Articles in Pride
Answers to "Why do you need a gay parade?"
A straight couple asked this question at the Alaska PrideFest parade and I posted my reply on the blog after reading the answer Homer PFLAG gave to a similar question about their float in the July 4th parade. The post got an interesting comment, and when I shared the link on Bent’s FB page readers gave even more great answers – as I knew you would. (It’s true, the readers are my best source of ideas. How did I do this blog before setting up the Facebook page?)
Our answers form a wonderful set of responses to anyone who faces this question, and show the diversity of Alaska’s LGBTA community. Are the PrideFest committee chairs taking notes?
Jennifer from Homer PFLAG began the discussion with her letter on the emcee who dissed the LGBT Youth float in their July 4th parade:
“Some people have said, “Why do those gay people need to have a special float in the parade at all?” I would answer, that the reality of discrimination and ignorance towards LGBT people is very real in Homer, Alaska—particularly for young people.”
I faced a similar question at Alaska PrideFest in Anchorage, struggled with the negative implications of the words “you need” and replied,
“Well, why do we need a July 4th parade?” I asked. “We don’t – we have it because we want to celebrate our country.”“Even if we didn’t need a gay pride parade, we’d want to have it to celebrate the LGBT community. We celebrate our LGBT groups, mostly run by volunteers, we celebrate the LGBT people in Alaska, we celebrate our friends and allies, and we celebrate that we can have a gay parade in Anchorage, that we have the right to peacefully assemble and celebrate our community. Like the 4th of July parade.”
First, a reader made good points in a blog post comment:
I would have also mentioned that the Pride Parade comes at the end of Pride Week, which is celebrated in cities all over the country… during a month proclaimed by the President of the United States!The LGBT celebration is no different than that of February and African-American History Month, or March and American Red Cross. Cheers for sticking to your guns, and educating… without getting up on a soap-box… LOL!
Then the FB readers jumped in with these interesting comments:
Why have a parade at all? To express our pride in something, to show how far we’ve come, to make known that we all are great. Parades are great shows of triumph. We have a gay pride because, hello, we’re in the 21st Century, not the 18th. We have a gay pride because we’re proud, too.Because it’s much friendlier than an equal rights march.Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly, and impressive ceremony. Symbolic processions were an important tool in the non-violent protest of Gandhi. Marches on Washington include formal processions. I think for us, as a community, to have the parade we are demonstrating our heritage as well as our unity as a community.Why? Simple….as a community WE ALL are largely invisible….how else are we to show that we are here?In one respect, it’s less about being proud of ourselves and more about showing ourselves to the world at large. We’re showing the richness of our diversity and the support we enjoy from our friends and family. But just as much as highlighting our differences, we’re celebrating the things that make us like everyone else, we love, laugh, party and share our lives with friends and family just the same way everyone else does.Is “Why do we need a gay parade? the real question or is it more “Why must you publicly flaunt your gay selves? You know some folks are just not comfortable with anyone who does not fit inside their closet.Unless every GLBT turns purple tomorrow they’ll never know we are even here….THATs why we need a parade. Without it how will they even know we exist? If they don’t know we exist then laws or omissions will be made to make out lives even MORE unequal.To liven things up!The answer to the question should it have been asked by someone who is not comfortable with gays is this: We do not need a gay parade, but you do.To raise awareness that gays are everywhere/can be anybody and to celebrate that we are not alone!I have met so many people who are still struggling to come out of the closet. When I was in the closet I felt ashamed of who I was as a person. Its important to see people who can assert their own identity for everyone who is still struggling, because no one should have to feel ashamed of who they are.I love the ideas expressed here (it WAS one of our bigger parades)! With what happened to the Imperial Court’s float showed the entire community who and what we’re about. We are a loving, inclusive, and as expressed here, diverse community. Our friends, family, and allies especially showed true colors and really came together. I couldnt be more proud of the face we showed. And THAT’S why I feel a Parade is a celebration of who we are and a very healthy way to express our Diversity!
Such great answers. I learn more about this community with every post and discussion, from the generous people who send information to the responses of readers after the post is up. (Sometimes, they write the post for me!) I’m a lucky blogger.
