Gay Pride...for or against?

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 6/25/04 at 10:30am

I was just wondering how many of you gay men and women on this website (straight people feel free to throw in your two cents worth, also!) feel about Gay Pride. Do you belive in it and celebrate it? Or do you think it is a waste of time and only an excuse for another party? If you're gay - what are you proud of? I just want some ideas from fellow homosexuals on this topic.
Thanks.

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 6/25/04 at 10:35am

Being so young, I am not really sure how I feel about Gay Pride. As of now, this is how I feel:

I think it is great, but do straight people have straight pride (parades and such)? I think if we want to be recognized as "normal" human beings, then we should stop making such a big deal about be gay. We can be proud of how far we have come over the years, but not make it so huge. Personally I think these types of things are one small reason why some straight people look at us "funny." We are attracted to the same sex...that is all...no need for parades.

Updated On: 6/25/04 at 10:35 AM

[rlbgbc]

Posted: 6/25/04 at 10:37am

Of course I'm for it. But I can see where you're coming from re: the excuse for another party. Is that a bad thing, though? People celebrate certain other "holidays" by going to church (which is honorable), and then go home and get sh*t-faced drunk at the accompanying festivities. I don't think it negates the events which are being celebrated.

As a gay man, I'm proud of how far we've come in the past 20 years in regards to visibility, pride, acceptance by the norm (not that it's perfect, but it's a heckuva lot better than it was). I'm also proud of the diversity of our community -- which is as diverse as straight America.

I'm not proud or pleased of the media's focus on the more outrageous members of our number. You know what I mean -- every news piece about the Pride parade is sure to focus on the NAMBLA float or the float full of drag queens, etc. I'd like it to be discussed IN DETAIL that there is a community of gay men/women out there who are, for lack of a better term, "normal" people -- who go to work every day, pay their taxes, walk their dog, etc. I hold no resentment towards the more extreme element -- I'd just like equal time.

Addendum: I would like to alter that last statement -- I do hold resentment for NAMBLA. They're disgusting, sick, immoral, and outlaws. Updated On: 6/25/04 at 10:37 AM

[Zola Q. LaPlaya]

Posted: 6/25/04 at 10:41am

Gay and Proud. It started out as a huge protest and still is, to some extent. It is also a celebration of what we have achieved in terms of civil rights and a reminder that great work needs to be done. Is it a party? Of course.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

It is most importantly, to me, a great gathering of gay people and a signal to closeted folks all over the country, especially in small communities, that they are not alone.

Pride celebrations happen all over the country, and let me tell you, my real heroes are not the guys who hold hands in Sheridan Square, but the rural couple outside of Tulsa who just want to live their lives together in peace.

Updated On: 6/25/04 at 10:41 AM

[rlbgbc]

Posted: 6/25/04 at 10:44am

Well said, Z.

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 6/25/04 at 10:44am

Maybe I feel the way I do because I am growing up when gay people are accepted more than they were when you were growing up...

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 6/25/04 at 10:45am

Bway - straight people have had straight pride for centuries. Every TV show, commercial, article, news, on and on and on, is filled with the hetero lifestyle. So when heteros accuse homos of "flaunting" it, all I can think is, that the hetero lifestyle has ALWAYS been flaunted...something probably not understandable unless you're gay. That's what gay pride is to me...just wanting to see more gay models. And these days it's a lot better, I grant you.

[Zola Q. LaPlaya]

Posted: 6/25/04 at 10:49am

And for that reason, BwayTheatre11, you should learn the history of the great struggles that have preceded you. You stand on the shoulders of a large number of courageous gay men and women who fought hard so you could feel accepted.

Start by reading Eric Marcus' Making Gay History: The Half Century Fight for Lesbian and Gay Equal Rights. It's really an easy read and not the usual bombastic didactic screed so many of these things turn into.

Updated On: 6/25/04 at 10:49 AM

[midtowngym]

Posted: 6/25/04 at 10:51am

Where is our BroadwayWorld.com float? RedHot as Edna, i'll be Boy George, Zola (based on his pix) as go-go boy, LuvtheEmcee as Raul Esparza with full 'normal heart' beard(she'll be our drag King).....

[Corine2]

Posted: 6/25/04 at 10:52am

Well I am a straight woman and I went to an event this week on Gay and Lesbian pride. It was very interesting. I went because Larry Kramer and Doug Wright were speaking on a panel and I wanted to see them.
I am all for Gay pride. I hope Gay marriage becomes legal and censorship no longer exists.
Happy Pride week everyone.
Updated On: 6/25/04 at 10:52 AM

Posted: 6/25/04 at 10:52am

I'm against it!

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 6/25/04 at 10:53am

I think the funniest argument has to be the people who think gays shouldn't be parents because they will influence their children to be gay...how many gay people do you know who have STRAIGHT parents - pretty much all of them... That one just cracks me up...people are so stupid.

[Zola Q. LaPlaya]

Posted: 6/25/04 at 10:55am

VoiceAnth: Would you hold it against me then?

