Out Spotlight XXVIII

Personal note: With Wicked doing such an excellent job, I have some huge shoes to fill for doing the Out Spotlight while she is working on some of the technical things for OMG. The Out Spotlight is too important not to have. My apologies if I make mistakes in facts or focus I am learning as doing. So I ask for patience and to bear with me as I attempt do something even close to the great job Wicked did. Topics, suggestions and ideas are welcomed and encourage.


PRIDE

Pride celebrations, parades and events, what's the history behind Gay Pride?

Gay pride or LGBT pride refers to a world wide movement and philosophy asserting that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Gay pride advocates work for equal rights and benefits for all people.

The movement has three main premises:

• That people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity,
• That sexual diversity is a gift,
• And that sexual orientation and gender identity are inherent and cannot be intentionally altered.

Throughout history there has been a need to recognize the oppression of homosexuality in society and the belief that all that gays, lesbian, and bisexual people deserve the same rights as others without judgement or hate.

From early Greek societies, who do did not use sexual orientation for social identification, through the oppression of all sexuality of during the Medieval times from the Church, to modern society , Pride has drawn attention to the gay community throughout history. In the 19th century" Germany, there was an early gay rights movement akin to today's Gay Pride movement. Lead by Magnus Hirschfeld, this movement sought to educate the public and to bring about the repeal of Paragraph 175, a provision of the German Criminal Code begun on the 15th May, 1871, which made homosexual acts between males a crime."

But modern Gay Pride has its roots in Stonewall.

The first gay pride parade was a protest. On June 27, 1969, the March on Stonewall, started as a protest against discrimination and violence following a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar at 43 Christopher Street, in Greenwich Village, NYC. The late Miss Stephen Whittaker, a transgender rights activist and founding member of both the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance, is credited by many as the first to actually strike back at the police and, in so doing, spark the rebellion. Further protests and rioting continued for several nights following the raid. These protests and riots became known as the Stonewall Riots/Stonewall Rebellion, which is generally considered to be the beginning of the modern gay rights movement.

The first year anniversary rally and the "Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day March" on June 28, 1970 was to commemorate the Stonewall Rebellion. First year anniversary marches organized by other groups were also held in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The celebrations to commerate Stonewall in New York and Atlanta, Georgia became to be known Gay Liberation Day, in San Francisco and Los Angeles the day was called Gay Freedom Day, both names spread from those cities to other parts of the world in celebrating the LGBT community.

Brenda Howard originated the idea for a week-long series of events around what is now known as Pride Day; this became the first of the extended annual LGBT Pride celebrations that are now held around the world.

Pride became something more during the 1980's the marches began dropping "Liberation" and "Freedom" from their names under pressure from more conservative members of the community, replacing them with the philosophy of "Gay Pride". It was also during this time that Pride was a time to celebrate diversity, and acceptance and lives of the community even during times of great loss. It has over the years has provided a chance to address the issues, concerns and focus within the LGBT community, from basic rights of all, the decriminalization of homosexuality, to fight to remove homosexuality as a psychological disorder, to AIDS and its impact, healthcare, funding for research, gay adoption, the celebration of gay and lesbian families, legal rights for partners, to same sex marriage and more.

Today, Pride events have become an annual ritual and have grown to include hundred of thousands of gay and gay-friendly participants, not to mention thousands of spectators. From the the world's largest gay pride parade in with 3.5 milliion participants to the world's smallest gay pride parade with 100 participants in the city of Sligo, Ireland. It brings together all parts fro the LGBT community, from all ethnicities, economic groups and background. From drag queens to out and proud soccer moms, out Police and Emergency Workers, out Seniors, supportive friends and families, leathermen, bears, femmes, dykes, Pre Ops, Post Ops, even out Republicans! - all are welcome. It is a chance to celebrate, commemorate, and educate others about not just the LGBT community, but about about basic principles of tolerance, acceptance, and diversity for all.

Most Pride celebrations are held in during June. Click here for a list of Gay Pride Events and Celebration throughout the world.