The Gay Pride Parade History - Essay Example

The Gay Pride Parade: Its function in changing public opinion Grade (November 10, The Gay Pride Parade: Its function in changing public opinion The Gay Pride Parade history dates back to June 1969, when police raided Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City that served the members of the Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT), due to the fact that in the 1950s and 1960s, the LGBT faced an anti-homosexual legal system that did not allow their public expression (Haggerty, 2000). Consequently, the LGBT community in New York met and established the Stonewall riots, which acted as the first ever LGBT public advocacy for the gay rights, leading to the subsequent gay liberation movements that started advocating for the rights of the LGBT community to be integrated into the mainstream society (German, 2014). Thus, to commemorate the Stonewall riots, the LGBT community in New York organized for an annual event that would be held on every last Saturday of June, both in New York and also in different parts of the USA, as a reminder that the gay people also have their rights. The result of this initial LGBT initiative of 1969 has been the establishment and proliferation of the Gay Pride Parade worldwide, a movement that has become so big, that it has caught the attention of the world as the most attended and active rights advocacy events of the modern day (Eisenbach, 2006). Thus, while the Gay Pride Parades have managed to achieve the objectives of the LGBT community in a successful and highly unanticipated manner, the questions that this success raises is; what has been the function of the Gay Pride Parades in changing the public opinion? The fact that the Gay Pride Parades globally have turned out to be the most pompous and colorful events of the 21st century can no longer be doubted, while the fact that these events have attracted millions of people; both gay and non-gay members of the society is also unarguable (Alessandra, 2000). Thus, considering the fact that the gay community was treated with resentment, hostility and even contempt in the 1950s and the 1960s, there is no doubt that the public opinion on the LGBT community globally is changing. Additionally, the fact that the societal perception of the LGBT community has changed is easily demonstrated by the fact that the Gay Pride Parades have been held even in the most conservative parts of the world, where such events are unlikely to have any support, or at least to be even allowed. Uganda is a country in Africa that is known to be vocal in voicing its resistance against the gay rights, through establishing legislations that have offered strict punishment, such as death penalties, for the LGBT public demonstration or display of relationships (Kellaway, 2014). Nevertheless, even with such strict measures being undertaken in order to completely hinder any form of gay rights achievement in the country, the first Gay Pride Parade was held in Uganda in August 2012 (Lenskyj, 2014). The other countries in Africa, which is a highly conservative continent in matters related to gay rights, where the Gay Pride Parade have been organized successfully includes South Africa, Cape Verde and Mauritius. On the other hand, the Gay Pride Parade have also gained entry in the highly conservative society of Asia and other Islamic countries, and the events have been attended by thousands, if not millions of people in those countries. Thus, India, Japan, Philippines and Taiwan are just but a few examples where the Gay Pride Parade has had a huge impact in terms of gathering large crowds of people that range from thousands to millions, in commemorating the Gay Parade events in memory of the Stonewall riots (Haggerty, 2000). The attendance has been growing significantly even in such gay rights conservative countries, ranging from the Gay Pride Parade attendance of 5,000 people in India in 2010, to 30,000 attendants in Taiwan and ultimately to the main Tel Aviv Gay Pride Parade, which was attended by 100,000 people (Lenskyj, 2014). In this respect, despite the fact that the LGBT community rights has been a long-standing debate in such conservative countries where many of those countries have laws that prohibit the LGBT rights advocacy, the Gay Pride Parades have continued to gather a large momentum and in the end has pulled a large crowd around them in support of the movement. It is in this respect, that the role of the Gay Pride Parades in changing the public opinion of the society, in relation to the gay rights and the needs of the LGBT community, can no longer be ignored. The Gay Pride Parade has functioned in changing the public opinion of the LGBT community, through pulling a wave of support towards the parade events, as well as through the high rate of commercialization of such events as tourism events in different cities of the world. The first World Pride Parade event was voted to take place in Rome, Italy in 2000, a very conservative city where the Catholic doctrine holds dear for the residents, thus creating a clash between the religious perspective and the gay rights advocacies (Alessandra, 2000). However, despite this apparent conflict, the mayor of the city did not only offer the logistical support including the ticketing mechanism for the attendants, but also supported the event financially, through the commitment of $2,000,000 in the process of organization of the World Pride