My friend Sonya is still in town so I drove to San Francisco to go with her to the Gay Pride Parade. We figured that would be the ultimate San Francisco tourist attraction. I love a good parade but I was worried about the crowd. Turns out, I didn't need to be. No one pushed, shoved or crowded us. Everyone was festive and polite. I have to say we were a little disappointed by how TAME it all was. We were expecting something really outlandish. But it was really more political than "spectacle." We watched part of the parade and then walked around looking at booths. Sonya grabbed a few condom giveaways as souvenirs for the folks back in Texas. I guess the most exciting things we saw were four bare-breasted women and three guys in thongs. But that's it. You can see some photos here.
By the way, I know that Mayor Newsom is kind of a cad but is he hot or what?!
My favorite part of the parade was a whole bunch of couples holding up signs with their names and how long they have been together. Two women of retirement age were riding in a carriage and they had a sign that said they had been together 27 years. Isn't that lovely? I guess parades like these used to be about calling attention to gay people and making them more visible. You know, "We're here. We're queer. Get used to it!" But now, the crowd and the parade seemed to be filled with gay individuals and their families. And I felt the message to be: "We're just like you." And they are.
Monday, June 25, 2007
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2 comments:
My first Gay Pride Parade was in Minneapolis. I had no idea that I lived on the parade route. While walking to the grocery store, I was yelled at for being grumpy!
We live near the parade route in Houston too. The parade is at night. I thought about walking over, but was too busy studying. Maybe next year, if the mosquitoes aren't too bad.
Isn't it terrible when mosquitoes are so bad that they affect what you choose to do?
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