Pride: Pittsburgh will have celebrated, danced, marched, networked, and there was probably some other fun stuff in there too. We are now just another part of the rich tapestry of neighborhoods and people that make up what we call Western PA. Not only is Pittsburgh used to us, but they embrace us and love us and want to show off their pride in us, and pride in the way we are an integral part of the whole.
A number of folks in Pittsburgh complain that the Delta board is made upon men with their own personal agendas. Events like this only add fuel to that fire. What are their real motives? I don’t know, only the Delta Board knows.
But in the spirit of Stonewall which we remember and celebrate every June-
It was not the A-list gays, or the trendy folks who got the ball started demanding EQUAL RIGHTS! It was the drag queens and the types of folks that were the outcasts of an outcast minority. Marriage Equality is but one small part of the large and inclusive demand we have called Full Equal Rights for Everyone!
RuPaul’s Drag Race has brought new attention to Drag, which has grown and evolved in exciting ways. At one time, it may have been the form of gay entertainment, where today there are lesbian, gay, bi, trans and gender nonconforming entertainers in all sorts of mediums and venues. Still Drag is poignant and meaningful in the ways it uses Gender, to express power, roles, and and ideas.
What I do want to really own from Jillian’s position however, is that today, more than ever before, we have a need to both accentuate our differences, and at the same time embrace our togetherness. Even if we can easily see how to cut ourselves up into isolated parts, there is enormous value in owning our connectedness which makes us one community full of diversity. Our sense of community isn’t about how we are alike, but rather, our willingness to celebrate our differences without it harming our individual or collective identity.
This is from Box Turtle Bulletin’s Daily Agenda, and I thought it was interesting. As we struggle today for same-sex marriage and full equality, it may be helpful to remember that it wasn’t that many years ago, when there was very little gay visibility, let alone public support for our basic civil rights. My, how far we have come, even if we still have farther to go! I have never been to Gay Days at[Read More…]
Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta (left) shares a historic kiss with her girlfriend of two years, Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell, at Fort Story in Virginia Beach on Wednesday. It’s a tradition at Navy homecomings that one sailor is chosen by raffle to be first off the ship to kiss a loved one. This time, for the first time, the reunited couple was same-sex. The picture is worth a million words! Follow the link[Read More…]
Wanted to post some thoughts about Pittsburgh Pride: Pride in general, and what all of that brings to mind.
In case my blog has been a bit too heavy duty recently, here is a bit of humor (that still has a good message) about Pride. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuxAA0zdppY[/youtube]
In my experience of being at Pride events for almost 30 years, there will be al sorts of folks at Pride and each has his or her own agenda, ideas, thoughts, feelings, desires and plans.