Rome 2000, which was rewarded through an attendance of 250,000 people, the largest gathering registered in the city for decades (Alessandra, 2000). To show the influence that the Gay Pride Parade has had on the public opinion of the gay rights, the mayor also declined to bow down to the demand that required that the city logo be removed from the promotional campaign banners for the Gay Pride Parade event in Rome, since the inclusion of the city logo was interpreted as the support of the LGBT community by the city (Alessandra, 2000). Thus, the event was marked with the city logo still manifested on the banners and flags that were used to promote the event, as an indication that the city of Rome had bought the idea of supporting the LGBT community rights, thus changing the opinion of the LGBT from a perverse section of society to a minority section of the society that needed to be recognized and integrated into the society. The other indication that the Gay Pride Parade has played an important role in changing the public opinion on the gay rights and the need for the integration of the LGBT community into the society can also be seen through the wide support of the Tel Aviv annual city pride in 2010, where 100,000 people attended the event, and the Tel Aviv city municipality funded the event (German, 2014). This is an indication of the change in public opinion on the LGBT community; owing to the fact that the religious leaders in Israel have vehemently resisted the publicizing or even support of the gay rights events in the country. The 2010 Tel Aviv Annual Gay Pride event was partly funded by the city’s municipality while the security was organized to ensure that the event was well protected despite the initial cancellation of the World Pride Jerusalem 2006 that cited religious resistance and security challenges (Eisenbach, 2006). This is a sure indication that the public opinion has continuously been changing in favor of the recognition of the LGBT community. Additionally, the recent World Pride Toronto 2014 has served to indicate that there has been a large shift in the public opinion in support of the LGBT community and the gay rights movement, owing to the fact that the city of Toronto bided to host the Gay Pride event of 2014 during the 2009 World Pride Florida, and won the bid by 78% of the votes cast (Lenskyj, 2014). The consequence of the World Pride Toronto 2014 has been the creation of the most successful Gay Pride event in the history of the gay rights advocacy, owing to the fact that event brought together over 1 million people, while at the same adding 136 million Canadian Dollars to the Toronto City’s economy (German, 2014). Thus, the public opinion of the LGBT community events and the Gay Pride Parades has been changing from the initial position of perceiving such events as unethical events of a perverse section of the society, to the recent acknowledgement and embracement of the Gay Pride Parades as normal social events that are used to promote tourism and diversity in different cities of the world. The same anticipation of high attendance of the World Pride Madrid 2017 in Spain is still characterized by the prior organization and planning of the event that has started in the city of Madrid as early as 3 years before the event takes place (Littauer, 2012). The Gay Pride Parades have been adopted as means of promoting the diversity of culture in different countries and cities throughout the world, as characterized by the World Pride London 2012, which was organized prior to the 2012 Paralympics games in London, as a way of promoting both city tourism as well as enhancing the diversity of cultures during the games (Kellaway, 2014). The Gay Pride Parades have been effective in changing the public opinion on the gay rights and the needs of the LGBT community, owing to the fact that the annual Gay Pride Parades have become a tradition for different cities globally for the last 42 years (Haggerty, 2000). The opinion has changed in the manner in which the public first viewed the Gay Pride Parades as violent and radical riots and marches through the streets of different cities, into the current situation where the Gay Pride Parade have been embraced as normal social events in different societies. Thus, such events are now being graced by politicians, entertainers and other important people who matter in different societies, as an indication of the acceptance and support of the LGBT community in the different societies (Lenskyj, 2014). The Gay Pride Parades in most cities has taken the form of weeklong celebrations that have different activities and parties organized, which may range from fashion shows, dance competitions and film festivals, all meant to unite the gay community and the rest of the society into a celebration of the diversity of the LGBT community (Eisenbach, 2006). The New York City 2011 Gay Pride Parade was an outstanding diversity event that was celebrated as a show of community acceptance and recognition of the LGBT community, owing to the fact that the event was attended by over 500,000 people, who were engaged in different activities that commemorate the gay history (Kellaway, 2014). The fundamental indication that the Gay Pride Parade have changed the public opinion on the gay rights and the needs of the LGBT community is the fact that the earlier events were held in fear, anxiety and anticipation of the police and the public wrath against the LGBT participants in