Hey, gays? You’re not, like, being gay enough these days. That Gay Pride Parade on Sunday? Seems like most of you – and by “you,” we mean the affluent, upwardly mobile young homos reading this – and too affluent and upwardly mobile to concern yourselves with something so silly as watching rainbow-colored floats (sponsored by Absolut!) go down Fifth Ave. Don’t you know gay pride has historical considerations to consider? And that you gays abandoning the events is a sign of, like, bad stuff to come or something?
The parade’s budget is expanding, while Heritage of Pride, which runs the parade, says its coffers are drying up as fewer businesses donate cash (there go the affluent, told you!).
Some argue the parade has become too black (hey, Stereohyped, where you at?), too much of a spectacle, too hot (as in temperature, not in chiseled abs), too Jersey. It’s probably hard to get in a good round of bug chasing, even.
And then there are those who just have better things to do.
Last week, more than a dozen gay men interviewed at gay bars said they wouldn???t attend the parade (only two said they would: one who said he???s been living here for eight months, the other for nine months). One generation that actively attended seems to have grown up, and another younger one doesn???t seem interested to begin with.
A 26-year-old graduate student in art history at New York University, Joe Ackley, who was at the Phoenix last Wednesday, doesn???t go.
???I hate Pride. My friend and I celebrate Pride by going to straight bars.???
No. 1
doodles821 says:
I will be damned before I go to Pride. I’m 22 years old, and before you say anything about I don’t understand history and too young to really understand pride, I’ve extensively studied Gay cultural history and the sexual revolution which surrounded the stonewall riots. Pride like gay culture today in America has grown pathetic in my eyes into nothing but a big commercialized, and stereotypical event for fags to parade around as the silly Unix allot of Americans see us as being.
I think the biggest problem to have hit gay culture, ESPECIALLY in NYC, is the sheer about and utter disgust of loathing that had grown in the society. I just recently came back from an extended period of living in Asia, where if one was to go to gay bar, meeting someone and some people and doing nothing more then just talking is NOT uncommon. Your lucky half the time to find those feelings with men in Chelsea where every stricken conversation is deemed as being hit on. Gay culture in my view, in America getting worse as the years go by. The consensus is changing, and like political factions, NO ONE is agreeing with the other.
Posted: Jun 20, 2007 at 11:41 am
No. 2
commeca says:
“I’ve extensively studied gay cultural history…”
A 22 year old who has “studied gay cultural history” but can’t spell (Unix? How ’bout Eunuchs) , capitalize properly (Stonewall Riots?, punctuate (”Your?” How ’bout “You’re”) or even quote a cliche (”utter disgust of loathing?” I won’t even go there.
But let me go here- properly punctuated: “Gay culture, in my view, in America is getting worse as the years go by.”
I haven’t been to a Pride Parade since the one in San Francisco in 1977 when we rallied against a flood of anti-gay legislation and a flood of hate led by Anita Bryant, Jerry Falwell, and their ilk. I will not, however, dump on other members of my community who see this as an outward and visible statement of our refusal go go back into our closets.
Go to a Columbus Day, St. Patrick’s Day, or Veteran’s Day parade in any city in America and tell me that everyone who’s of Italian or Irish descent or everyone who supports and honors veterans in that city is at that parade. Then cut our community some freakin’ slack.
Posted: Jun 20, 2007 at 3:25 pm
You must log in to post a comment.
Need an account? Sign up! Registration is free and easy.