LGBTQ Pride Month is observed in June to commemorate the Stonewall uprising, which occurred at the end of June, 1969. As a result, many pride events are held during this month to recognize the impact LGBTQ people have had in the world. New York City as the place where Stonewall took place is thus the capital of Pride, and in 2019, the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, it will hold World Pride to mark the achievement of half a century of LGBTQ liberation. Of all events, the parades are the most iconic and always attract the most spectators and media attention.
The biggest one is held in Manhattan. The parade extends across 50 city blocks, from the West Village, where the Stonewall Inn is located, to 42nd street in Midtown Manhattan. The marching direction varies every year, either uptown or downtown. What never changes is the massive crowd, people dressed in rainbow colors and waving rainbow flags, beaming with joy and covered in confetti.
I went to the parade in my first year of college and marched with the Taiwanese contingent. It was before Taiwan passed marriage equality into law but after the constitutional ruling, so everybody was upbeat and hopeful. Walking on the wide span of New York’s 5th avenue with the float blasting Mandarin songs by famous Taiwanese singers, I felt like I owned the city. When we passed 23rd street, the rays of the setting sun were shining on us and from where I was standing, I could see the rest of the Taiwanese team silhouetted against the sky. A giant rainbow flag with the island of Taiwan on it was billowing in the wind. It was a magnificent sight to behold.
Both Queens and Brooklyn have their own pride parades, which are smaller in scale but equally festive. I have been to both twice. To me, both parades are more community-oriented and thus more neighborly, featuring some community-based organizations or services, such as hospitals, libraries, community centers, senior centers, and some local associations. In Brooklyn Pride, no barricades are set up, and onlookers can get as close to the parade as they want. Some even jump in to the parade and march alongside. It’s more like a block party than a performative spectacle.
In Manhattan however, the Pride Parade has become too commercial and apolitical. Commercial in that hundreds of floats sponsored by big business and brands occupy the parade, promoting their support for the LGBT community (but really their businesses). No doubt it is exhilarating to see businesses ally themselves with the LGBT community, but, ironically, you do not know what exactly it is they support, nor can you always understand the nuanced messaging. I can’t help but wonder if they really mean it or if they are just taking advantage of the pink economy, which targets gay people with their tremendous purchasing power. Apolitical in that political messages do not take center stage at the pride parade anymore. Unlike the Women’s March in recent years, which has attempted to reclaim the autonomy of the female body and promote women’s rights, pride parades now bear a closer resemblance to parties, where getting political is inappropriate and a bit of a buzz kill. Pride parade has become more akin to a celebration than a part of a movement to advocate for marginalized groups. Maybe this is because some people see marriage equality as the most important objective of the gay movement, so, for them, there is nothing more to pursue.
I find Taipei Pride Parade to be more radical and political, or at least that was the case in the past. As marriage equality took center stage, the parade got more political. Now, with the advent of legal same-sex marriage, I wonder if the parade in Taipei will get even less political and radical, forgetting there are still a lot of other things to advocate for. Has marriage equality blunted the edges of the LGBTQ movement?
Besides, pride parades should advocate not only for acceptance, but also for tolerance. By putting emphasis on marriage equality, the gay movement has shifted to highlighting sameness, assimilation and respectability, i.e. how much gay people are integrated into “mainstream” society. To my dismay, some people within the gay community even criticize some others for being dressed in too revealing or provocative a way, thus being obscene. Some sex-positive or sex-diverse messages are also said to be too radical and inappropriate. I understand where those critics are coming from, but I also believe that the LGBTQ movement has always embraced the outsiders in opposition to mainstream values ever since its inception. It should remain critical and skeptical to the norms, and have no fear of challenging them instead of conforming.
The LGBT community worldwide has reached unprecedented breadths and depths. There is no turning back or going backward. I hope LGBTQ people will continue to take to the streets until the day true equality comes.
