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Seth Evans believes fake pride does us no good. While it is enjoyable eye candy to have guys in their underwear dancing on a platform, is showing off your package really what Pride is all about? Photo by Chris Bosch.

pride

noun

1 their triumphs were a source of pride self-esteem, dignity, honor, self-respect, self-worth, self-regard, pride in oneself. antonym shame.
2 take pride in a good job well done pleasure, joy, delight, gratification, fulfillment, satisfaction, a sense of achievement.
3 he refused her offer out of pride arrogance, vanity, self-importance, hubris, conceit, conceitedness, self-love, self-adulation, self-admiration, narcissism, egotism, superciliousness, haughtiness, snobbery, snobbishness; informal big-headedness; literary vainglory. antonym modesty, humility.
4 the bull is the pride of the herd best, finest, top, cream, pick, choice, prize, glory, jewel in the crown. antonym dregs.
5 the rose-covered trellis was the pride of the gardener source of satisfaction, pride and joy, treasured possession, joy, delight.

PHRASES

pride oneself on "Lucas prides himself on his knowledge of wine" be proud of, be proud of oneself for, take pride in, take satisfaction in, congratulate oneself on, pat oneself on the back for.

In the gay community we are constantly hearing about “Gay Pride.”  Well just how many of you know just what “Pride” really means? Seems to me that it depends on just where you are when you use it. It also depends on how drunk your ass is at the time. Like the guy who normally is very shy who goes out for the night and has a few too many. You know the kind. The one with the beer belly whom as soon as the twinks start taking their cloths off gets up on the dance floor and starts to undress himself. Yes you know the one. All kinds of proud of his body and dance ability. (He’s sitting four stools down from you right now!) He usually doesn’t return for a second performance because he ends up on the banned list. Well he was showing his pride, wasn’t he? At least until he sobered up and it turned into shame.  

Or how about the guy who is all kinds of proud of his popularity? “I can go online and have a date in a New York minute.” I didn’t know being easy was something to be proud of. (By the way honey, the only reason you can get that date is because your reputation is posted on Craigslist under ‘slut.’) So in these examples we see how the pursuit of pleasure can be at the expense of one’s self-esteem. “No. Not me. I get up there to dance and show the young guys that us old guys still have big dicks and we know how to us them!” Get off it gramps. It kind of ruins the moment when small talk during foreplay includes stalling until the Viagra kicks in. No a whole lot of spontaneity goin on there don’t-ya-know.

Or how about the person who claims credit for all kind of accomplishment for the community. The one who is only to be outed as a sham. “I was there that night on the front lines. What? No I don’t know who that is a picture of. Should I?” Yes asshole, you should. It is a picture of the first guy who was arrested by the police that night. If you really were there you would have known that! This is the guy who doesn’t really have anything to be proud of him or herself. So instead of getting involved with something that will not only bring a boost to their self-esteem as well as accomplish something good, they steal pride from other people. “YEAH! My team won last night. We really kicked their ass didn’t we?” No “We” didn’t. I watched that game and not once did I see your beer and sweat stained Barco-Lounger out on the field, never mind your fat ass.

Then you have the ever-present prissy little faggot. The one who will also take credit for being part of everything big that happens. “We really showed them. We stood right up to those bullies and held our ground.” Just don’t ask them where that ground actually was because the closest they got was reading about the event online. Oh, yes, you do know the type.  The one who screams “OOOOH” and runs behind someone else whenever somebody drops something heavy behind him.   

If you take pride in yourself or your accomplishments, it means that you believe in your own worth, merit, or superiority—whether or not that belief is justified (ie: she took pride in her accomplishments). When your opinion of yourself is exaggerated, you’re showing conceit, a word that combines pride with self-obsession. If you like to be noticed and admired for your appearance or achievements, you’re revealing your vanity, and if you show off or boast about your accomplishments, you’re likely to be accused of vainglory, a somewhat literary term for a self-important display of power, skill, or influence. Arrogance is an overbearing pride combined with disdain for others (ie: his arrogance led him to assume that everyone else would obey his orders), while egotism implies self-centeredness or an excessive preoccupation with yourself (ie: blinded by egotism to the suffering of others). While no one wants to be accused of arrogance or egotism, there’s a lot to be said for self-esteem, which may suggest undue pride but is more often used to describe a healthy belief in oneself and respect for one’s worth as a person (ie: she suffered from low self-esteem).

As we celebrate this year’s Pride, and the community has a lot to be proud of this year, we should take the time to make a little promise to ourselves that we will get involved at some level and help accomplish something. You never know if it will turn out big or small or even be noticed. But just doing it will give you some degree of true pride to take home with you. A pride that can not be taken away ever.

A few issues ago Metroline wrote about “Prayers for Bobby.” The Editor challenged all of us to help save just one kid from suicide over gender identity issues. Do you realize that if you can touch just one life with your words or deeds it may just change the course that life is on and save it? Tell me that’s not something to take pride in.