underwhelming and overexpensive.
tons of people, but no family.
the biggest rainbow flag i've ever seen.
a general lack of mostly-naked dancing boys.
non-gay-appearing profiteers trying to sell rainbow accessories at exorbitant prices. $5 for a flag? i'm sorry, you don't sell rainbow flags at pride. you give them away.
ALL the politicians had a contingent. and they all showed up in person. Mayor Menino led the parade (behind the Dykes on Bikes--none of whose signs said "Dykes on Bikes." they all had much more politically correct and less interesting club names.) Elizabeth Warren waved at us specifically! i wish i could have figured out what she said. i'm very excited to vote for her in November.
many, many queer families with children and/or dogs.
straight observers. confused Asian tourists.
PFLAGers and free-huggers.
more UU congregations than i've ever seen in a single metropolitan area.
the moment after i saw one sign that said "I <3 TRANS PEOPLE" when i noticed the sea of identical signs a few paces behind it. looked at C and both our hearts melted.
a friend described the scene overall as "less outlandish" than Pittsburgh Pride. the theory is that since being queer generally is much more widely accepted in Boston, it's less necessary to go out of the way to make a statement.
3 comments:
"Confused Asian tourists."
Hahaha. Thanks for the laugh, even thought I'm being completely politically incorrect here. I recently had a 30-year-old Thai woman ask me what LGBTQ stood for, after she had seen it in reference to an academic center. I think my explanation of the letters confused her more than the letters themselves (despite the fact that Thailand has some of the best trans healthcare in the world.)
I would have loved to have seen your eyes light up at the sight of those "I <3 TRANS PEOPLE" signs. I can only imagine.
~B.
it seems to me that "less outlandish" isn't necessarily a bad thing, is it? I don't know your age, but I'm going to take a stab at it and guess that you are in you’re low 20s. Pride in Boston hasn't been overly political or outlandish since the 90s. It’s no longer a march, it’s a parade and that, to me at least, isn't bad. It's a safe day where we can be who we are - trans, queer, dyke, femme, gay, lesbian, butch etc etc- proudly. Boston isn't Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh isn’t San Fran. All towns and cities have different Prides and various settings due each owns laws, acceptance and queer population. I happen to be one of the “dykes on bikes” and for my own curiosity, what kind of banner would you like any of the clubs to be carrying? “dyke on bikes” is the general blanket term for all of us roaring at the beginning and leading the parade, and is the term across the country, but its none of the clubs’ names. What kind of less politically correct and more interesting club names would be good? I’m always for pitching change to the members.
In closing, one thing I always say to people who down Pride is if you are dissatisfied then volunteer for the year and put into something you felt was necessary to blog negatively about. Over 750,000 people attend Pride in Boston and of those roughly 10 core people run the whole she-bang, that’s including the whole Pride week (parade, festival, block parties, stage/music etc) . I know, I’ve done my part in the past for a few years. Also, it’s all sponsors and donations (corporate and private). No $ comes from the city. Did you go to the Esme block party? Or know women who did? Do you know that’s not a Boston Pride sponsored event and a man profits from all those women year after year? There is so much that goes into putting Pride together than anyone can imagine that when I read blogs like this, it kind of cuts. One being a dyke on a bike and feeling like I let someone down and secondly because you’re downing something that you attended, for free, because you think flags should be free. Seems like a whole week is judged on very little.
i apologize if i offended you, boydyke; that wasn't my intention. i didn't mean to imply that being "less outlandish" was a bad thing, or to cast Boston Pride in general in a negative light. i think it's great that folks in Boston approach Pride the way they do. this year was my first Pride in Boston, and it was vastly different from the Pride celebrations i've experienced in other cities. that's all.
i have only ever seen Dykes on Bikes carry signs that labeled them as such, and i was not aware that there were individual clubs under that umbrella with their own names. thanks for filling me in. i do feel a particular attachment to the label "Dykes on Bikes," even though i've never been one myself, but i completely support the right of each group of people to identify as they prefer.
i have a deep respect for the folks who organize major events like Pride, especially in large cities like Boston. i know it's a difficult job and that a very small number of people always end up undertaking it. i was not dissatisfied with Pride as it was planned and presented by that small and dedicated committee. i was disappointed by the men running around trying to sell rainbow flags for a price i thought was too high--i might have paid a smaller fee for them, or might have paid a higher fee if it supported an LGBTQ organization. i did not attend any of the block parties, out of personal preference, and that was why i chose not to comment on them.
i do hope that you will give this post another look and see some of the positive experiences i chose to share. Pride is a wonderful thing wherever you are, and just because i did not feel at home in Boston does not mean i don't appreciate the efforts of the folks who put this celebration together.
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