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Proud To Be Pride
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Date: 2006/03/10 17:27
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By: Morgan05
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In every city, in every country (apart from the Vatican) once a year, every year, the town is painted pink and the boys come out to play for pride.
Pride Manchester was my first last year. I went with a couple of gay girlfriends and my boyfriend of the time. Nothing I saw there made me proud. I saw people that painted their faces trying oh so hard to find that identity, yet not understanding what they were looking for in the first place. I saw queers pelting rocks and abuse at protesting christian groups, without thinking that maybe that makes them as bad as the people they threw their stones at. I saw acclaimed bands and renowned artistes milking the pink pound while I knew that next week they were due to duet with some crazy homophobic rapper. I saw drunk people being sick in the streets, and sick people being drunk. I saw rainbow flags being sold to keep someone in good pocket, and with no charitable cause connection. I saw a mess.
Who here is proud of being pride?
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Re:Proud To Be Pride
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Date: 2006/03/10 19:46
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By: eversweet
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Ugh, that's terrible. Nothing like that happens where I live. I think pretty much every night here is a big party anyway lol. We're well known for being a party town, and the gay community and tourism industry (Turtle Cove is just around the corner) is huge here, and every Friday night there's a huge culture festival thing, and there's someone from every type of community and culture there, and a lot of local gays helping raise money for whatever - local schools, churches, RSPCA, GBLT youth groups. I love living here, besides the lack of a good education system. I don't know about Pride though, as a annual event sort of thing, we're probably a little too regional for that(our cities are more like towns here), though there was a huge celebration here after the Mardi Gras in Sydney, and everyone came up here.
~Megan~
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Re:Proud To Be Pride
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Date: 2006/03/10 23:06
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By: theoneandonly
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hmm.. an interesting topic... I believe these over the top "celebrations" of gay "culture" do more damage than good. I'm sure there are people that disagree with me, but these events, the larger of which are broadcasted all over the world, paint the gay community as over the top and almost a joke. Sure, I do think there is a time and place to show.. um...I donno.. "pride" but it seems as though people are using their sexuality as a reason to have a party. It seems as though many of these events set the gay community back, rather than bring it forward.
Derrick!
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Re:Proud To Be Pride
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Date: 2006/04/20 04:41
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By: dragonking
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here in melbourne pride march is part of the midsumma festival and help in early feb. I've only been to the last 2 and marched in both of em but its always great fun 
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Re:Proud To Be Pride
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Date: 2006/05/26 10:53
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By: bababoo
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I'm ashamed tbh 
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Re:Proud To Be Pride
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Date: 2006/05/26 21:21
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By: BATMAN
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Proud to say, our Gay Youth Pride festival, called the Bend It! Extragavanza, is more out to help educate than to throw parties. It follows soon after the actual Gay Pride event here in Seattle and is more focused on our younger queers and the questioning. It's tons o' fun, but still kept in check. They might not do it this year, though. Lack of volunteers and all. With the rise of rap music and fake Christians, homophobia's been let loose among our little metropolis.
Viva la vie Boheme!
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Re:Proud To Be Pride
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Date: 2006/05/28 09:10
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By: sam
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Pride displays tends to be counterproductive in that outrageous displays of drugs, sex, and inappropriate behavior won't let us gain any respect. The media, unfortunately, is prone to exaggerating and focusing on these negatives. On the flip side, bad attention might be better than no attention- where I live, our meager GSA parade entry gets the silent treatment when they walk down the street- but greater organization and responsibility among big-city parades/displays is needed.
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Re:Proud To Be Pride
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Date: 2006/06/22 18:58
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By: joel90
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This sunday were having our pride parade. I went last year for the first time and I was blown away. I didn't feel alone in the crowd, I actually felt like I was somewhere I belonged. I was with my boifriend (at the time ) and it felt so good to have our arms around eachother and have a kiss in the crowd instead of hiding our feelings from everyone. This year I'll be going alone but I don't care I'm excited to go there again. I'll let you all know how it was.
Is there somewhere here where I can post pictures of the parade?
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Re:Proud To Be Pride
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Date: 2006/06/29 14:28
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By: kinaholik
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I dont think i could be comfortable in a Pride parade. I was raised to think that you don't have to flamboyantly display who you are as long as you know who you are and are happy with that. A lot of people like the pride parade but a lot of people are against it. Who are we to force something like this into people's faces and expect them to unconditionally accept?
Anyways, just my views. Sorry for the ranting.
Pardon my ranting. I really am crazy today.
