SF LGBT Pride Day

[Gryffindorian]

This weekend (June 23 and 24) marked the 42nd San Francisco Pride Parade. I've never actually gone to the City to watch the festivities. So I'm just watching the Pride Parade coverage on TV right now.

I like the outrageous costumes and, um, even the scantily clad contingents. I wonder what sort of message straight people get from hearing about or seeing these pride parades. Although a lot of straight folks are tolerant or even supportive of LGBT people, I can't help thinking if these parades just promote gay stereotypes. I mean, come on, not all gay guys are drag queens who wear colorful and and crazy Lady Gaga make-up and outfits. On the other hand, such celebrations--whether ethnic, religious, political, or patriotic--are supposed to honor the history, cultural heritage, or beliefs of a certain group.

What say you? Any LGBT activities going on in your area? Happy Pride Day, San Francisco!

 

[Mr Silver]

It doesn't really bother me unless I start thinking about and then I'm bombarded with a stream of arguments in my head wondering why I or anyone else of a heterosexual identity doesn't celebrate straight pride. Sure, there's a rich history of condemnation, intolerance and struggle within the LGBT community, as with almost any minority or alternative lifestyle. (although LGBT isn't a choice, some may believe otherwise)

As for where I am (UK - Northern Scotland), we don't have things like public gay pride festivals because unfortunately it's still a controversial subject for some people, particularly those of the older generation who were raised in a environment filled with cultural intolerance.

 

[Kestra]

I'd love to see the SF one someday. I don't have any issue with them and it never occurred to me that they could be controversial until I started frequenting message boards online.

 

[Mr Silver]

^ The ones that go on in SF sound more like something anyone can get involved in, like a massive citywide funfair, rather than a loose political demonstration. It has evolved into something pretty stylish.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I like the outrageous costumes and, um, even the scantily clad contingents. I wonder what sort of message straight people get from hearing about or seeing these pride parades. Although a lot of straight folks are tolerant or even supportive of LGBT people, I can't help thinking if these parades just promote gay stereotypes. I mean, come on, not all gay guys are drag queens who wear colorful and and crazy Lady Gaga make-up and outfits.

But those are the people we notice. Meanwhile aren't there people marching who are not dressed in any kind of costuming? Or people who are dressed in the uniforms of their professions? I think the unusual draws the eye and maybe people don't notice all the people who don't stand out.

 

[Kestra]

^ The ones that go on in SF sound more like something anyone can get involved in, like a massive citywide funfair, rather than a loose political demonstration. It has evolved into something pretty stylish.

Political demonstrations are fine too!

 

[iguana_tonante]

We had the Pride parade in our city just a couple of weeks ago. I was working, so I only catched the end of it. It was pretty rad, and festive, and fun. Our city and local administration is one of the most supportive of LLGBT rights in Italy (which isn't saying much as a lot of the country is still stuck in Catholic middle ages, but still).

Personally, I think the gay community deserve their Pride parade, regardless of what straight people think of it. It's harmless fun, and actually I think that, given the history of oppression and persecution towards the gay community, the fact that their response is along the lines of "we are here to stay, let's have a party" is really a testament of their good will and tolerance.

The lack of "straight pride" parades don't bother me in the slightest: in our deeply homologating culture, virtually every day is "straight day". Beside, Pride parades see actually a lot of straight people invoved, because they are mostly "diversity parades", where everyone is welcome. I didn't need to dress up in drag to feel comfortable walking through it (or maybe that's just because I am fabulously metrosexual.)

(As an addendum, this year the Pride organization gave away a large chunk of their budget for the parade to help the victims of the recent earthquakes in the Emilia-Romagna region. I mean, how could they be more awesome?)

 

[Roger Wilco]

I don't watch Gay Pride parades, but I think it's good that they do it, simply to show they are there, and that they should be heard. I only learned recently for example in connection with the local "Pride" celebrations here, that in Austria only married women are allowed to do artifical inseminations (forget about adoptions...). Of course that affects straight women too, and is probably not directly aimed at lesbians historically, but still it's crazy. Fucking Catholics, forcing their views on everybody.

 

[DS9Continuing]

Happy Pride to you, Gryffindorian, and all other LGBTQI+ TrekBBSers!

This weekend (June 23 and 24) marked the 42nd San Francisco Pride Parade. I've never actually gone to the City to watch the festivities. So I'm just watching the Pride Parade coverage on TV right now.

I did SF Pride when I was living there in 2007, and it was a lot of fun. I did love that the city embraces it so fully, there's no reluctance at all. Rainbow flags all along Market Street, the massive pink triangle on Twin Peaks where the whole city can see it. Do they have that statue of Harvey Milk yet? I think I heard they were working on it.

I have a specific tale from later that evening that... well, let's just say that it probably doesn't suit the positive tone of this thread.

I wonder what sort of message straight people get from hearing about or seeing these pride parades. Although a lot of straight folks are tolerant or even supportive of LGBT people, I can't help thinking if these parades just promote gay stereotypes. I mean, come on, not all gay guys are drag queens who wear colorful and and crazy Lady Gaga make-up and outfits.

As others have said, those are the most attention-getting outfits, certainly. But do straight people not dress up for Mardi Gras, or Halloween? Do you then think that they spend all year in that costume and base their entire lives around it? Of course not. So there's no logical reason to think that of gay people either when we dress up in ridiculous costumes on one day of the year.

People do think it though, or at least they used to, because for the large part this was their only exposure to gay people at all, so far as they knew. I think there's more awareness of the diversity of gay people these days and people don't fall into that trap so easily, unless they're determined to assume the worst from the start.

