Happy Pre-Pride!
Pre-Pride is that quiet period between the Gay Super Bowl (the RuPaul’s Drag Race finale) and the beginning of Gay Pride week.
Dallas Gay Pride Parade participants practicing in front of iLume Park.
Pre-Pride is a roughly 5-week period in which we make half-hearted attempts to diet and save money/liver energy for the hot mess festivities of Gay Pride weekend.
It’s like Lent without the righteousness.
Why do we celebrate gay pride?
The modern Gay Pride parades started as an annual commemoration of the Stone Wall Riots.
Police clash with rioters at the Stonewall Inn
The quick story – On June 28, 1969, New York City Police raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn. Although such raids were common, this time the bar patrons fought back and kicked off several days of rioting.
The riots generated enough press and communal energy to spark the modern Gay Rights movement.
There is an exhaustive Wikipedia entry on the riots, and the Columbia University website has some interesting primary material.
Last year, the riots were the subject of an “offensively bad” Hollywood movie, which is how you know that an event is culturally significant.
Gay Pride Today
In about 50 years, we went from police raids and street violence to legalized gay marriage and the nomination Eric Fanning, the first openly gay U.S. Secretary of the Army.
Homophobia is increasingly a social faux pas, although hate-crimes and issues like transphobia are still a huge problem.
Gay Pride has also evolved from a somber civil rights march to the closest thing that most U.S. cities have to carnival – an event with floats, elaborate costumes, and lots of booze.
A float at Miami Beach Pride in South Beach
Twin Cities Pride 2015 outside of Union Restaurant.
Dancing at the iLume Block Party at Dallas Pride.
A drag queen performing at the iLume Block Party.
A drag queen wearing a rainbow dress at the iLume Gay Pride block party.
Alyssa Edwards at the Dallas Gay Pride iLume block party.
Drag Queens on a float at the Alan Ross Gay Pride Parade in Dallas.
In places like Dallas, Gay Pride can sometimes feel like “just another event.”
Dallas is fortunate enough to have a large gay neighborhood and strong network of LGBT community organizations. Oak Lawn routinely attracts tourists for drag pageants and events like Texas Bear Round-up and the Gay Rodeo.
Dallas celebrity and lifestyle guru Steve Kemble was the gay rodeo’s Grand Marshal.
Texas Bear Roundup weekend at Station 4 nightclub in Dallas
National Showman Pageant at the Round-up Saloon in Dallas, Texas.
A jazz talent number for at the Miss Dallas FFI drag pageant.
That is why Pride can seem like “just another drunken street parade” on par with St. Patrick’s Day.
Pride Parades still play an important role in small and midsized cities.
In places without established gayborhoods, Gay Pride is often the only public gay-friendly event.
Participants at Iowa City Pride 2013
Small-town Gay Pride parades attract tourists from the greater metro area (or state) and show the community that gay people do exist outside of dive bars. This is often crucial support for isolated young people.
The importance of small-city prides and gay tourism is why I am making an effort to travel to more Pride parades. My last small town pride was a while back in Iowa City. This year, I plan on hitting up some of the lesser-parades in Texas.
Iowa City Pride 2013
Thebiggest float at Iowa City Pride 2013
Counter-protestors at Iowa City Pride 2013