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Re:Proud To Be Pride
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Date: 2006/07/03 02:11
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By: Bazzy
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i must say that i think ithis is a bit of a cynical thread!
Europride in london this year was my first pride event that iv gone to and i must say it was a fucken blast!
I h8 to say this but get off your fucken high horse! PRIDE means jus that, we should be proud of who we are. Evan though yeah i do agree that some of the costumes may have been a bit revealing and junk, but heck atleast their proud of who they are!
i well enjoyed it, it really made methink of my 13 yr old self wen i thought i was the only one and then i looked around and saw soo many gay/les ppl holding hands dancing kissing and it filled me with a warmth.
Please don't forget all the struggle that our fore fairy fathers went through so that we could enjoy such events.
i defo know where your comin from and sometimes ppl will just think we're a bunch of party boys, but you know wot we are! we're other things as well but partying is why i signed up to the whole gay life style!
If you want to change the face of PRIDE rather than bitch why not get up and do something about it!
AAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!
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Re:Proud To Be Pride
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Date: 2006/07/03 02:19
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By: Bazzy
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and to let you know yes i was one of the ones who dressed up all gay!
i know i must sound like a rite freak, but this thread has well and truly annoyed me.
pride is all about everyone standing up united against homophobia, yes we do it with a flare but that is who we are.
and i know this is goin to sound like a well bitchy comment but i think that all the gay people who couldn't march in a PRIDE parade obviously arent proud of who they are or wot sexuality they are.
there end of rant i know i sound like a bitch but that is only becos that some people on this thread seem to be realy snooty and so up their own ass theres no room for cock! which really pisses me off. My ex used to look down on me and now i cnt fucken stand it wen ppl think they're better than someone/something else.
neway rant over
AAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!
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Re:Proud To Be Pride
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Date: 2006/07/03 06:39
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By: squidged
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Right, I say this as someone who has not been to a pride yet although I am going to Manchester Pride in August. From what I can tell from friends stories, it depends upon who you've gone with and individual experiences. However, the media coverage that these parades attract is not always the best advertisement for our culture. I'm not saying scrap them - there are far too many reasons not to - but I sometimes wonder if men with nippleclamps and other S&M paraphernalia is going to show the world that we're to be taken seriously.
Life is like a sewer: What you get out of it, depends on what you put into it
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Re:Proud To Be Pride
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Date: 2006/07/11 05:27
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By: kinaholik
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Bazzy wrote:
and i know this is goin to sound like a well bitchy comment but i think that all the gay people who couldn't march in a PRIDE parade obviously arent proud of who they are or wot sexuality they are.
Yes, it does sound like a bitchy comment and the very sort of prejudice that you say you fight so hard against. Being gay does not mean you have to fit into the stereotypical gay image and it seriously doesnt mean you can demean others who choose not to. If I said that every person who is not trying their hardest to be rich one day is a slacker, then I would be doing the same thing as you.
Open your eyes, you've become the thing you're fighting against.
Pardon my ranting. I really am crazy today.
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Re:Proud To Be Pride
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Date: 2006/07/16 02:17
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By: _m1k3_k3nn3dy_
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Pride events have become completely off of the track once imagined by folks who wanted to spread awareness and allow gay people to show pride for who they are.
The problem is that Pride events have adopted the camp lifestyle as their billboard. Mainstream society has come to identify all minorities with a certain stereotype. Pride organizers have reaized that the only way to get mainstream soceity talking, isn't by promoting individuality, but by decorating the stereotype that they've come to recognize us with. Another great example of this is Mardi Gras, or the Harlem Renaissance. Both evolved into a window for mainstream soceity to look through and see the "freakshow".
Now lets look at this...a 14 year old gay boy wakes up one day and realizes that mainstream society has smacked a label on him that really doesn't identify him properly. Then he notices that the gay community has given him the same label. What is this poor impressionable child going to do? He begins to feel trapped and will begin to conform (shutters) to what both societies have told him is right.
Im not proud to be pride, I'm proud to be me.
Cape Bretoner first, Nova Scotian second
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Re:Proud To Be Pride
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Date: 2006/07/16 02:17
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By: _m1k3_k3nn3dy_
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Pride events have become completely off of the track once imagined by folks who wanted to spread awareness and allow gay people to show pride for who they are.
The problem is that Pride events have adopted the camp lifestyle as their billboard. Mainstream society has come to identify all minorities with a certain stereotype. Pride organizers have reaized that the only way to get mainstream soceity talking, isn't by promoting individuality, but by decorating the stereotype that they've come to recognize us with. Another great example of this is Mardi Gras, or the Harlem Renaissance. Both evolved into a window for mainstream soceity to look through and see the "freakshow".
