Prideful weekend
I love Pride month. For my non-GLBT bretheren who might not understand the significance or history of a bunch of queer people (and their allies) often dressed in flamboyant clothing (or lack thereof) and congregating in large public spaces, the abridged version is basically that Pride celebrations are held throughout the world during the month of June because these celebrations were born out of the NY city stonewall riots which took place in June 1969, and are a commemoration of the original "Pride March" that took place the following year from Greenwich Village to Central Park. 1969 wasn't that long ago. In 1969, Police raids and arrests of patrons in gay bars like the Stonewall Inn were routine.
Today, we get to march down the streets with police escorts (or often, the police march themselves in *cute* little police uniforms!). We can wear what we want, be as public as want and hold hand with whomever we choose. What's not to love? Yes, it's sometimes over-the-top flamboyant, very public, etc. and my dear, that's the entire point.
Yesterday, Wen and I attended the Santa Cruz Pride celebration. Santa Cruz has it's drag queens and boys in tight shorts, but oddly enough, I didn't see anyone naked or in partial states of dress. Hee hee. Yes, SC Pride is a lot smaller and mundane than it's SF counterpart (smoke, alcohol and probably even scent free), but we had a great time. We danced through the parade route with the Santa Cruz women's dance contingent, listened to some music in the park, ate ice cream, admired interesting goods at the local booths, then went for tacos and marguaritas downtown. All in all, a great day.
What does this have to do with marriage, you might ask? I guess I just love the fact that I can sit in the park on a sunny Sunday afternoon amongst transgendered people, kids wearing t-shirts that say "I love my 2 mommies", queer cheerleaders, parishoners from the Univeralist church, a latino men's dance group, etc. and announce to a bunch of people that me and my girl are gettin' hitched - and it seems like the most normal thing in the entire world. It's a cool time of year and it makes me smile.
We'll be marching with the Gay Games contingent in the SF parade later this month. If you've never been to SF Pride, I'd highly recommend checking it out - whether you're gay, straight, asexual or even Republican. There's no excuse not to have fun People!!
Today, we get to march down the streets with police escorts (or often, the police march themselves in *cute* little police uniforms!). We can wear what we want, be as public as want and hold hand with whomever we choose. What's not to love? Yes, it's sometimes over-the-top flamboyant, very public, etc. and my dear, that's the entire point.
Yesterday, Wen and I attended the Santa Cruz Pride celebration. Santa Cruz has it's drag queens and boys in tight shorts, but oddly enough, I didn't see anyone naked or in partial states of dress. Hee hee. Yes, SC Pride is a lot smaller and mundane than it's SF counterpart (smoke, alcohol and probably even scent free), but we had a great time. We danced through the parade route with the Santa Cruz women's dance contingent, listened to some music in the park, ate ice cream, admired interesting goods at the local booths, then went for tacos and marguaritas downtown. All in all, a great day.
What does this have to do with marriage, you might ask? I guess I just love the fact that I can sit in the park on a sunny Sunday afternoon amongst transgendered people, kids wearing t-shirts that say "I love my 2 mommies", queer cheerleaders, parishoners from the Univeralist church, a latino men's dance group, etc. and announce to a bunch of people that me and my girl are gettin' hitched - and it seems like the most normal thing in the entire world. It's a cool time of year and it makes me smile.
We'll be marching with the Gay Games contingent in the SF parade later this month. If you've never been to SF Pride, I'd highly recommend checking it out - whether you're gay, straight, asexual or even Republican. There's no excuse not to have fun People!!
posted by Anonymous at 1:51 PM
1 Comments:
Since moving to Portland, I can honestly say last weekend was the first time I was truly homesick for Santa Cruz. Donna and I got together at Santa Cruz Pride in 2002, so it was our 4th anniversary. We really wanted to be there because it's one weekend a year where we can see so many of our friends and acquaintances, share laughs and have a great day in the sun. We have promised ourselves that once we are financially set (next year?) we will start a tradition of celebrating our anniversary in Santa Cruz each year!
Post a Comment
<< Home