Pride events
joselo2
Posts: 461
Whether you always feel proud, or if you sometimes feel a little bad, what do you think about Pride events?? Have you been, do you like them??
I love pride events! Some people say they have lost their meaning and just an excuse to get drunk but I disagree... a, I think they still have meaning as long and hate happens, even if far around the world, and b, what is wrong with having a party??
I live in a city with not that big a gay scene or recognition of gay culture, our Pride event is quite new and it is a little grass roots, but it is OURS, as it belongs to and shows pride in our culture, as people from Newcastle upon Tyne UK, and as gay people from there. A working class dominated cultures, we have LGBT belongs to us too and we make that in out very own way. It is just just brilliant, even the frequent rain never stops us, we just run for a tent!!
I also went to Manchester pride, this is much bigger and flashier, but Manchester is a big flashy city and it was great great fun, and reflects the place it is from.
I think this is part of what can make Pride spcial, each city do it different, and show what gay culture is in THEIR city.
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I love pride events! Some people say they have lost their meaning and just an excuse to get drunk but I disagree... a, I think they still have meaning as long and hate happens, even if far around the world, and b, what is wrong with having a party??
I live in a city with not that big a gay scene or recognition of gay culture, our Pride event is quite new and it is a little grass roots, but it is OURS, as it belongs to and shows pride in our culture, as people from Newcastle upon Tyne UK, and as gay people from there. A working class dominated cultures, we have LGBT belongs to us too and we make that in out very own way. It is just just brilliant, even the frequent rain never stops us, we just run for a tent!!
I also went to Manchester pride, this is much bigger and flashier, but Manchester is a big flashy city and it was great great fun, and reflects the place it is from.
I think this is part of what can make Pride spcial, each city do it different, and show what gay culture is in THEIR city.
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Replies
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My town's pride was last week, and I went for the first time. I agree with you. It was small, but it was ours. More surprisingly, there were people there! I really enjoyed it and hope to see it grow in the future.0
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I enjoy going to pride events on occasion. There is something magical about being surrounded by your own community. To have a brief time where I really feel "welcome" in public. I don't go every year, as I'm not into crowds and parties (I live in a major city with a big pride event), but it still means a lot to me to celebrate pride. We are still very much invisible and ignored in the day-to-day public life, so I don't see pride events losing their meaning any time soon.0
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I grew up in San Francisco and I never once had to be in the closet. I don't have a coming out story. I know I'm lucky. Now I'm in NYC and I am free to still be myself. I know I'm lucky. I have so much Pride and I rarely miss a Pride celebration! Pride is my only true holiday and the only holiday I take time off of work for. It's not just an event, not just a party! For me, it's so much more. I can't even put it into words!
I've been to many Prides of many different sizes in many different cities and yes, I completely agree, they are all special! They all have their own flavor and it represents the people and the energy of the area. I'm used to giant festivities of SF and NYC, but I also love watching the lil' Prides grow.0 -
I'm not in to crowds either but I went to the parade here (Houston) for the first time in a few years and I'll be heading to Austin this weekend for theirs (much better that it's in September, too!). That might be enough to last me the next five years...lol :blushing:0
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Pride celebration in Lake Charles, Louisiana is the first week of October (5th - 6th) and it'll be my first one... I am so looking forward to it.0
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I've never been to Pride (circumstances always seem to prevail) but seeing the pictures of the first Pride in Uganda this year really gave me a kick up the *kitten* to stop letting circumstances get in the way and start taking part. It was inspirational.0
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My town's pride was last week, and I went for the first time. I agree with you. It was small, but it was ours. More surprisingly, there were people there! I really enjoyed it and hope to see it grow in the future.
Are you going to NC pride this weekend?0 -
The only pride event I went to this year was King's Island's Pride Night a couple weeks ago. That was possibly the best time I've ever spent at that park! Someday, I want to go to the Walt Disney World Gay Days.
I'm in a big gay town, so our pride lasts for a few days in June and is a lot of the stereotypical pride stuff. Saw the parade for the first time last year and wasn't too impressed. It mostly came off as a mobile version of the festival/vendor area that takes place in Goodale Park.0 -
I have mixed views on Pride. I'll start by saying that I agree it should be a celebration of how far we've come and a bringing together of our community in a safe space. And parties are fun, I'm not disputing any of that.
But, this isn't all it should be about, and too often the other aspects of pride are forgotten about. Pride started as a protest. The parades and marches that we see now come from the protest marches of the first prides, which were held as commemorations of the Stonewall Riots, which helped to create an LGBT movement in the first place. Pride marches originated from the LGBT community feeling they couldn't walk openly down the street, so they reclaimed the streets by doing this. And yes, our circumstances have got a LOT better than they were when prides started originally, but prides should still have a political element as well as a party. There are still loads of rights we don't have and loads of prejudices we face in our day-to-day lives, and until all of these are gone, pride marches are an excellent tool to show the everyday public that we aren't as equal as they may think, and that we still have things to fight for, that we *will* fight for, that we haven't just become complacent with our improved circumstances that are still not great.
