Wednesday, September 22, 2010

A Call for Affirmative Action, Not Parades

i forgoed the pride parade in dallas this year. i have only been to one pride parade my entire life, and that was the first year i came out...i was 15. pride parade is pointless, in my opinion. everyone thinks that the more we throw it in "their" faces, the more we'll be accepted. but look at how we act during the parade! mostly naked men showing off more than they need/should down public streets, queens in shock drag w/ huge tits or acting like tweaked out fools, and public lewdness.

that isn't normal. that isn't everyday society. yes, we see the same shit going on amongst heterosexuals; but again, we know that that isn't the whole community by and large. however, this is the only image "we" project, because that's all "we" know how to do, and sadly, that's all a lot of "us" care about! yes, i party and i love doing it. for me, it's all about having fun. it's not about being wasted, or getting fucked up, or trying this new drug while getting lost in the music at the hottest bar in town. and i don't act like a fool out in public when entering or leaving the bar/club. where is our sense of tact?

i know the whole reason why the pride parade started and that now it's just tradition. but constantly throwing all of that in the publics' face does not show them that we are, in fact, "normal" people. it shows them that we're freaks. that all we do is party and fuck. it tells them we don't know how to act responsibly because even here, in the city streets, in broad daylight, for the entire world to see, that's the only thing we can do? isn't there already enough of that in the media about us? is that the reason we have a parade, so we have an excuse to do the aforementioned for the world to see?

perhaps, though, it's time that we, as a community, change. we need to learn some decorum and project the image that we really want to be seen. that we can still party like everyone else, but yet also know how to be civilized and appropriate. instead of dumping all that time, money, and effort into the parade debaucle, why can't we do something constructive? let's surround city halls nationwide again. do something for the community at large, not just for us. hold major benefits and galas instead of white parties, red parties, and fuck fests.

i implore us, the homosexual community, to get up and do something. be progressive, not deviant. only when we work together for progress and equality will we achieve victory. instead of parading, proclaim! instead of debauchery, declare!

1 comment:

  1. I kinda disagree. At this point, I don't believe that pride festivals are so much to do with equality at all. It's more of a "look, we exist and we will be recognized" situation. We're no different from straight people aside from the fact that we are attracted to the same sex. That's it. Our behavior is no different. Gay or straight, there are 'deviant' groups among both camps. Those pride festivals aren't there to show our similarities, they're simply to make us feel a sense of comaraderie within ourselves and among our peers, and the fact that at most of these events, there are usually SEVERAL elected officials present IN THE PARADE really makes a statement as well.

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