On the first anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, CHRISTOPHER STREET GAY LIBERATION DAY was celebrated in New York City. The following year, more than 20 cities celebrated what has now come to be recognized as GAY PRIDE.
Pride celebrations today have evolved into an annual ritual and have mushroomed to encompass hundreds of thousands of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender participants throughout the entire world ...
and this does not include the countless spectators.
Gay Pride is a reminder to the world that we deserve and are entitled to the exact same rights as other citizens, and should enjoy the freedom to live our own lifestyles without others passing judgment and spewing hatred.
As important, the celebrations are a symbol of unity and solidarity, and provide a vehicle to demonstrate the unique personality and characteristics that make up the very diverse GLBT populations of the world.
Gay Pride also allows the community to establish a presence, and create an awareness that hopefully stimulates intelligent discussions.
For many it is their very first step out of the proverbial closet. And for all it is an opportunity to participate in some of the biggest events of the year and to share their experiences.
I reluctantly attended my first pride celebration in the early 80's. I was gay, I was out, I was proud; just not proud enough to expose myself to the world as a gay man.
I was unfomfortable and left early. I would not attend another pride celebration until the mid 90's in New Orleans.
I now attend Gay Pride functions in New Orleans as well as in St. Petersburg, Florida, surrounded by friends, family, and co-workers.
3 comments:
The first poster mentions "two spirited." This is a phrase I am not familiar with. Can you rememdy this for me, my friend?
Two Spirit!
I love that and it’s the first time I’ve seen it used that way even though it seems to have replaced the ‘I’ at the end of GLBT.
It has been used for many years as an adopted term for intersex individuals, such as myself.
Originally, we used the term ‘berdache’ but this was stopped when it was found to be an offensive term among Native Americans, which is another group I belong to.
From what I understand it is basically the masculine spirit and a feminine spirit living together in the same body.
I’ve always preferred it to the other rather unpleasant words that have been used to describe me, such as hermaphrodite, testicular feminization and the newest one,
disorders of sex development.
Yuck. My sex developed very nicely, thankyouverymuch.
Thanks DonDon!
Love You Madly, as ever.
X0X0
Hello dear Don!
Great document this post! Now I understand the «Prelude» before.
Thank you so very much for the reference to Lisbon!
Wishing you the best! :-)
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