Love it or loathe it, Gay Pride season is upon us. For some that means rainbows and glitter, Bud Light beer gardens, and disco divas. For others it means Dykes on Bikes, political rallys, or swag-filled corporate festivals. And for a certain set, it means running and hiding. For celebrations that are supposed to unify our heterogenous community, Pride has no small amount of drama.
In his recent column for Brit newspaper The Guardian, friend of the magazine and former Gawker editor Brian Moylan takes to task those sweater-vest wearing squares who would otherwise white-wash the radical faeries and chaps-wearing daddies out of the rainbow news:
Activists are always upset these party-mad zealots will turn off the straight people with their outrageousness and keep us from achieving equality. I think those are exactly the people that the rest of mainstream culture needs to see. It's easy to accept attractive, affluent, normal couples in their matching sweater vests (which seem to be a hit with both square gay men and lesbians) but it's another thing to accept a 50-year-old man who is choosing to let his rear end hang out of his leather chaps. If they can come to see that he's not ashamed to be himself in public, maybe they won't be ashamed of him either. Pride comes in many forms, and they're all contagious.... After all, it's acceptance that we're after, not mere tolerance.
Where do you stand? Is there such a thing as a proper Pride?
(via Guardian.co.uk, Gay Pride: don't rain on my parade)
Love it or loathe it, Gay Pride season is upon us. For some that means rainbows and glitter, Bud Light beer gardens, and disco divas. For others it means Dykes on Bikes, political rallys, or swag-filled corporate festivals. And for a certain set, it means running and hiding. For celebrations that are supposed to unify our heterogenous community, Pride has no small amount of drama.
In his recent column for Brit newspaper The Guardian, friend of the magazine and former Gawker editor Brian Moylan takes to task those sweater-vest wearing squares who would otherwise white-wash the radical faeries and chaps-wearing daddies out of the rainbow news:
Activists are always upset these party-mad zealots will turn off the straight people with their outrageousness and keep us from achieving equality. I think those are exactly the people that the rest of mainstream culture needs to see. It's easy to accept attractive, affluent, normal couples in their matching sweater vests (which seem to be a hit with both square gay men and lesbians) but it's another thing to accept a 50-year-old man who is choosing to let his rear end hang out of his leather chaps. If they can come to see that he's not ashamed to be himself in public, maybe they won't be ashamed of him either. Pride comes in many forms, and they're all contagious.... After all, it's acceptance that we're after, not mere tolerance.
Where do you stand? Is there such a thing as a proper Pride?
(via Guardian.co.uk, Gay Pride: don't rain on my parade)
