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P(RI)DE AT 50

There’s a whole lot of heart behind the Pride movement. This year we’re taking a deeper look and asking what this huge celebration of identity means to our community - meet the Islanders celebrating the 50th anniversary of Pride.

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Meet Eliza from Leeds, who has worked at River Island for 3 years, beginning as a floor manager for menswear progressing to an in-store visual merchandising role.

“Pride is personal. I am proud of who I am. I’m not scared to walk down the street holding my girlfriend's hand. You are who you are, and you embrace that.

“My LGBTQIA+ inspiration has to be Lady Gaga. When you go to her concerts, it is literally every identity and every type of person in the planet that there could possibly be. She believes everyone is just perfect the way they are.

“When it comes to Pride as a celebration, no one cares- they are not judgemental, they are just there to enjoy the time and be with each other.”

Meet Rhianna the Visual Merchandising Display Business Partner. She’s been with RI for 14 years. Eliza and Rhianna became a couple in August 2020.

“For me, Pride is a reminder that we are all just the same as each other. As sad as it sounds, I just think that we are the same as heterosexual people, it's no different.

“If you are thinking about coming out, take your time with it; don’t be pressured to do something that you’re not ready for. I know a few people said to me just do it and I was like "I can’t, I’m not ready for it". I think it’s harder to say this than to believe it, but it’s not a big deal at all. Tell your friends if you can’t tell your family straight away – they are just one little mountain that you’ve got over and it will just make it easier.

“We are in no way any different and I think ask yourself, does it really impact your life if your next-door neighbour is gay? No, it doesn’t! Then what about if your daughter's too scared to come out. She’s scared about what people will say, you wouldn’t ever want that for her, would you? I think educating other people by sharing our experiences with everyone is so important.”

Meet Jordon – he’s been with River Island for 6 years, and loves a good holiday (a guy after our own hearts.) One half of the cutest couple ever, known as Kier-Don (this name is now officially patented, he asked us to tell you!).

”Pride for me is a sense of community. Celebrating Pride is all about being inclusive and it doesn’t matter where you are from or what you look like.

“The rainbow flag creates a safe space for me. It’s meaningful, it’s my community, my people but at the same time I love seeing the flag and other people there that necessarily from the LGBTQIA+ community.

“When I think about it, I didn’t really have any LGBTQIA+ heroes growing up. I watch shows on Netflix now and think it's so amazing to show LGBTQIA+ relationships. When I was at school there was nothing that reflected anything like that. It’s great that so many high profile people are coming out now too. It’s absolutely the way forward, for us to reach as many people as we can to educate and empower them.

“Hopefully, we will get to a stage where no one will have to come out anymore. I was talking to some friends at work and one of the guys didn’t even have to say anything. He just came home and said "this is my boyfriend" and his mum and dad didn’t even say anything. I thought that was so amazing.”

Meet Kieron, the Market Leader for North Central – he’s been with RI for 10 years. Kieron and Jordon have been together 13 and a half years.

“Pride is a sense of community. It’s the fact a group of people can come together, and we might not know each other but we all have this one thing in common.

“The rainbow flag is like a warm feeling. We travel a lot and it’s not just a UK thing, it’s global and that means something to us as people. We have a long way to go but it represents hope and the journey we are on together.

“I’m constantly being educated around everything that’s emerging from the LGTBQIA+ community. There’s so much that even I don’t know, that I feel like I need to be more educated on how to support mine and other peoples' journeys.

“A time when I felt most accepted was with my dad. I have never had the best relationship with him growing up, but he has never said anything. He’s just got on with it and never even bat an eyelid. That just felt so accepting because even though we didn’t have a close relationship he accepted who I was anyway.”

Meet Lucy, an Islander for 13 years. Lucy’s a Store Leader for Southampton with a passion for upcycling furniture in her spare time.

“Pride for me is safety. Once you know you're in a Pride celebration, there’s no judgement, no preconception about anybody, everyone is just themselves. I always class Pride as an absolute safe space where I can just be me.

“For anyone nervous of coming out, I think there is such a big community out there. For any reason, if you do tell family members and they don’t agree with you, there is still a massive support network. We are all one big family, and you just need to take that leap of faith and you will feel so much better once you’ve done it. There's no brushing it under the carpet.”

Even if you can’t speak to anybody, just know that Pride and the massive LGBTQ+ community that we’ve got are behind us, we are a massive family and we love everybody.

When I first came out, I remember conforming to that typical lesbian stereotype. My hair used to be down to my bum, but II felt like I had to conform into what a lesbian is, having your hair shaven off, boyfriend jeans. I think ever since working with River Island, I find it much easier to be me. I’m quite girly, and I think I lost that right at the early stages of coming out because I really felt that I had to conform to a stereotype.