This discussion began with straight people who are not supportive asking us to justify our parade. However, LGBT people also ask why we still have these parades. Next time you hear an LGBT friend – in Alaska or elsewhere – say they aren’t going to their Pride Festival and we don’t need gay parades any more, remember the answers above and the gay and straight people who do need and want an annual gay parade, for all kinds of reasons. Remember, and come to the parade!
Gay Games 2010 begins July 31
The Gay Games VIII will take place in Cologne, Germany from July 31 to August 7. Around 12,000 participants from more than 70 countries are expected to attend the Gay Games and celebrate the principles of participation, inclusion and personal best.
"Why do you need a gay parade?"
In a letter from Homer PFLAG about the emcee who wouldn’t say the words gay and lesbian at the July 4th parade, Jennifer also responded to a loaded question asked by some locals, “Why do those gay people need to have a special float in the parade at all?” She wrote that “the reality of discrimination and ignorance towards LGBT people is very real in Homer, Alaska—particularly for young people.”
A straight couple visiting from Texas asked me a similar question at the Anchorage Pride parade, the week before July 4th: “Why do you need to have a gay parade?”
The tourists were stuck at the intersection of 6th Ave. and I St. because the APD blocked the cross streets along the route for the hour long parade without bothering to divert traffic or even warn the cars to turn at 7th. (Who’s bright idea was that?)
Like Jennifer, I started to answer the question as asked, explaining about the ordinance veto and the red-sirts demanding that we be fired for being gay… but the parade wasn’t a protest, and the answer felt incomplete because the question was biased.
The question asks us to prove why we need a gay parade, or an LGBT float, as though we were taking something we might not deserve. It makes us defensive, and lets them argue that we don’t need the parade and shouldn’t be allowed to have it.
But the parade is a celebration, not an argument.
“Well, why do we need a July 4th parade?” I asked. “We don’t – we have it because we want to celebrate our country.”
“Even if we didn’t need a gay pride parade, we’d want to have it to celebrate the LGBT community. We celebrate our LGBT groups, mostly run by volunteers, we celebrate the LGBT people in Alaska, we celebrate our friends and allies, and we celebrate that we can have a gay parade in Anchorage, that we have the right to peacefully assemble and celebrate our community. Like the 4th of July parade.”
The woman just stared at me, but the man nodded. “OK, I can see that,” he said.
Glitter Parade & Pride Picnic in Fairbanks
Show your glittery gay pride with PFLAG in the Golden Days Parade on July 24, and stay for the Pride Picnic afterwards at Growden Park. The parade theme this year is ALL THAT GLITTERS.
My oh my, can we have fun with that! Come out and join us all you Queens, Kings, and Princesses. Bring your tiaras and your glittery best. Tell your friends and anyone else who’ll be interested, and let’s show Fairbanks our Pride!
The entire LGBTQ community, friends, relatives and allies are welcome to march with Fairbanks PFLAG. Meet at 10 a.m. at the Carlson Center. Kids are welcome, and anyone under 18 needs to sign a permission slip. Sorry, no pets.
This year’s Fairbanks Pride Picnic will be held July 24th at Growden Park directly after the Golden Days Parade. Join us for BBQ, performances, booths, and games galore! The fun starts around 1pm and they don’t kick us out until 8pm. Bring your friends, your family, and your need to have a good time.Want to get involved and help your local community? We are looking for organizations and groups who would like to share their information, performers who don’t need a real stage, and anyone else who may want to lend a hand.
Pride Float destroyed & rebuilt for July 4th parade wins Grand Prize (video and links)
Two days into a camping trip, I received a text message that a Pride Parade float entered in the Anchorage 4th of July parade had been destroyed by a suspicious fire.
The Imperial Court had 48 hours to rebuild. They called for volunteers and for the LGBTA community to march along with the new float. In the nearest town, I shared that information on Bent’s Facebook wall before the connection quit.
Coming home last night, I saw photos of the new LGBT float and the queer youth float that also participated in Sunday’s parade.
