Celebrating Pride Through a Zine
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
A zine to tell a story...
June is Pride Month. A time to celebrate love, identity, community, and the freedom to be ourselves. While Pride is often associated with parades and rainbow flags, I've been thinking about another way we can celebrate: through creativity.
Art has always played an important role in queer culture. Long before social media existed, people used drawings, photography, music, writing, and handmade publications to share their stories and connect with one another. Creativity became a way to express identity, build community, and make space for voices that weren't always heard.
As an illustrator and zine maker, I find myself returning to that idea again and again. Creativity gives us a way to explore who we are and what matters to us. It allows us to tell stories that might otherwise remain untold.
This year, I decided to celebrate Pride by creating a small zine.
Zines are simple, handmade booklets that can be folded from a single sheet of paper. They don't require special equipment or professional publishing skills. That's part of what makes them so powerful. Anyone can make one.
For me, zines are more than a creative project. They are an invitation to slow down, reflect, and share something meaningful. They encourage curiosity, self-expression, and conversation.
The Pride zine I created explores themes of identity, belonging, diversity, and love. Through words, photographs and some simple illustrations, I wanted to create something that celebrates the richness of queer experiences while remaining accessible and welcoming to everyone.
I chose the title Bloom Anyway because it speaks to resilience and growth. Life doesn't always provide perfect conditions for us to flourish. Many LGBTQ+ people grow up feeling different, misunderstood, or unseen. Yet, despite challenges, uncertainty, or fear, we continue to grow into ourselves. To me, blooming anyway means embracing who you are, taking up space, and allowing yourself to thrive—even when the path isn't easy.
What I love most about creative projects like this is that they remind us that Pride doesn't have to look a certain way. Sometimes it's attending a parade. Sometimes it's learning about queer history. Sometimes it's supporting LGBTQ+ artists and creators. And sometimes it's sitting at a table with paper, pens, and a few ideas, creating something that reflects who you are.
Creativity gives us permission to imagine, to question, and to express ourselves freely. In many ways, those values are at the heart of Pride itself.
Whether you're an artist, a writer, a zine maker, or someone who simply enjoys making things, I hope this month inspires you to create something that feels meaningful to you.
Because every story deserves space to be told.
Happy Pride.
