Victoria Bradley, Reader in Biomedical Science Clinical Practice Education and IBMS Council member for Wales, discusses Cardiff Pride 2024. (A link to read this article in Welsh is at the bottom of the story.)
Marching in a Pride parade is an act of solidarity, celebration and advocacy that holds significant meaning for both individuals and society as a whole. This is why it is so important that the IBMS supports its members in participating in Pride events across the UK.
On 22 June IBMS members in Wales participated in Cardiff Pride – the first Pride event in Wales in which our professional body was represented. The IBMS has been very supportive with our preparations and we all wore Pride lab coats and had stickers and badges in English and Cymraeg to hand out to parade goers, plus a bilingual banner to announce who we are.
The idea to attend Cardiff Pride came from the relatively newly formed IBMS Wales Region Events Committee and was inspired by colleagues in London attending London Pride in 2022 – who could resist the opportunity to use their inspirational chant “Two, four, six, eight, science does not discriminate! Four, three, two, one, science is for everyone!”
Hayley Pincott, one of our parade group’s marshalls, said: “I’m marching in Cardiff Pride in memory of Jody Dobrowski; he lived in the same town as me and we would often bump into each other down the corridors of Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. He worked as an MLA in microbiology and then went to study Biomedical Science at Cardiff Metropolitan University. Sadly, Jody was murdered on Clapham Common in 2005 in what the judge called 'homophobic thuggery'. This is why I’m attending Cardiff Pride.”
“Participants feel motivated to continue working towards equality and justice beyond the parade”
Cardiff Pride is the biggest LGBTQ+ event in Wales and celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. Thousands of people marched through the Welsh capital finishing at Cardiff Castle where there was a two-day festival of music in celebration of acceptance and equality.
For many, including me, participating in the Pride parade is an empowering experience. It is inspiring to see the collective strength of the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. This empowerment can translate into increased activism and advocacy, as participants feel motivated to continue working towards equality and justice beyond the parade.
Joanna Kronda, another of our marshalls this year, said: “I have celebrated Pride many times before; however, 2023 was my first Pride as part of the parade. I marched alongside fellow work colleagues in their section whilst wearing an IBMS t-shirt and laboratory coat (for the whole parade in the blazing sun, it was hot). Although I marched as part of my employer’s organisation I feel the IBMS is part of my identity as a biomedical scientist.”
I’m fiercely proud of our profession and the support our professional body is providing for Pride events and, in the words of Lady Gaga: “Don’t you ever let a soul in the world tell you that you can’t be exactly who you are.”
To read this article in Welsh, click here.