The Pride float was built by the efforts of many. Thanks to the LGBT people and allies who created the float so quickly and with so much style. Thanks to the businesses and individuals who donated the materials, funds and labor to rebuild the float. Thanks to all who rode and walked with the float. And thanks to the Facebook users, local media, and bloggers for reporting the fire and the story of Phoenix Rising, the LGBT float that won the Grand Prize in the 4th of July parade. It was a community effort, in every way.
A fund is set up to help rebuild Paula & Ken Butner’s garage (Wells Fargo account #9297382088). The fire investigation is still in progress. In a possibly related incident, the police are investigating eggs thrown on the home of Daphne, the emcee for the LGBT float.
KTUU has a good report on the float, but their video can’t be embedded. KTVA also reported the suspicious fire, and that the rebuilt float won the Grand Prize. Watch the parade story:
Linda of Celtic Diva posted a photo essay about the float on Mudflats. Gryphen on Immoral Minority asked if Mayor Sullivan considers the fire “quantifiable evidence” of hate toward the gay community in Anchorage. The incident was also reported by the Associated Press, and by the national gay blog Towleroad.
Meanwhile in the town of Homer, Alaska, the LGBTA float for the July 4th parade was created without incident by PFLAG and the Gay/Straight Alliance, but the announcer refused to introduce the PFLAG/GSA float when they passed the judging booth. One of the marchers had to step forward and tell the crowd who they were.
More people rode in the PFLAG rainbow skiff this year, and several of the walkers wore Alaska rainbow socks. The LGBT contingent included the skiff, two bicycles, two gay olympic athletes with their medals, a skateboarder, a group of walkers, and a blond queen wearing a pink sweater-set with black leather boots and riding a motorcycle.
Thanks to the national LGBT book blogger Band of Thebes (who lives part time in Homer) for the story and photos.
Watch: Drag Queen Bingo & Alaska Pride Parade (videos)
Thanks to KTVA channel 11 for airing several stories throughout the week of Alaska PrideFest this year. Here are KTVA’s stories on the annual Drag Queen Bingo at Snow City Café, a benefit for AMP; and at Anchorage’s annual Pride parade and festival.
Stonewall, the Rosa Parks moment (video)
June 28 is the anniversary of Stonewall, when the queens, gays and lesbians of New York City fought back against a police raid on the Stonewall Bar in 1969. The event taught us the power of honesty and pride, and launched the modern LGBT rights movement.
Stonewall Uprising tells the story of the Stonewall riots in the words of the participants:
“It was the Rosa Parks moment,” said one man. June 28, 1969: NYC police raid a Greenwich Village Mafia-run gay bar, The Stonewall Inn. For the first time, patrons refuse to be led into paddy wagons, setting off a 3-day riot that launches the Gay Rights Movement.Told by Stonewall patrons, reporters and the cop who led the raid, Stonewall Uprising recalls the bad old days when psychoanalysts equated homosexuality with mental illness and advised aversion therapy, and even lobotomies; public service announcements warned youngsters against predatory homosexuals; and police entrapment was rampant. At the height of this oppression, the cops raid Stonewall, triggering nights of pandemonium with tear gas, billy clubs and a small army of tactical police. The rest is history. (Film Forum)
Here is the trailer:
What does PRIDE mean to you?
IN THE LIFE speaks with a diverse group of LGBT people and discovers what Pride means to them. Watch the episode and tell us what LGBT Pride means to you:
TODAY: Alaska PrideFest Parade & Festival – Join the Party!
Alaska’s Celebrating Diversity Parade and Pride Festival is TODAY, Saturday June 26 in downtown Anchorage. The Parade begins at 11 am, marching west on 6th Avenue from D Street, and the Festival follows at noon on the Delaney Park Strip around K Street.
Come march with us – join a group you like and show your Pride in being LGBTQ or an ally. If you don’t want to march, please cheer us on from the side. Every parade needs a cheering crowd! Then join us for the Festival on the Park Strip.
See you there!
The ordinance one year later (video)
KTVA looks back at the 2009 battle for an equal rights ordinance, and asks where the LGBT community of Anchorage is today, as we celebrate PrideFest 2010.
Four voices speak for fairness and equal rights: Matthew, Rachel, Johnathan and MeMe. Only one person speaks for hate: Prevo. Which side are YOU on?
