what do you guys think about gay pride parades?

I agree.

 

I honestly think they give a bad rep.


The last photo was good, though.

 

When else can I get to watch hundreds of half-naked men march down the street?

 

1.) From what I've heard from people who've attended is that the majority of the parade is like that fourth picture and it is just the media that focuses upon the other part.

2.) I've posted this before, but I'll post it again...
[YOUTUBE]0_OQeA3GiRw[/YOUTUBE]

 

I personally don't agree with them but understand how others might be - a sense of 'community.'

Basically my view is this, we want to be seen as equals and not that different from everybody else. Yet, throw a big elaborate parade showing how big that difference actually is.

I don't throw parades about liking women. Why should i throw one about liking men?

 

Not a huge fan. I don't think being gay is something we should have pride for and party about, we try get the point across that it's not a choice and that we were born the way that we are, yet we make it look like it's something that we worked for, chose and want to celebrate.

We need to keep it simple.

 

These.

 

I've been to Pride about four times, and I'd say at least 90% of the people were more like the last photo. However, I don't think the first few photos are such a bad thing. Sure, I'm not like that, but they don't represent me. They represent themselves. I represent me.

 

Oh god, here we go again, a "I hate gay pride parades even though I've never been to one" thread.

95% of the parade is absolutely, positively like the 4th pic you posted and not the first 3 pictures. As Jonathan said, the media, photographers, and of course lots of the parade watchers focus on the 5% of floats with cute almost naked boys and girls on them.

And as for the "pride" thing, the best point I hear made is this. The opposite of pride is shame. Gay pride is saying that I am not ashamed to be gay.

 

Even if it is like the forth picture.

I mean. I keep going back to me liking girls. So let's twist what you just said.

"And as for the whole 'pride' thing, the best point I hear made is this. The opposite of pride is shame. Straight pride is saying that I am not ashamed of being straight."

Does that make any sense at all? Even in the slightest?

The opposite of pride isn't shame. You can still be proud of who you are and not celebrate it. I'm proud of who I am. I'm a successful guy, I also really dig girls - why throw parties about liking girls? I don't have to. I just accept it. It's part of the norm and I don't make a big deal about it. I want to fuck girls. Big deal. NOT.

Alright, now let's go over into the liking boys part. Although I like guys a lot less than gay guys - should that matter? And although, I admit it, a part of me would leap at a cure at being pure something - being two sided isn't easy. That's now where my view on the parade comes in. Guys liking guys should NOT be a big deal. Just like guys liking girls ISN'T a big deal. You don't see straight parades. In a perfect world there wouldn't be gay parades because gay guys would be prideful without it just like straight guys are.

Basically, the opposite of pride isn't shame. That's two polar opposites. In no world does that exist - at all. You've got overly prideful, status quo, and overly ashamed is more like it. All I'm saying is be STATUS QUO. You don't want people making a big deal out of you liking guys? Well, first things first, you stop making a big deal out of liking guys. Gay guys complain about "it is such a big issue!" but at the same time not realizing - them not blending in, just dating guys and not making a big deal about it would - in turn make society not make a big deal out of it. Keep things status quo. You act and treat your sexuality like everyone else, you'll be seen like everyone else. That's how I view pride parades. It's making a BIG DEAL about liking the same gender, yet many LGBT ask "why is society making a big deal out of this?" It goes back to ground zero eventually.

The first part is assimilation. This doesn't mean being like everyone else. This just means not making a big deal out of NOT being like everyone else and there is a BIG difference.

The opposite of pride isn't shame, that makes no sense.

I'm not prideful or shameful about liking girls. No straight guy or guy that likes girls is.

Why shouldn't that be EXACTLY the same for gay guys or bi guys that lean more that way?

 

I've never been to pride before so I can't speak to what goes on there. But from what I understand, pride parades are about celebrating who you are and honoring those who have fought for your rights. It's about unity and and realizing that there is a big community out there that you are a part of.

Pride parades exist for the same reason that women's rights month, Latino heritage month, and African American history month exist... It's so that we don't forget the struggles of these minority groups and so that we can honor those who fought for equality. Since there is a lot more equality now, it is easy for people to forget how hard others worked to get these rights for us. Especially since the history of many minority groups are often brushed aside during regular history classes. If there isn't already, I'm pretty sure one day we will see our own lgbt history month.

