Katherine McFarland Bruce
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781479803613
- eISBN:
- 9781479817788
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479803613.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Movements and Social Change
Opening with a brief examination of a contemporary Pride parade – along with its associated assets and challenges, such as religious protesters disrupting the celebration of queer identities – this ...
More
Opening with a brief examination of a contemporary Pride parade – along with its associated assets and challenges, such as religious protesters disrupting the celebration of queer identities – this chapter introduces the idea of Pride as an (unconventional) image of protest. The author argues that despite its festive and celebratory aspects, Pride is an effective tactic to illicit social change by targeting cultural ideas and norms rather than the state, which is typically the target of traditional political protest. Defining terms such as heteronormativity and Pride, the author begins to trace the history of Pride parades from their conception in the early 1970s to the contemporary celebrations occurring across the globe.Less
Opening with a brief examination of a contemporary Pride parade – along with its associated assets and challenges, such as religious protesters disrupting the celebration of queer identities – this chapter introduces the idea of Pride as an (unconventional) image of protest. The author argues that despite its festive and celebratory aspects, Pride is an effective tactic to illicit social change by targeting cultural ideas and norms rather than the state, which is typically the target of traditional political protest. Defining terms such as heteronormativity and Pride, the author begins to trace the history of Pride parades from their conception in the early 1970s to the contemporary celebrations occurring across the globe.
Katherine McFarland Bruce
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781479803613
- eISBN:
- 9781479817788
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479803613.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Movements and Social Change
Pride Parades tells the story of Pride in two parts. In Part I, the author explores how gays and lesbians established the event in the early 1970s as a parade to affirm gay identities. Situating this ...
More
Pride Parades tells the story of Pride in two parts. In Part I, the author explores how gays and lesbians established the event in the early 1970s as a parade to affirm gay identities. Situating this story at its beginning in mid-1970, the book outlines the scene where approximately 5,000 gays and lesbians (and surely a handful of straight allies) marched through the streets of Manhattan, West Hollywood, and downtown Chicago in the first ever Pride events. The events were a curious mix of protest march and parade - more festive than a typical angry march but with more contention than a typical parade – and were the largest ever public gatherings of out gays and lesbians in history; moreover, these marches were so successful that immediately afterward participants started planning for the following year, thus heralding the beginning of the colorful tradition of Pride. In Part II, the text leaps to 2010 and examines contemporary Pride parades. Pride today communicates messages about queer sexuality and gender that run counter to the heteronormative code of meaning that privileges heterosexuality as natural and moral.Less
Pride Parades tells the story of Pride in two parts. In Part I, the author explores how gays and lesbians established the event in the early 1970s as a parade to affirm gay identities. Situating this story at its beginning in mid-1970, the book outlines the scene where approximately 5,000 gays and lesbians (and surely a handful of straight allies) marched through the streets of Manhattan, West Hollywood, and downtown Chicago in the first ever Pride events. The events were a curious mix of protest march and parade - more festive than a typical angry march but with more contention than a typical parade – and were the largest ever public gatherings of out gays and lesbians in history; moreover, these marches were so successful that immediately afterward participants started planning for the following year, thus heralding the beginning of the colorful tradition of Pride. In Part II, the text leaps to 2010 and examines contemporary Pride parades. Pride today communicates messages about queer sexuality and gender that run counter to the heteronormative code of meaning that privileges heterosexuality as natural and moral.
Katherine McFarland Bruce
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781479803613
- eISBN:
- 9781479817788
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479803613.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Movements and Social Change
Building on ideas introduced in the introduction, the author delves deeper into the history of Pride in Chapter One. Exploring the first Pride parades in major cities across the United States, the ...
More
Building on ideas introduced in the introduction, the author delves deeper into the history of Pride in Chapter One. Exploring the first Pride parades in major cities across the United States, the author examines archival newspaper reports and personal interviews with participants at these first events. In doing so, the author shows how the participants initiated the model of protest that characterizes Pride today by targeting cultural, rather than political change. With a focus on the parades of New York and Los Angeles in 1970, this chapter outlines the beginning of Pride as a moment of elation and celebration but also a significant historical moment of protest; by marching through the public streets, refusing the censor their gay identities, the participants challenged and destabilized the heteronormative cultural code. These initial marches thus acted as catalysts for more Pride celebrations, initiating the tradition of Pride.Less
Building on ideas introduced in the introduction, the author delves deeper into the history of Pride in Chapter One. Exploring the first Pride parades in major cities across the United States, the author examines archival newspaper reports and personal interviews with participants at these first events. In doing so, the author shows how the participants initiated the model of protest that characterizes Pride today by targeting cultural, rather than political change. With a focus on the parades of New York and Los Angeles in 1970, this chapter outlines the beginning of Pride as a moment of elation and celebration but also a significant historical moment of protest; by marching through the public streets, refusing the censor their gay identities, the participants challenged and destabilized the heteronormative cultural code. These initial marches thus acted as catalysts for more Pride celebrations, initiating the tradition of Pride.