Plus, one of the whole points of the Pride Parade is that people can wear whatever the fuck they want, be whatever the fuck they want, and it doesn't mean they should be treated any less as people. And of course, never forget that it was the drag queens who fought back first. The "normal" gays just reaped the benefits without risking anywhere near as much.

On the other hand, such celebrations--whether ethnic, religious, political, or patriotic--are supposed to honor the history, cultural heritage, or beliefs of a certain group.

This is a recurring complaint one hears a lot about Pride Parades - that they are too commercialised these days, that it's all about which major corporation has sponsored your float and about muscle queens getting off their tits on the entire alphabet of drugs, and it's lost the community-based, activist roots that caused it to come into being in the first place. And there's definitely some truth to that.

But at the same time, think of the hope it provides to the young gay kid, who seeing this on his TV, knows there are other people out there who feel the same as he does. If a little commercialism helps it reach a wider audience, then I'm all for it.

I've done Pride Parades (by which I mean either participated in or just observed) in NYC, West Hollywood, SF, Vancouver, London, Manchester and a few other places I'm probably forgetting right now. Personally, for my own sake I'm a little over it - I've got everything I needed out of them. But I would never begrudge them happening. In fact I have a newly out friend who's supposed to be coming down to do London Pride with us this year. I'm quite excited to be his guide to his first Pride, with his first boyfriend.

The lack of "straight pride" parades don't bother me in the slightest: in our deeply homologating culture, virtually every day is "straight day".

That's always my argument when people whinge that there is no "Straight Pride" day so why should there be a Gay Pride day? Every day is Straight Pride day!

I remember being in an NYC subway one year on Pride day, that was just packed full of every fabulous freakery you could imagine. One woman visibly rolled her eyes and huffed at the deplorable displays going on in front of her. This queen turned to her, pierced her with a look that could kill, and just said, "Suck it up. This is our day." Awesome.

.

 

[Australis]

Gryffindorian, you should try to track down an Aussie TV series called 'Outland', which is a comedy about a LGBT group coming out... as science fiction fans. Pretty funny.

 

[Alidar Jarok]

I think the flamboyance was designed to get attention because, at the time, the gay community was marginalized and hidden. Now, it's just pageantry. It makes it a fun event. I don't see that as a bad thing. It's a way to shatter old hatred by having people just view it as an annual event.

 

[horatio83]

I am personally not a big fan of such carnivalesque stuff and taking pride in what you are born as obviously makes no sense but it is a fairly natural response in a homophobe society. For the actual political struggle, i.e. gaining the right to marry, you obviously need different strategies.

 

[Finn]

I've been to a couple back in good ol' DC. It was fun and interesting.

 

[Count Zero]

Over here, these events are still called Christopher Street Day in remembrance of the Stonewall riots (gays fighting back against police violence in 1969) and they do have political elements. They have a different political theme each year. So while there are a lot of people in costumes celebrating the rich LGBT community life there are also signs and a message. I dislike our mayor for a number of reasons but he said something true at this year's parade (last Saturday) - that as long as there is inequality, there's a need for demonstrations. And even in this country there still is inequality. Gay couples can't adopt and while there are civil unions they don't come with the same rights as marriages. This year, the parade also stopped in front of the Russian embassy to protest the recent anti-gay legislation in Russia.
I can understand outsiders being a little taken aback by some of the displays and costumes in the parade, especially the often elaborate set-ups of the SM and leather fetish people (I personally enjoy them). But to me, that's also a sort of poignant demonstration - "We're here, we're queer, get used to it." That sort of thing.

 

[horatio83]

Not too fond of the CSD as Butler's critique a few years ago was basically correct. If the folks do not take racism among themselves (compare this to the Occupy movement!) seriously enough they do not deserve our solidarity. Of course the fragmentation of emancipatory struggles is a general problem today (I do not wanna pretend that it was better back in the days, e.g. workers did not care much about students protesting in the sixties against Vietnam).

Especially in Europe the anti-homophobe struggle sometimes pairs itself with Islamophobia (Fortuyn). This kind of right-wing populism which pretends to be classical liberalism, defending enlightenment principles against the barbarians from the East, is a dangerous political creature that has evolved over here, filling up the void which the left has, pardon the pun, left behind (same in the case of economics, only right-wingers do address the working class).

 

[thestrangequark]

I've never been to San Francisco, though I'd really like to go. I love pride. I grew up in Seattle and pride was a family affair for me, and I have fond memories from an early age of attending the parade on Seattle's Capital Hill. My older brother Christopher was gay -- out from the age of 14. He passed away when he was 16, and Pride has become a time of remembrance for my family these days.

Here's Christopher at Pride (he looks so much like our mom in this picture, it always gets to me):

 

[Count Zero]

Have you been to the New York one? I imagine that must also be quite an event.

 

[thestrangequark]

^Almost every year since I moved here!

The first time I saw the NYC parade is deeply ingrained in my memory: I was emerging from the subway, right onto 5th ave, as float bearing a giant, glittering menorah and a dozen Jewish drag queens dancing to a techno version of Hava Nagila thundered past!

Oh, and I saw this touching photos the other day (I'll have to post them in my Faith in Humanity thread too). A Christian group showed up at pride to apologize for church sanctioned homophobia, with beautiful results:

 

[1001001]

Oh, and I saw this touching photos the other day (I'll have to post them in my Faith in Humanity thread too). A Christian group showed up at pride to apologize for church sanctioned homophobia, with beautiful results:

That is awesome.

 

[Gryffindorian]

Wow. tsq, if you're still reading this thread, count it as having my faith in humanity restored. Your brother was adorable.

Thank you all for the insights you shared.