 

I get that people like them because they feel like it makes them "fit in" better.
But I feel it segregates gays in yet another way, when what we should be saying is that we aren't different. Not that being different is a bad thing, but I think it'd be better to have equality parades or something like that. I mean you don't see straight people throwing parades about who they like, do you?

 

I personally LOVE pride parades. They are fun and I love the feeling of being surrounded by thousands of people that share the same struggles than you. We always here that we aren't alone and that there are a lot of people out there like us, but there is something very exciting about actually seeing crowds of LGBT people all around you cheering and being happy with themselves.

Pride is not celebrating homosexuality. Pride is celebrating who you are, whatever that might be. Celebrating that you are important and that you shouldn't be afraid. When straight people go to pride parade they don't go because they are proud of being gay. They go because they support equal rights and they want their friends to feel supported, just like everyone else there.

Yes, the parade does put the spot-light to LGBT people getting together in one single spot, but its society which makes it a big deal that LGBT people are getting together in one single spot. The point of the parade is not "Oh, hey, look. I'm soooo special because I like guys!!! YAY!!! Celebrate me!!!" No, the message of the pride parade is saying "I like guys, I'm here and I'm not afraid" And keep in mind that the message is now mostly intended for the LGBT community itself. Most pride parades only worry about making the people that are going feeling welcomed and not about making political statements to make others understand. That happens on its own.

I'm not saying that everyone must love pride parades (that would be ridiculous of me), but I do urge everyone to go to one before passing judgement. No amount of pictures or videos will be able to show the happiness that you are able to see in everyone faces when you are there.

Actually, most pride parades are just like the last picture you posted. Every parade is different, but the majority of them are way more low key than they are portrayed. I took some pictures of the pride parade in my city if you want to take a look

 

This. I agree 100%

ALSO, we ARE different. Saying we're just like straight people is basically spitting in the faces of our fellow lgbt community members. The fact is a lot of them are not just like straight people. A lot of the gays and lesbians are gender atypical on top of being homosexual. Are you saying that they're not part of our community? Because the only way you can say "We're just like you except for our sexuality" is if you exclude them which is WRONG. The gender atypical homosexuals fought the hardest when the gay rights movement was first started. Don't ostracize them by saying they misrepresent the gay community and you think they're acting innapropriate. They're being themselves... They're being the people who paved the way to the rights we have today. In Canada we already have gay marriage, without the more outspoken and involved lgbt members this wouldn't be possible. And the fact is that most of those gays and lesbians were very gender atypical, very out, and very very different from straight people. And whether you or anyone else likes it or not, they're very much a part of this community.

Just celebrate the wide variety of people in our community... Nobody is better because they are more or less like straight people.

Anyways... Rant over. The one time I went to gay pride was a lot of fun and I'd go again in the future

 

^ THIS THIS THIS THIS.
Oh my gosh, thank you. I felt like nobody else had that idea.

(Personally, I will not ever take part in/go see one. I find it degrading to other LGBT.)

 

But there's nothing wrong with taking pride in your roots, or your culture, or your history. Why can we celebrate St. Patrick's Day and Columbus Day (not to mention religious national holidays like Christmas) and have parades for every culture but not for gay people? Why do gay folks have to assimilate and not everyone else? Or are you suggesting that every culture should be assimilated?

As someone else previously said, this thread pops up once every few months or so, alongside the "Am I the only one who likes masculine guys????" and the "I'm gay but I don't like showtunes help!!!!!!" threads. It's fine that y'all aren't stereotypically gay - but I would say the vast majority of people who are attracted the same sex AREN'T stereotypical. And like others in this thread have said, the vast majority of pride parades are just regular people - members of LGBT support systems, friendly politicians, bars, student groups, even churches - marching and showing support for their cultural identity.

And, as Lexington often says in these threads, if you don't think pride looks like you, maybe you should march and represent YOUR gay identity.

EDIT: Throw my support behind Abayamo and dreamcatcher - clearly they beat me to it!

 

Not a fan. I think you can be gay and all that but I don't see a need to go around parading and giving off a different view of gay people with all the media.

 

I love them! And they're not just for gays :s More than half the people that go are straight... It's about showing we can all celebrate together... gay, bi, straight, old, young...

It's the best party of the year here if you ask me :icon_bigg