Tag Archives: pride celebrations

Consumerist Pride

Ummm, gag me.

Ummm, gag me.

Ok, so back on the soapbox. . . You may have seen my earlier posts about Bradley Manning getting thrown under the bus by SF Pride and criticizing gay design house Andrew Christian for being body Nazis in an otherwise sexy promo video.

But still, something doesn’t seem quite right about this link, this “Shopping Party” to kick off Gay Pride. To me, this slides right back into that slippery slope where we commodify everything, as if it’s an occasion to support consumerism, in this case fracking Macy’s and the clothing industry.

The planners of such events try to make it a win-win for everyone (I know this since I used to do some of this kind of thing for a living), in this case, there’s a suggested donation of $20 for a charity that provides LGBT kids with scholarships. That part’s fine. (Although it doesn’t say that a donation of some amount is a requirement for entry.)

But why do we need to hold a Gay Pride kickoff in a freakin’ department store? Where attendees will have the chance to see the “hottest models in town” and purchase the clothes of their dreams?

I think the righteous drag queens of Stonewall and those early Pride marchers would probably vomit just a little at this attempt to conflate a human rights movement with entrenched corporate interest, such as Macy’s.

Let’s remember what it is that we remember with Pride celebrations: it was a REVOLT against police power, specifically, the NYPD’s raiding of gay bars on a routine basis. The citizens targeted in these raids finally had enough and didn’t behave. The legacy we should celebrate is the ability to speak truth to power and to claim a right as full citizens under the laws of this country and not to be harassed.

This is what we should be remembering with Pride. Not that we got some fabulous shirt we saw on a hot model at Beverly Center Macy’s.

Does this bug you, too? Or am I crabby and off base here?

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Los Angeles Pride June 2012

So, L.A. Pride celebrations were over the weekend, and I have multimedia presentations for you, dear reader. Makes it much easier on me today with having to come up with something intelligible to write about it all, but let me just say this:

I’m glad I went. In recent years, I haven’t always gone, no matter what city it was (L.A, Palm Springs, San Francisco, NY. . .) because . . . why? Because it seems tired, I hated rainbows, I hate crowds, what’s the point if you’re not 25, etc. You know, the usual cranky blah-blahdy claptrap. But then I had to remember what it was like being gay in the late 60s and 70s when I grew up, and where I grew up, where there was nothing like a Gay Pride Parade or anything remotely approximating this at all. So I realized how lucky we are to have this, and how it is really special, no matter how imperfect it is. This year, I needed to show I was a part of it, no matter how small that really is.

So here’s some video I shot (with the still camera which has a video function, not too bad for a blog) and then some stills of friends, some of the parade, some other stuff. I hope you enjoy. It was great fun and I’m so glad I went.

And in the video: what you’re seeing: Semi-naked boys on a float, Drag Queen Cheerleaders, Molly Ringwald (the grand marshal-ess of the parade) dressed as a Greek Goddess with guys in togas. In short, just what you’d expect to see. Oh, and for those not in L.A., the cool red building in the background is part of the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood.

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