the events, due to the fact that homophobia was a common issue globally. Therefore, in 1970 Gay Pride Parade event that celebrated the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots, the LGBT participants were not ready to walk during the daylight in the streets of New York City, and thus most of the participants were dressed in costumes and masks, to hide their identity (Hughes, 2006). The same fear was observed in the Gay Pride Parades in different countries, especially the most conservative societies such as Africa and Asia, where the participants in the parades were dressing in costumes and masks so as to hide their true identity in the 1990s and early 2000s. However, the public opinion on the LGBT community and the rights of the gay people has changed, such that people are no longer facing the high levels of victimization from the public, allowing the gay people and their heterosexual supporters to match in different cities and parade their activities when they are barely masked (Littauer, 2012). The ere is no longer the fear of reprisals either from the police or from the public, owing to the fact that the police have been providing security and protection during the Gay Pride Parade events, while the public has largely joined the LGBT community in their celebrations (Haggerty, 2000). The most unlikely changes have occurred in the global society since the early 1980s, where the most unlikely cities to host gay events, leave alone to support them, were seen to be opening up to them, such that throughout the 1990s, the Gay Pride Parades had taken roots as a tradition in cities such as New Delhi, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Moscow, Beijing and Nepal (Littauer, 2012). The mere fact that the Gay Pride Parades have become an annual tradition for different parts of the world is in itself an indication that the wider society has been gradually acknowledging the existence of the gay people and thus there has been a broadening acceptance of the LGBT culture and history as a core part of the modern society, in a way that could hardly be allowed in the past five decades (Hughes, 2006). Further, the levels of discrimination of the LGBT community has drastically reduced, with the Gay Pride Parades in the modern day being highly attended by the heterosexual community as if these events were just normal festivals and events that celebrated the diverse culture of the society. Thus, currently, the Gay Pride Parades are not mere events that are advocating for the gay rights and calling for the recognition of the LGBT community needs, but are also applied as educative forums where the sexuality issues such as transgender identity are brought up and discussed, in a bid to create more public awareness (Haggerty, 2000). Over the years, the Gay Pride Parades have evolved into celebrations, which have always seen both the LGBT and the heterosexual sections of the society converge in the celebration of the milestones and the diversity that has been associated with these events, owing to the fact that the events are recognized in most parts of the world as legitimate social events. However, the danger that the Gay Pride Parade is currently facing, is the eventual loss of the identity associated with these events, owing to the fact that such events have been attributed to commemorating the LGBT advocacy for their recognition, rights and freedoms in the past but are closely being attributed to social celebrations in the modern world (Kellaway, 2014). Nevertheless, the whole idea is that the public opinion on the gay rights and the LGBT community has effectively been changed, such that the public is now able to perceive these events as just any other social events. The fundamental idea of holding the Gay Pride Parades in the modern world is no longer to sensitive the society that the gay people still exist and they are in need of recognition, but to use the events as tourism promotion events to different cities in the world (Littauer, 2012). Thus, the modern tendency has been to commercialize the Gay Pride Parades, as opposed to celebrate the milestones of the gay rights revolution and the creation of the diverse LGBT community (Lenskyj, 2014). Thus, the Gay Pride Parades are no longer demonstration and riots seeking attention of the society, but a continued celebration of the diversity of the modern society. References Alessandra, S. (2000). Gay Parade, Opposed by Vatican, Passes Peacefully in Rome. The New York Times, 1-5. Eisenbach, D. (2006). Gay Power: An American Revolution. Carrol & Graf Publishers. German, A. (2014). Handbook of LGBT Communities, Crime, and Justice. New York, NY: Springer New York. Haggerty, E. G. (2000). Gay Histories and Cultures: An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis. Hughes, H. L. (2006). Pink tourism: Holidays of gay men and lesbians. Wallingford: CABI. Kellaway,K. (2014, 31 August). When miners and gay activists united: the real story of the film Pride. The Guardian. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/aug/31/pride-film-gay-activists-miners-strike-interview Lenskyj, H., & Palgrave Connect (Online service). (2014). Sexual diversity and the Sochi 2014 Olympics: No more rainbows. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan Littauer, D. (2012). Madrid to host 2017 World Gay Pride. Gaystarnews.com. available at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/madrid-host-2017-world-gay-pride081012/ Read More