Gay Pride

Somewhere under the rainbow, do words fly?

“Someplace where there isn’t any trouble? Do you s’pose there is such a place, Toto? There must be. It’s not a place you can get to by a boat or a train. It’s far, far away. Behind the moon, beyond the rain … ”

Feeling, yet again, a little disillusioned with the prospect of celebrating Gay Pride, I decided to go searching for answers—or chasing rainbows, so to speak—so I could find a place to put my misgivings. When I began my journey, my goal was twofold: to have a better understanding of my detached feelings and to reinvigorate my place in the celebratory day. I didn’t feel like following any roads paved in gold, or organizing a witch-hunt. Instead I chose to stick close to home, to investigate my own backyard.

Thus the beginning of the rainbow started with other gays, namely my friends. But, to make sure I incorporated all the colors of my gay rainbow, I read a book about my hood: Gay L.A. by Lillian Faderman and Stuart Timmons—which, by the way, was amazing!

As is the case with most adventures, where I thought I’d end up at the end of the rainbow—more disillusioned—turned out to be completely different from where I actually did. And with most adventures, they are always better when shared. So I decided to make this column a community collaboration of quotes on Gay Pride from various segments and ages of the community (my friends), as well as several tidbits of extraordinary information (from Gay L.A.) about Los Angeles and its gay roots.

From a few of my friends:

“I only go to see the religious protests (I like to check out the countermovement), but I do think that Gay Pride is not so much resonant because of a need to assert pride per se, but, in a world in which gay advocacy and mainstream thought characterizes gays as just like straights and as respectable marrying types, Pride is necessary for its strong counter-message of difference and an embrace of equality with a (celebratory) cognizance of subordination and sexual stigma.”

—Doug, 30, GWM

 

“I have lots to say about Gay Pride, and all the thoughts start with yuck! Doesn’t speak to me at all. Too shirtlessboy focused. And why are there always AIDS floats with lesbos on them and never breast cancer floats with queens on them? In theory, the concept is beautiful, relevant and celebratory. In reality it’s a commercialized mess!” —Kim, 37, lesbian

 

“I go to show support for those who give their time [to] issues affecting our community, as an encourage-ment for others to stand proud, [and to] honor those who have passed and celebrate our collective survival.”

—Sandy, 50, GWM

 

“I went once in 2000 and haven’t been back since. For me, it fits into the same category as most “holidays”— something that probably had meaning in the beginning, but has now morphed into something completely different—with nary a trace of its original intent. They should just rename it “Don't Drive Anywhere Near Santa Monica Boulevard Day.”

— Kevin, 35, GW/AM

 

“I went twice to the parade when I was in my 40s. Rather than Gay Pride, I want to be a proud man. I’m proud that I’ve had two successful long-term relation-ships. I’m proud I was honest with my family. I’m proud I’ve accomplished a lot. My gayness only enters into my life when I’m having sex, otherwise I go about my life as an individual and not specifically gay.”

—Tom, 72, GWM

 

When it came to Gay Pride, I discovered that I agreed with (mostly) everything my friends had to say. And even though most of them don’t attend the festivities—something I, too, was considering doing this year—everyone felt like it was something important, necessary even.

Then I read my book.

Like a lot of gay people (especially if you’re from the East Coast), I knew all the facts about Stonewall as well as various other tidbits. And in past (formative) years, I even participated in various groups associated with the Pride parade. But, post-read, I discovered I knew almost nothing about the rich history and meaning of Gay Pride in Los Angeles.

 

Factoids and things you should know (if you don’t already) about the Los Angeles gay movement and (only some of) my favorite findings from the book, Gay L.A.:

 

In 1948, Harry Hay wrote a manifesto comparing the murder of homosexuals in Nazi Germany to the (recent) firings of gay men. In 1950, embracing his manifesto, a new Los Angeles group of gay men called the Mattachine was formed, marking the beginning of the national homophile movement.

In 1966, Steve Ginsberg founded the PRIDE group (probably the first application of the word to gay politics), an acronym for Personal Rights in Defense and Education.

In 1966, thousands of bemused Angelenos witnessed the first gay parade on record—part of the “First National Homophile Protest” to end the ban on gays in the military. The protest, one of five planned demonstrations across the nation, was only staged in Los Angeles.

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… [T]his year, I shall celebrate with a new definition of PRIDE, which is Personally- Responsible- Individual- Dedicated to the Evolution of the LGBT movement.

 

 

Two and a half years before Stonewall, in response to a Vice Squad raid in the first moments (New Year’s Day) of 1967 at two gay bars in Silver Lake—the Black Cat and New Faces—the PRIDE group was behind one of the earliest demonstrations against police harassment of homosexuals.

In 1967, in the basement print shop at ABC Studios, Richard Mitch and Bill Rau created a newspaper called The Advocate. It became the first national gay news publication.

In October 1968, in the living room of his rented Huntington Park house, Troy Perry conducted the first service of the Metropolitan Community Church, (the first gay church) named for its birth in metropolitan Los Angeles.

On June 28, 1970, after much legal deliberating, the Gay Liberation Front staged the first Gay Pride Parade down Hollywood Boulevard. It was not allowed to start until after 7 p.m.

In October 1970, at the downtown Biltmore Hotel, the GLF staged a protest against a conference on behavioral modification— one of the first in which gays challenged the mental health establishment’s classification of them (us) as “sick.” This helped lead to the removal in 1973 of “homosexuality” from the American Psychiatric Association’s diagnostic of mental disorders.

The L.A. Gay Community Services Center became the first gay entity to be granted nonprofit status by the Internal Revenue Service, and, in 1975, it became the first institution with the word “gay” in its name to receive federal funding.

Until 1975, oral and anal sex were felonies in California. Oral sex could be punishable by up to 15 years in prison; anal sex could earn an offender a life sentence.

Chapter by chapter, through all the protests and advances, my life began to quietly change. I came to discover I live in a city where some of the biggest landmark strides in the gay movement were made. I am forever changed. After going backward, once I’d finished the book, I was ready to move forward. I felt like singing about rainbows. But instead I looked up the words “gay” and “pride.”

According to the dictionary:

Gay—1. Homosexual in sexual orientation (I love that it was first); 2. full of light-heartedness and merriment; 3. brightly colored; 4. having or showing a carefree spirit.

 

Pride—1. A haughty attitude shown by people who believe, often unjustifiably, that they are better than others; 2. the correct level of respect for the importance and value of your personal character, life, efforts or achievements; 3. the happy, satisfied feeling somebody experiences when having or achieving something special that other people admire.

So, after all the questions, the reading, the extraneous attitude about Gay Pride and the feelings of detachment, it brought me right back to my foundation. But it made me want to redefine my place and participation in gay history. And through all of that, I learned one very important lesson— something, I suppose no good witch or wizard could teach me: that I can always regain my sense of pride! And if I ever go looking for my pride again, I never have to look very far. Because if it wasn’t there already, then I never really had it to begin with. Only this year, I shall celebrate with a new definition of PRIDE, which is Personally-Responsible-Individual- Dedicated to the Evolution of the LGBT movement.

As for you? Even if you decide not to attend the festivities, hopefully there will be something in what you’ve just read—a factoid, a quote or a definition— to make you feel included, empowered or proudly defined each and every other day of the year.

And to that, I’d like to thank all those before me who made Gay Pride possible, to the authors of Gay L.A. for creating such a wonderful piece of history, to the producers of this publication for its existence, to my friends who constantly redefine the meaning of family, to you, my loyal readers, who write in and share, and ... to the gay at heart ... come out, come out, wherever you are!