Now lets look at this...a 14 year old gay boy wakes up one day and realizes that mainstream society has smacked a label on him that really doesn't identify him properly. Then he notices that the gay community has given him the same label. What is this poor impressionable child going to do? He begins to feel trapped and will begin to conform (shutters) to what both societies have told him is right.
Im not proud to be pride, I'm proud to be me.
Cape Bretoner first, Nova Scotian second
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Re:Proud To Be Pride
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Date: 2006/07/31 21:47
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By: samzie
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some of this stuff really has made me mad, i haven't been to a pride event but not because i don't want to but because im too young and there isn't one near me, but i don't see how you can backslap about men walking around half naked and anyone else who might do something out of the ordinary, pride is surely meant to be about accepting people for who they are and enjoying there selves, so, if someone wants to go to an event dressed in bright pink, then maybe it is comprehendable that that is actually who they are inside, maybe another is dressed as a woman but really who is anyone to judge them for what they are doing, if you don't like what happens at these events just don't go, or do go and just brush it off and ignore it. but truly i think the spirit of pride is about embracing and accepting everyone for who they are, and if you can't do that then you are in no place to bitch...
and as for pride being forced upon straight people, i don't think it is, i mean, its one day a year and its pretty easily avoided, so my friends my main message, chill out and embrace our brothers for who they really are as this is what you want others to do to you.
as ever
sam x x x
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Re:Proud To Be Pride
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Date: 2006/08/18 03:48
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By: SexFiend1990
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I would have to agree with the one and only. Frankly, it disgusts me that the gay community can claim to be proud in a setting such as one where obvious the message is more party than it is pride. It seems also that at our events we are all too willing to succumb to sink to the level of our Christian and uneducated tormentors. It is a sad day indeed where one cannot be proud at a pride event due to the obvious stink of vulgarity <is that a word>. If this is what the gay community is becoming, then frankly I want no part of it.
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Re:Proud To Be Pride
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Date: 2006/09/22 22:20
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By: itsjordan
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Im not sure how much i can offer on this topic. I live in a small town, and our pride "weekend" is pretty mellow....def. no over the top stuff here. All the gay kids i know here attended...and we actualy had a booth (all 12 of us). The lack of teens was pretty overwhelming...but it felt good to be at a public gathering with other gay people. I think pride events are awesome....but to me....that is NOT the question. The important question to me is......what do you do, every day to show your pride. Public gatherings are great....i just think that we have to look at the big picture. What can you do to positively influence our presents in school, at work, in government, at home, on the streets.....to me that is much more important....and its where im focusing my energy.
Its funny really...when i first started accepting me being gay, and when i first came out i didnt understand the whole pride gig. After being rejected, harassed, and cast out....pride is what keeps me going.
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Re:Proud To Be Pride
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Date: 2006/10/16 00:56
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By: water_weaver
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My my, what a complicated post we have here.......Both sides make excellent arguments, and I'm going to have to say I don't agree with either. I do believe pride events are a wonderful thing, but I also think that perhaps while there are some "super-gay" displays there, there should also be a serious part. In life, it's always a good idea to have fun, but at times you also have to get serious. I'm not telling the ones who are totally flamboyant to stop being that way, I'm just telling other people who aren't as much to show that there's more to the gay community than sex, drugs, sex, hot guys, sex, lisps, and did I mention sex? Show people all of the sides of gay culture, not just one limited view, because this is one of the many ways stereotypes are brought into existence. By displaying all sides equally, it's nearly impossible to say that gays are just one thing, and therefore stereotypes are shattered. Haha....Um....Sorry for the ranting and raving....I tend to get a little worked up over serious issues.....
Ever seen a purple monkey? ... Yeah, me neither.
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Re:Proud To Be Pride
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Date: 2006/10/31 13:00
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By: toxic
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I love Gay Pride especially the one in Brighton. It's amazing! I think prides are a great oppurtunity for everyone not just gay people to go out, have fun and dress up. Yes some of it is camp but the colours and exciting atmosphere make you not give a damn. Everyone is so happy and smiling and coming together to show everyone that gays are just normal people too who like to have fun. I can understand that maybe more conservative folks won't like events such as these because some of the people there are very forward and bare chestedly open about their sexuality, a bit in your face, and that can make a few uncomfortablebut to be honest in my opinion you should be proud in your own skin, it doesn't matter what people say or think, what matters is who you are inside and you should never be afraid to show it. 
*big cheesy grin*
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