Pride and Hide are oppositely rhythmic!
If one exists, the other one shouldn't be in the picture anymore. And the title has nothing to do with the closeted status of a queer person because many queer people are open yet never feel proud about their existence and on the other side some people feel proud about their existence but can't come out due to various issues and the fear of consequences. Open or closeted, a queer person must inevitably carry the spirit of pride to face this world and stand for oneself till the end and if you hide that pride factor, then there's no point in carrying your orientation for yourself.
Needless to say that you don't have to announce your sexuality to the world and let everyone around you know about it because sometimes overexpressing also may cause some unnecessary complications especially if the surroundings aren't queer-friendly but it also doesn't mean you must hide your orientation and act fake to someone else who is unrelatable to your personality. You should comprehend the true meaning of being proud of your queer soul by not forcing yourself to come out of your bubble. Yes, this can happen only if you don't hide what you are!
In this current fast generation, things have changed compared to the previous eras where being queer is not big of a deal and nowadays one can witness many same-sex couples exploring their queer life together and even parenting babies. So, if you are from the queer community, you must understand the value of being open to society or at least to your closed circle, and most importantly one must open up to oneself without restricting one's emotions and feelings.
You shouldn't come out because of influential peer pressure, you shouldn't come out because of some spontaneous urge you feel at a particular moment, you shouldn't come out because of the feeling of missing out. Well, many queer people come out by facing one or all of the above situations. One must be sure, proud, clear, and own one's sexual orientation and gender identity completely before planning to come out by keeping the factor of fluidity in mind to get along with further queer life scenarios. Only such people feel proud about themselves always and carry the spirit of pride that inspires and motivates others to look up to them.
Your coming-out story could be tragic or comic, no one cares about it until and unless you share it with an expression of pride, not with a hidden embarrassment. Pride is all about flaunting whereas hide is all about suppressing the will of flaunting. Everyone desires and wants to be proud of themselves by being themselves but some people feel as unfortunate for embracing their personalities which demotivates them further to hide their true shades in front of society which in turn makes them lead a life like a lie.
Pride and hide sound rhythmic, aren't they? But they are two different extremes in the world of a queer person. One must not clash with the other, if it happens, a person ends up contradicting oneself and it makes him look like a devalued person in the eyes of society. Even though you don't give a damn about society, hiding from it, does no good to you and indeed you feel demotivated and unnecessarily cautious for being yourself.
If you are a proud queer person, who owns your orientation and carries your identity without hesitating a bit, regardless of blended opinions and acceptance by people; the world starts blooming up for you and it introduces you to endless opportunities to explore one's queer personality in many possible ways. It also gives you the strength to stand for yourself, to speak for yourself, and also to support others who struggle the way you once did. Pride always boosts a person to live one's life according to one's terms.
You can be proud of yourself and can still hide from some part of society. There is no wrong with it because not every person is fortunate enough to have immensely supporting and accepting surroundings. So one must not feel lower, especially if the person carries the spirit of pride and extends one's support to the community at any extremes even though that person hides one's identity at a few places with a few people. Gradually even this scenario gets blurred off and that person ends up flaunting one's pride undeniably.
But if you are that person who always tries to hide your queer personality regardless of your closeted status, then you must be aware that you can never seize an opportunity to live your life to the fullest. Even though you force yourself and suppress yourself to be rigid and restricted, you can never feel the tint of happiness and satisfaction by being yourself. A lie may shine by hiding the truth, but it's purely temporary and it fades off by taking one's true personality far away.
Don't hide even though you aren't proud of yourself, your orientation, and your identity but try to be transparent enough about how you feel because gradually that transparency will make you feel proud one day with the spirit of pride by being yourself. If you hide even though you are open as a queer person and always feel embarrassed for getting involved with the feeling of pride, then you miss celebrating your life and everything remains parched.