It is also really important to remember that pride marches are still illegal in many countries, and each year we hear about people setting up their first prides, often despite the law. These marches aren't always a celebration, they can be scary as hell because of the limited number of people taking part, faced by fascist groups, and the risk of arrest, but they still go ahead and march and it's absolutely inspirational. Our prides should stand in solidarity with people around the world who don't have it anywhere near as good as we do.
The other horrendous thing we should be protesting is the commercialisation of pride. Pride events should be community-led and accessible, but big prides, an example being Manchester in the UK, just cash in on them. Charging a small amount to get into a big stage would be a little more understandable, but many prides now charge not even a particularly small amount, just to get into the pride area itself, which is absolutely disgusting, particularly given the amount of sponsorship a lot of these events have. Charging entry into pride makes it inaccessible particularly to young LGBT people - the people who perhaps it is most important to show that we are a diverse and welcoming community and the people who may be struggling to come out etc, who could really use being given the opportunity to attent a pride event but are unable to due to cost. I don't know what the situation is in the states, but the commercialisation of prides in the UK is getting ridiculous.
/rant0 -
I have mixed views on Pride. I'll start by saying that I agree it should be a celebration of how far we've come and a bringing together of our community in a safe space. And parties are fun, I'm not disputing any of that.
But, this isn't all it should be about, and too often the other aspects of pride are forgotten about. Pride started as a protest. The parades and marches that we see now come from the protest marches of the first prides, which were held as commemorations of the Stonewall Riots, which helped to create an LGBT movement in the first place. Pride marches originated from the LGBT community feeling they couldn't walk openly down the street, so they reclaimed the streets by doing this. And yes, our circumstances have got a LOT better than they were when prides started originally, but prides should still have a political element as well as a party. There are still loads of rights we don't have and loads of prejudices we face in our day-to-day lives, and until all of these are gone, pride marches are an excellent tool to show the everyday public that we aren't as equal as they may think, and that we still have things to fight for, that we *will* fight for, that we haven't just become complacent with our improved circumstances that are still not great.
It is also really important to remember that pride marches are still illegal in many countries, and each year we hear about people setting up their first prides, often despite the law. These marches aren't always a celebration, they can be scary as hell because of the limited number of people taking part, faced by fascist groups, and the risk of arrest, but they still go ahead and march and it's absolutely inspirational. Our prides should stand in solidarity with people around the world who don't have it anywhere near as good as we do.
The other horrendous thing we should be protesting is the commercialisation of pride. Pride events should be community-led and accessible, but big prides, an example being Manchester in the UK, just cash in on them. Charging a small amount to get into a big stage would be a little more understandable, but many prides now charge not even a particularly small amount, just to get into the pride area itself, which is absolutely disgusting, particularly given the amount of sponsorship a lot of these events have. Charging entry into pride makes it inaccessible particularly to young LGBT people - the people who perhaps it is most important to show that we are a diverse and welcoming community and the people who may be struggling to come out etc, who could really use being given the opportunity to attent a pride event but are unable to due to cost. I don't know what the situation is in the states, but the commercialisation of prides in the UK is getting ridiculous.
/rant
I agree.
In grad school I had a roommate from Bostwana who told me gay people should all be thrown in a really deep pit and buried alive. He said it with a smile, shaking his head slightly, like, "are you crazy? You know I'm right."
But I also lived in the American South (Athens, GA) and I feel like it's almost the same there -- people I knew got beat up all the time, gay or not, for "seeming gay" (like, because they were riding a bike or something). Athens is relatively gay-friendly for the south I think, but... no.
I went to Boston pride this year and there were all these afterparties in the streets that were sponsored by beer companies! It was like, $30 to go hang out on the street and drink Bud Light with some gay people. Hellooo? I don't know why anyone went to them! Crazy. They were packed. I think it's stupid. We should have had a free BYOB party right next to it.0 -
i think there is a place for prides as long as there is struggle round the world (such as in my old country for one!), and everyone in the very most tolerant society has to remember those in the least. But pride can do both, it can be fun and also serious, in a way I think manchester got the RIGHT, it just could do with less flaots for like, the holiday inn, because what is that to do with anything exept an advert?? I think some gay people in the western world benefit from being reminded of the real struggle and where we came from.
.....and then when every single country has the standards of the best for gay rights.... then we can keep going with pride anyways because it is fun!
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