Thoughts on Pride
This post was submitted by politicsfortheaveragejoe.
Last year (2007) I had the opportunity to attend two very different Pride celebrations in two very different cities: Washington, D.C. and Columbus, OH. The experiences were both illuminating and in some ways disconcerting. For those who do not know, Columbus is the "San Fran" of the Midwest. The city houses more gay bars than Washington by almost two times. While both cities' celebrations were fun, lively and diverse some key differences struck me. Columbus' parade was more than two hours plus from first float to the last. There were dozens of churches involved in the parade and protesting, something I never have seen from my usual parade vantage at P Street. The lack of churches in our Pride Parade surprised me honestly. The town commons in Columbus played host to a cultural schmorgasbord of people and had little of the join our Gay fill in the blank group aspect our Festival each year has.
Don't get me wrong, I love our Pride celebration but where is the culture beyond dance clubs and gyms in the Parade? Why do we see huge, gargantuan monstrosities from Results and 3 people walking for other groups? Where is the real HRC message as opposed to the stereotypically aimed money collectors groping for donations eavery ten feet at the Capital? DC plays host every year to numerous groups for conferences and festivals that spend coutless hours on the Hill lobbying for real change. Where is that in our Pride? Should not our Pride, held in our Nation's Capital, take the lead in political action among our constituencies. It may not be as exciting as seeing Christian Soriono at Town on a Friday night but it would make the under 30 gays maybe stand up and notice the unique position they are in, so close to the Congressmen shaping the rights of tomorrow right now.
Instead of celebrating in a way that shows the world we are more than able to live up to the NBC Will and Grace stereotypes they set out for us, why not show more of the culture we as DC Gay Men have to offer? Maybe my hope is altruistic and idealistic both but I feel like someone should start the discussion now for a more socially conscious, culturally aware Pride instead of a weekend full of longer lines at clubs for entry and drinks and less room on the dance floor than usual as everyone sets out to get laid. I recognize my opinions are one-sided and welcome any and all opinions, in agreement and in opposition.
13 comments:
I'm from Columbus and I love their parade. Another difference is that in Columbus the parade goes right around Goodale Park and through the Short North to the riverfront, where people actually hang out (and it often coincides with Comfest, which Everyone is at), making it feel more like a true local happening.
do you really think christian soriano will be at town for pride? i'd totally go to town if i thought christian was going to be there.
dear adam:
christian siriano is advertised to host the town pride event on june 13th.
i will be out of town this year but will be making it up by attending NYC pride.
dear adam:
christian siriano is advertised to host the town pride event on june 13th.
i will be out of town this year but will be making it up by attending NYC pride.
There are a lot of Churches at DC Pride. Pride has become a family event, a party event and many other things. I think that you are making a lot assertions that are deeply flawed. It's much more than an excuse to wear ironic t-shirts and wait in line for a $7 cup of beer.
I think my point is that most people don't keep an eye out and a mind open. DC has its share of partying and understandably some that do work hard choose particular times of the year to exercise their right to party. I think the comment above that was more excited about Mr. Siriano being at Town than the rest of the blog proves part of my point. You sir, (Carl), seem to be an exception and not the rule. Probably not among the friends you attend Pride with but among the population as a whole unfortunately so. The other side, the gyms and clubs and partiers, etc. will probably not even read this blog to begin with, much less comment back. My argument is not to denigrate the events that already occur every year but to urge for an enrichment so that many more of us walk away from Pride (made possible with countless volunteer manhours and donations) with something more than
1) free flyers from groups looking for members, 2) the phone number of last night's fun, or 3) a wicked hangover from 3 nights of partying come Monday morning. All of those are fun and great but where is the activism, where is the push for something with some higher purpose than showing the city how much fun gays can have. They know already, let's show the city something they and we can both truly be proud of.
Average J, thanks for your thoughts! I guess I have always taken a mostly apolitical view of Pride. I always saw it as gay Mardi Gras, but with the added bonus of being lent-free. It's a wonderful excuse to have a good time, meet with friends, and even make new ones. Undoubtedly, I will run into familiar faces along the parade route and get invited to a nice house party or two.
The closest I ever got to political action on Pride was when I handed out stickers while marching with a politician. about 2 years ago, I marched with Adam Ebbin, Virginia's first openly gay state delegate. That was a special treat because I was happy to support him.
I suppose my point is that Pride is a fun day out in the sun... why not let the other 364 days of the year be the time for a higher purpose?
All the same, I appreciate your concerns and your comparison to another Pride festival, which I've never attended. Thanks, Average J!
Yea, I have to say that I've always noticed a pretty high representation of religious and political groups at Pride in DC. And while our parade may be on the short side, it's ours, and I love it. I agree with jblend... I think it's just a day to enjoy friends, our city, and the sunshine (crossing my fingers for that last one...)
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I disagree with jblend 100%. We party every other day of the year. 364 days w/o a higher purpose. I can't tell you how many people I overhear telling stories of outrageous nights at Town on any given weekend. We don't need an excuse to party. We just do it.
Why can't pride be something more than just yet another excuse to get even more fucked up than the weekend before or the weekend after?
Just a random comment...I was never so grateful for DC Pride until my girl and I went to Philly Pride 2 years ago. There were fundamentalist protesters with bull horns and signs about us going to hell & the works. It was a shock to witness first hand. Partying or politics, whatever, I am just glad to not have to deal with nutjobs!
Why is the Columbus parade so much longer? What is this other "stuff" that makes it better/more/etc.?
Who is Christian Soriano?
I'm listening, but I can't seem to get excited about either opinion, pro or con, in regards to Pride. I guess I'm too post-gay and comfortable in my little DC bubble.
Perhaps it was my years as a retail manager, but I kind of look at Pride like the retail holiday season. Sure it gets really freaking annoying at times, but just like how the holiday season's profits generally allow the business to be able to afford to lose some money throughout the rest of the year, so does the Pride parade/festival generally give the various organizations the influx of money/dues/volunteers/enthusiasm that is needed to carry it through the rest of the year. The parade is the marketing bells & whistles, and the festival is the one-on-one sealing of the deal.
Could there be more political utility brought to the fore? Sure, but I've got two things to say to ya: 1) Sometimes just massing people in one place is a political statement, and 2) I'm sure if you went to the Capital Pride organizing committee and said you'd like to organize an official Capital Pride Lobby Day they'd be more than happy to let you :-)
Also, there's more to Pride than the parade and festival. Look at all the cultural events throughout the week: Choral concerts, film outings, etc. Sure there's always going to be beefcakes, bears, and twinks; dykes on bikes and girly girls; drag queens and kings; and what not because a) the identity that we are celebrating at Pride *is* centered around sexuality and b) as much as some might not like it we can't exclude while asking for inclusion.
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