It’s Pride Month! We at BellaVita stand as allies for the LGBTQ+ community every day of the year. Love is love, yet every love is as unique and diverse as the plants on our planet… and we are here to celebrate love’s authenticity —beautifully, boldly, and fearlessly — in all its many forms.
Celebrating Pride cannot happen without acknowledging its roots. The first Pride began on a June night in 1969 with a riot in Manhattan. Known as the Stonewall Uprising, this was a tipping point for the gay liberation movement in the U.S, as police raided a gay bar in New York City and its patrons fought back. At that time, “homosexual acts” were illegal across the country (except for Illinois), and raids on LGBTQ-inclusive spaces were not uncommon. The Stonewall riot was led primarily by trans women of color, like the iconic Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and Miss Major Griffin-Gracy.
In the coming weeks, LGTBQ+ community members were subject to tear gas, homophobic and transphobic slurs, and ongoing violence. The events in New York prompted further organizing across the country, and LGBTQ+ people mobilized in major cities.
A year later, on June 28, 1970, at the Stonewall Inn, the first Pride parade started. As LGBTQ+ activists began what was then called the Christopher Street Liberation March, supporters from the crowd began to join. Soon it was hundreds rather than thousands who marched across 15 city blocks. This spurred Pride celebrations all over the world, fueling movements in Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand.
Now here we are, in a time where LGBTQ+ marriage is legal in many places, and acceptance is growing more every day. There is still a long way to go from widespread tolerance to acceptance to full-blown celebration, but we’re getting closer all the time. There are so many ways to celebrate Pride Month. Activism, parades, rallies, dance parties, festivals, and commemorations are common in most major cities, and smaller towns, too.
This Sunday, however, we encourage you to slow down, take a breath, and indulge in some satisfying self-care. Pour a glass of wine, fix a beautiful tray full of your favorite snacks, and get ready to enjoy. We’ve compiled a very short list of some of our favorite LGBTQ+ viewing, plus a special skincare treatment you can do while you watch.
To Watch
Gentleman Jack: Anne Lister, an extraordinary woman circa 1832 who is a barely closeted lesbian English landowner is trying to figure out how to take a wife. It’s also about feminism, devotion, partnership, and gender norms with fabulous costumes and backdrops.
The L Word: Generation Q: The original L Word appeared in 2004, featuring queer women front and center, and it was fresh, groundbreaking, and compelling. Less than a decade after the original completed in 2009, it made a fresh and equally great comeback with The L Word: Generation Q.
Pose: Proving how far LGBTQ+ people have progressed in Hollywood, Pose features five transgender actresses in series-regular roles, and the largest queer recurring cast in TV history. Employing great, storytelling, it shares the beauty and struggles of marginalized people, always with a sense of optimism.
Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: A whip-smart computer coder suddenly hears people's innermost thoughts through popular songs. The show co-stars Alex Newel, a genderfluid actor and singer who is a pure delight to behold.
Skincare While You Watch
Increase your luminosity with our Glow Up Duo. Offering skin brightening and perfecting treatments, this power couple works to naturally regenerate, protect, refine and amp up your inherent glow. Apply while you watch and emerge from your session looking like you took a weekend mini-holiday. Here’s why it’s amazing:
Our AHA! Mask is your secret beauty weapon: rich in Hyaluronic Acid and five Fruit Alpha Hydroxy Acids, it offers quick results for firmer, plumper, smoother and more deeply hydrated skin.
Our Facial Elixir is a blend of luxurious oils and plant stem cells that help rebuild collagen, replenish hydration, and stimulate your own skin cell turnover.
Combined, the outcome is nothing short of transformative. Happy Pride Month everyone!
*This Summer Special makes a perfectly on-the-nose Pride Month present (gift it to yourself or another!) for those who love to shine their beautiful light as bright as possible.