gosh, so true. mardi gras is scary.
when i think of a gay parade, automatically i assume that nudity and showboating would be a part of it. it’s not a 1950’s type of parade where people dress nicely and toss out hard candies to children while waving hello.
“wo words for you…SPRING BREAK. What’s the difference?”
Well one main difference is a parade is sanctioned by a municipality with permits and such, the other is a “party gone awry”. In both cases, even in situations like Marti-gra, nudity is not simply accepted. Yes there is much nudity but if in the wrong place at the wrong time you will be arrested for it. Thus it surprises me that nudity is just “accepted at a parade”.
“Just like heterosexuals, there is a very broad spectrum of gays, male and female.”
Again a question…so a group of homosexuals actually are serious about being the “village people?”. A large enough group that they would Seriously do a parade? Again certainly not being condesending or trite but it would surprise me to find out that even the most “flambouyant” homosexuals enjoy dressing up like army dudes and doing army drills. My point is aren’t the activities in teh parade more of an “In your face” thing than “Man I like to do this. I’m doing this again tomorrow at home”?
"You might meet a gay person or two and actually like them for themselves. "
Actually I know quite a few “gay” people, and just like the broad spectrum above, some I like, some I don’t. To my knowledge none I’ve met enjoy dressing up in army cloths and pretending to do drills at home.
~Matt
As the “nudity” doesn’t make me sick it certainly isn’t an issue for me. What is an issue however is the potential for a double standard. I know of no other scenario where “Public nudity” is simply accepted.
Many have brought up mardi-gra and spring break. In neither case is nudity “accepted”. Rampant perhaps but also certainly punishable and is punished if one is in the wrong place at the wrong time. How is it that nudity in a parade is simply “overlooked” even expected?
I highly doubt that if a group of strippers decided to do a parade that “nudity” would be accepted as part of teh “heterosexual” parade. Why should it be accepted for the homosexual one?
~Matt
“Again certainly not being condesending or trite but it would surprise me to find out that even the most “flambouyant” homosexuals enjoy dressing up like army dudes and doing army drills.”
They are a precision drill team. It’s actually very impressive what they do with their rifles, er guns, er equipment…well, you get the idea.
well, the people in these parades aren’t trying to be accepted into existing standards. their mocking the societal standards and would like to set their own.
i imagine that’s the point. to say the hell with it, we’re here and we’re queer.
we have a gay parade in cincinnati…i’ve never been, but i could envision the entire parade getting arrested if a wienie or boob came out into the open. lol. things like that just don’t happen here–this city is sooooo conservative.
Again a question…so a group of homosexuals actually are serious about being the “village people?”.<<
In their private life, at times, yes.
Again certainly not being condesending or trite but it would surprise me to find out that even the most “flambouyant” homosexuals enjoy dressing up like army dudes and doing army drills. My point is aren’t the activities in teh parade more of an “In your face” thing than “Man I like to do this. I’m doing this again tomorrow at home”?<<
Ah Matt, you wouldn’t believe what some people (gay AND straight) do in their private life. It would make the dirty secrets thread look like a children’s book.
"You might meet a gay person or two and actually like them for themselves. " <<
Sorry, didn’t direct this specifically at you.
clm
“Ah Matt, you wouldn’t believe what some people (gay AND straight) do in their private life.”
Oh certainly I’d believe it. What I’d have a hard time believeing is that they’d want to share those things with the world.
~Matt
Flame.
Casey,
Well said, I’m with you and Record.
Mike
I guess you have never been to the Castro district in San Francisco. I drove through it last week with a Dutch co-worker friend of mine. It’s a tourist destination most persons have to see.
I consider myself pretty open minded. I have a let-live non-of my business attitude. But the whole gay district thing is really absurd. Just when you think that these are people who want to live and love each other, the extremism gets thrown in your face. There is nothing loving and middle America about the Castro district. It is hard core, in your face (or in your rear), penis, rainbow flying extremism.
It’s the same thing with gay parade. I don’t believe most gays want to have this type of image, which I have to believe sets them back. I can’t believe gays want to be viewed as transexuals, cross dressers, or sexually irresponsible. But I guess they can’t help themselves - it’s all that speed they take at the nighclubs.
Interesting.
I’m finding it strange that people are sort of getting onto Record here with “get out more” comments, as if he’s the weird one for commenting on public nudity. He wasn’t commenting on a gay night club, or some gay private party, or gay BBQ, etc. It was the GAY PRIDE parade, a celebration of being proud of being gay and showing the rest of the world about what being gay is about (isn’t it?).
