As a member of the LGBT community, I am always struck by the plethora of rainbow merchandise and woke social media posts during the month of June.

I appreciate the support.

And yet, I wonder. is it genuine? A thinly veiled ploy for increased profits and likes?

It’s likely somewhere in the middle of these extremes.

The work of true support, allyship and acceptance involves many actions, I think one of the most important is one of considering how privilege affects all of us, and being open to new ideas of existing.

When I am out doing my job as a dog and cat photographer in Minneapolis, I see first hand that pets become family, and doubly so for my LGBT community. If you are outcast by society and your family of origin, pets become even more beloved companions. I see it over and over. And though I am of course happy for the pet and their family, it is bittersweet, because I can see what is missing.

I lived many decades as a white cis female. I didn’t give a thought to holding my then husband’s hand in public, or whether we could even get married or start a family, or displaying my family photos at work. I certainly didn’t think about others who could not - it never occurred to me. The very definition of privilege, I am embarrassed to say. Now that I am living authentically as a lesbian and am happily married to a woman, all of those things are things I weighed heavily.

As a white person, I continue to learn about the systems that were created by other white (usually male) people to retain power. I can’t imagine how frustrating and challenging it is to keep trying to overcome centuries of an unfair system. It should not be up to the victims of this system to create change. Yet here we are. It’s more and more clear to me that the people who have less and less power (cis, white, Christian males) feel more and more threated by those of us pushing toward equality. I think they will fight harder to keep the power. I hope I am wrong.

So in this month of celebration for my LGBT folx, celebrate equality - for all.