Pride and Prejudice: A Reflection on Marching in Chicago Pride 2012

[This essay has been commissioned by the elements blog. Affiliated with the Boys and Girls Club Association of Hong Kong, elements is the only LGBT Youth center in Hong Kong.]

Across America, gay and lesbian pride parades in different cities are traditionally celebrated in the last Sunday of June to commemorate the Stonewall riots in New York City on June 28, 1969. This year, Chicago’s 43rd Annual Pride Parade reached 850,000 spectators in attendance, representing more than 196 community organizations, entertainment groups, government officials, and businesses. As I have done in previous years, I was marching with Tree House Humane Society, a no-kill cat shelter where I adopted my cats.

This year the parade route has been extended to alleviate crowding in Chicago’s gay neighborhood known as Lakeview’s Boystown. It took us about two hours to finish marching. As we chanted, distributed literature and goodies, offered the occasional hugs, and above all, became visible with an enthusiastic army of marchers and a goofily decorated minivan, we, along with other humane organizations, aimed to raise awareness of our service, programs, and steps Chicagoans can take to make Chicago a no-kill city. You might wonder what cats and dogs have to do with being gay or diversity. Indeed, there is not much, beside couples, be them gay or straight, are most welcome to adopt feline or canine children. As I will elaborate further, pride in large American cities has morphed into this community event that, from food to health, and from banking to religion, encompasses all aspects of life.

Also, in this year’s parade, a group of Christians called the Marin Foundation made their voice heard as they apologized for being the homophobes or bigots that they once were, and for harm some churches and Christians caused on the gay community. “I’m Sorry Campaign” is a clever, tangible, and effective way to bridge two peoples whom we often think will never be able to reach out to each other. They made it to the BBC news and many blogs, as well as the “Twenty-one Photos that will restore your faith in the humanity,” post that has gone viral on Facebook. I have missed this admirable team of opinion leaders, but I am sure their message got out of the parade and hopefully inspire and influence those who have yet to take the initiative to promote love rather than hate.

From its humble and activist beginning, Chicago Pride, as is the case with other prides in the nation, has also become this summer carnival and a big business opportunity. While honoring their diverse employees and patrons, many businesses use this televised prime spot to promote their products. Some make a better case of promoting diversity than others, but some are just blatant marketing. For instance, what does a giant shopping cart (promoting a local grocery store chain) has to do with being proud? Even if I sometimes wonder if Pride here is getting too commercialized, I still hope to see one day when Wellcome and Parkn’Shop send out a float to Hong Kong’s Pride, as it means the gay community is more or less accepted in the mainstream.

There were still many intimate moments, either at the assembly points or along the parade route. High fives were common as are hugs. It was not uncommon to see friends or your local and national politicians, whom you might have met or talked to elsewhere. Lots of parents brought their children for an afternoon of flamboyant dancing, music, costume, and an atmosphere of acceptance and celebration of different gender, ethnic, sexual, cultural or professional identities. Starting young to see a multiplicity of how people be and express themselves, the next generation will probably not go through what many of us have been too embarrassed to watch, know, feel, or articulate. A young fellow at elements told me how exciting and liberating it had been for him to see two men holding hands right in front of him. Honestly, even after so many years in Chicago, I still feel a bit uneasy around men in drag. Growing up in Hong Kong in the 80s and 90s, we were not exposed to diversity. As President Obama are evolving with this nation and the world, our children will not need to evolve further to uphold love as the fundamental rights of this new century.

Chicago Style Awesomeness, originally uploaded by Taekwonweirdo.