Pride Month - Meet Curtis
Curtis Wilkin is Branch Manager at our Cardiff Gabalfa store, and he tell us all about what Pride means to him.
"Pride means not being ashamed of or hiding who I am - I used to think why be “proud” of something which I didn’t accomplish, I was just born as. Now I see that Pride isn’t trying to put myself or the LGBTQ+ community on a pedestal, just saying that we are worthy of acceptance and the same respect as anyone else, and that differences of all kinds should be celebrated for making the world a more vibrant and interesting place.
My advice for anyone struggling with their identity is to find your tribe – people who you feel comfortable being yourself around. If you don’t have people around you to reach out to, or can’t access LGBTQ+ spaces in person, there are online communities for people going through any situation, it really helps just to know you’re not the only person experiencing something. A great starting point for colleagues is the Kingfisher LGTBQ+ network on Yammer! Some of my best and lifelong friends are people I met while we were going through similar struggles and supporting each-other through online forums.
The best way of being an ally is to listen without judgement, not make assumptions, and to treat everybody as individuals. If you have questions about someone’s differences, be respectful, consider your relationship with the person and how you would feel about being asked similar questions"
