small-town Pride events, it is both a celebration of the local community and a political statement to the world at large that gay and transgender people exist, despite sometimes hostile circumstances.
“I think the more and more we have these celebrations, the more and more it becomes a little bit of the norm,” Diele-Stein said. “It lets people feel a little more comfortable, especially out in public.”
@emmarosemilligan photographed the Pride celebrations in several small towns around the New York region. Tap the link in our bio to read more from the people for whom these events often hold special meaning.
