Pride, the month, the holiday...what does it mean to you?

Estella · 06-22-2012, 03:30 PM

I have to say, over the past ten years or so I stopped really feeling the whole Pride thing. I work pretty much every weekend and never make it to the parade anymore which, in Boston at any rate, was becoming mostly church groups and corporate clubs, i.e., "Citizens Bank Wishes You a Happy Pride!" Right. Even the Ramrod toned their float down.

But this year, for some reason, I was really feeling it. I work at a hotel filled with gay men, and this year something just sparked. We were all passing each other in the corridors wishing each other a happy Pride - it was very sweet. So a group of us got together after work at the Fritz block party and met each others' partners and spouses and friends - very impromptu, very casual - and I realized, I haven't done this in years!

I think that living where I live and working where I work might have led to a certain degree of complacency on my part, whereby Pride has turned into a sort of "beentheredonethat" moment. But I remember when I was sixteen and trying to come out in a rural Wisconsin town without getting killed. My girlfriend and I snuck away to go to Pride in Madison, and it felt like such a subversive, political act. And in too many places, celebrating Pride is still a subversive, political act.

So I'm re-embracing Pride and all of the cultural heritage that goes along with it. Because I am proud of who I am, and proud of my wife, and proud of the state I live in, and I'm even proud of Citizens Bank. And I'm intensely proud of all of the remarkable gay people who paved my easy, easy road and made it possible for me to be complacent about Gay Pride.

stargazingboi · 06-22-2012, 03:38 PM

Ummmm hmmm I don't wish people a happy pride. So, I didn't vote because that wasn't an option.

It's not that I don't want people to have a wonderful time at pride etc...it just doesn't roll off the tongue or even something I think to even say *shrugs*

SimpleAlaskanBoy · 06-22-2012, 05:03 PM

If I do, it's something I tend to do on the FB, I'm not "out" as family here unless it's to my medical providers. And even that's iffy, because I don't wear my binder all the time going out. (Sometimes it's more pain than it's worth if it's hot, or it presses on my shunt tubing.)
I really miss living somewhere larger and more progressive. Yes Columbus is not that far away but sometimes it feels like a planet away!

~SAB

View Poll Results: Do you wish people a Happy Pride and if you do is it like:
wishing them a Happy New Year?	53	61.63%
greeting Norm at Cheers?	15	17.44%
a way to increase your visibility?	12	13.95%
a way to increase their visibility?	9	10.47%
a political statement?	14	16.28%
a threat? (like you better have a happy pride or I'll send drag queens to your house)	13	15.12%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 86. You may not vote on this poll

06-22-2012, 03:30 PM	#1
Estella Member How Do You Identify?: Straightforward Femme. What you see is what you get. Preferred Pronoun?: We Relationship Status: Sadie, Sadie ... married lady. Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Love that dirty water ... Posts: 355 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 94 Thanked 551 Times in 130 Posts Rep Power: 8279291	I have to say, over the past ten years or so I stopped really feeling the whole Pride thing. I work pretty much every weekend and never make it to the parade anymore which, in Boston at any rate, was becoming mostly church groups and corporate clubs, i.e., "Citizens Bank Wishes You a Happy Pride!" Right. Even the Ramrod toned their float down. But this year, for some reason, I was really feeling it. I work at a hotel filled with gay men, and this year something just sparked. We were all passing each other in the corridors wishing each other a happy Pride - it was very sweet. So a group of us got together after work at the Fritz block party and met each others' partners and spouses and friends - very impromptu, very casual - and I realized, I haven't done this in years! I think that living where I live and working where I work might have led to a certain degree of complacency on my part, whereby Pride has turned into a sort of "beentheredonethat" moment. But I remember when I was sixteen and trying to come out in a rural Wisconsin town without getting killed. My girlfriend and I snuck away to go to Pride in Madison, and it felt like such a subversive, political act. And in too many places, celebrating Pride is still a subversive, political act. So I'm re-embracing Pride and all of the cultural heritage that goes along with it. Because I am proud of who I am, and proud of my wife, and proud of the state I live in, and I'm even proud of Citizens Bank. And I'm intensely proud of all of the remarkable gay people who paved my easy, easy road and made it possible for me to be complacent about Gay Pride. __________________ Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too? -- Douglas Adams

06-22-2012, 05:03 PM	#3
SimpleAlaskanBoy Member How Do You Identify?: Bisexual trans guy Preferred Pronoun?: He Relationship Status: Daddy to a sweet daisy. Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: O-H-I-O Posts: 410 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 1,426 Thanked 1,010 Times in 295 Posts Rep Power: 5996528	If I do, it's something I tend to do on the FB, I'm not "out" as family here unless it's to my medical providers. And even that's iffy, because I don't wear my binder all the time going out. (Sometimes it's more pain than it's worth if it's hot, or it presses on my shunt tubing.) I really miss living somewhere larger and more progressive. Yes Columbus is not that far away but sometimes it feels like a planet away! ~SAB __________________ "Eeyup."-Big Macintosh, MLP:FiM <-----Pocky Jedi "There's only one rule I know of babies-G-d damn it, you've got to be kind." -Kurt Vonnegut (G-d Bless You, Mr. Rosewater)

06-22-2012, 03:38 PM	#2
stargazingboi Senior Member How Do You Identify?: ~ Preferred Pronoun?: ~ Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: ~ Posts: 1,954 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 10,392 Thanked 8,318 Times in 1,626 Posts Rep Power: 21474854	Ummmm hmmm I don't wish people a happy pride. So, I didn't vote because that wasn't an option. It's not that I don't want people to have a wonderful time at pride etc...it just doesn't roll off the tongue or even something I think to even say shrugs