Posted: 6/25/04 at 10:59am

God God...ME! straight!...whatEVER would make you think I'm gay?

That whole Madonna schtick is just a joke!

Updated On: 6/25/04 at 10:59 AM

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 6/25/04 at 10:59am

I will def. look into that book. Should they have it at Borders? I have to get a book for school and will check that out when I am there.

[Zola Q. LaPlaya]

Posted: 6/25/04 at 11:01am

That's cool but will you hold ANY THING against me for gay pride?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/25/04 at 11:05am

I for the idea of Gay Pride, but the parades are just about sex and alcohol. I don't think go-go boys in g-strings grinding on a float has anything to do with Gay Pride. And where did the idea of leather men = gay come from? Leather, B&D, S&M are fetishes shared by gays, bis, and straights, so why are leather men always associated with gay? Even the Queer as Folk intro shows this buy in a leather jockstrap and chaps as if THAT is what GAY is about. I'm gay and I hate the leather thing and the manicured pubes and the Judy/Liza obsessions and the anonymous sex in public places and the drugs and most of the things you see so prominently displayed during a Pride Parade and then get mad when the Republicans use the footage against us. It's no wonder we have such a difficult time getting equality. They have the rights, so they have nothing to prove, but if we want the rights, we'll have to get it from them and this is not helping us.

I know that sorta took off and rambled, but I obviously needed to get that off my chest.

[midtowngym]

Posted: 6/25/04 at 11:06am

I volunteer-'i'll tumble for ya' Zola! I may be an aging drag queen, but I have recently learned how to score musicals and have a few million in the bank

[Zola Q. LaPlaya]

Posted: 6/25/04 at 11:07am

That's the beauty of being gay -- we're not all the same. Trust me, when I tell you, Matt, that for some homos, being gay does equal leather, or Judy, or go-go boys.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 6/25/04 at 11:08am

heh heh, matt said, "manicured pubes." heh heh

Posted: 6/25/04 at 11:20am

Zola...you are such a rapscallion!

[robbiej]

Posted: 6/25/04 at 11:35am

Two things:

I have never once in my life wanted to be thought of as 'normal'. I'm special, unique, one-of-a-kind. If I were a heterosexual, I would also not wish to be classified as 'normal'. I wear my quirks and peccadilloes on my sleeve. Show me someone 'normal' and I'll show you one f*cked up muthaf*cka.

And number two. That parade drives me crazy. All parades drive me crazy. From St. Pat's to the Puerto Rican Day Parade to the Gay Pride Parade to the Princess Parade in DisneyWorld. I don't like them. Too many people, too loud, just too too. But that's just my distaste for crowds and nothing about what goes on at the Pride Parade. You have a problem with the images of go-go boys, leather men and trannies being shown in the media? Then you should have a problem with the media, and not with the people from our community. As long as they are not doing harm unto others (what NAMBLA advocates, rlb, IS disgusting), then I don't see the problem with everyone celebrating their lives. The parade is a Fellini-esque mix of drag queens, diesel dykes, gay cops, PFLAG, people of color et al. It is queer. And I see no reason to ask any of our community to hide or tone it down (not that anyone is asking for that here...but it gets asked...believe it does).

I may rather be at an unlimited champagne brunch, but I LOVE ME SOME TRANNIES!!!

Posted: 6/25/04 at 11:39am

Updated On: 10/27/05 at 11:39 AM

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/25/04 at 12:28pm

"You have a problem with the images of go-go boys, leather men and trannies being shown in the media? Then you should have a problem with the media, and not with the people from our community."

I didn't say I had a problem with THEM. I just do not feel it is representative of being homosexual, which was the original intent of the parade, which has become more representative of fetishes and flesh. I do have a problem with the media, but that is another issue. My issue is that we're just handing out ammunition to the conservatives who have succeeded in preventing us from having equal rights. We can complain about them all we want, but we still give them plenty of reasons for supporting their arguments. If we could get that many gays and lesbians out on the streets for a peaceful demonstration in support of equality in every city that has a Pride Parade, then perhaps we could make some headway, but without the Bacchanal, the gay community shows a fraction of support in Gay Pride. Namo and I argued about this a long time ago.

If you enjoy the parade, that's wonderful. I was just saying how I personally feel about it. No biggie.

Updated On: 6/25/04 at 12:28 PM

[robbiej]

Posted: 6/25/04 at 12:37pm

I actually owe you an apology, Matt, cause I knew what you were saying and I didn't actually mean that sentence for you directly. I should have put a disclaimer like I did at the end of that paragraph.

Although it is a representation of being gay for some people, I agree that it is not a complete representation of the gay community. It's not for nothing that one of our symbols is a rainbow.

I think the issue of representation is important, and all minority communities face it. How does one accurately represent all the facets of a community (a) without denying any particular subset of that community; and (b) in a country where quick sound bites and easy stereotypes are used a shorthand?