I have gay friends, some with children that my children play with. I’ve seen quite a few things. I would not expect to see a bunch of nudity IN the St.Paddy’s Parade or the Puerto Rico Parade, etc. Why is it all of the sudden acceptable at the gay Pride Parade? I suspect, because the stereotype has been reinforced so many times that we would only be shocked if Gays did not go over the top in public sexuality. I suspect, if people went to a gay pride parade, that celebrated the achievments of gay people in business, education, politics, industry, etc … that it would be labelled “lame”, “boring”, etc.
Is the parade advertised to be like this? If I, as an open-minded parent, took my kids to the Gay Pride Parade to see a little culture, would it be my fault for what my kids see? I guess I am trying to understand the thinking that says “Hey, there’s public nudity elsewhere, so it’s perfectly fine for a parade”.
What I learned about “Gay Pride” for a two hour parade - the first 45 minutes were spent watching politicians walk past in beige pants and salmon (pink) polo shirts…with people handing out leaflets about how they are so “pro gay” and at one with gays…I mean they were all there - from the Govenor, to the “Water Reclemation” dude…oddly, all wearing pastels (at their wifes suggestion I bet). The “commercial” floats were all quite nice, entertaining, and well thought out…they had a VERY valid theme - “Equal Rights, not More Rights”…in those words.
Then it started… “Gay Swimmers” - men in Speedos - thong speedos, carring signs that said in large letters “Swimming is for Fags”… The “Gay Batton Corps” - men in “dasiy dukes” spinning wooden rifles - portraying them as masturbation devices, rectal insertion instruments, and as a penis inserting it into the mouths and rectum of the other people that had their own wooden gun…not something I would wany a child of mine to see. Transvestites and the like - showing off their privates to the world as post operative displays of human mutilation (IMO). Women in short skirts, on floats, with chains going from their labia - to their nipples…saw this more than once. men on rollerblades, in thongs…and nothing but… Men with Electrical tape covering their penis…mummy style…and nothing other…
And what I really liked…now, I recall how this started…“Equal Rights”…and I agree 100% with that…BUT, the end of the parade had the groups like: Gays against Isreal - with signs that Hitler would have been proud of Jewish gays - wearing a the little hat, and short shorts… Gays againts Christ Gays for Anarchy Goth Gays who hate everyone and had blood tablets dripping from their mouths all over their chest and short shorts… Dikes on Bikes… Men showing their penis, and being breifly inserted into the mouths of other men “watching” the parade… Women inserting dildoes and licking fake vaginas…on floats Men portraying anal sex with other men, on floats
It went on and on…a Chicago police officer told me that I may as well start selling drugs in front of him if I had some…as the law did not matter that day…
Now, before you thing you can flame me…I was not directly offended. I feel sorry for the people who feel they need to portray them selves in such a way in public. Certainly it is a cry for help. If I was however a parent, or a citizen in an environent where I would not assume that such actions would take place (I knew going in what it would be) - I would expect that the people be arrested and charged with sex crimes, and registered in the proper sex offenders database. On any other day if you are a man showing off your penis to a crowd, you go to jail - EVEN at Marti Gras…and Daytona beach as well…
They get one day a year. Imagine how nutty we would all be if there was only one triathlon a year.
You prefaced that list perfectly with:
for a two hour parade - the first 45 minutes were spent watching politicians walk past in beige pants and salmon (pink) polo shirts…with people handing out leaflets about how they are so “pro gay” and at one with gays…<<
I haven’t been to a gay pride parade but that doesn’t suprise me that the politicians use it as a soapbox. I’ve been to the Puerto Rican Day Parades, Bud Billiken, and many more in Chicago and each time there was a definite police presence and ish was enforced/shut down if deemed inappropriate. No nudity to my recollection. Just too many young people partying. You already know why nothing was illegal… VOTES. Unfortunately politicians smokescreen their solicitation of votes with “pro this/that, support, tolerance & understanding”. That’s not what it’s about to them. There are some that genuinely support gay/lesbian activism but it’s in all of their their best interests to participate regardless if they wish to be re-elected and not viewed as anti-… Ok, done with my whole Daley sucks routine!!!
FWIT, you sure took in a lot. Bwaaaaaaaa. Just messing with you.
Right, but if I did that on my day…I would spend that night in a cell…
Equal rights is just that, EQUAL. Like I said initially. I am sorry to gays on a whole for the behaviors of a minority of them. It is what the minority is doing in public that portrays the majority in the rest of society…and that is a shame.
Really, why did any of this surprise you? I expect all these things and worse at that parade. The Pride Parade, to me, is just a concentrated Mardi Gras. 
It surprises me that people bring their kids. It definitely is not a “family” event.
I lived a block from Wrigley and about 3 blocks from Boys Town for several years. All I knew was that I definitely did not want to bike down the parade route for about a week b/c that parade completely trashes the area. There certainly are people that try to fight the stereotypes but the ones who are most vocal typically perpetuate the stereotypes you mentioned in the latter half of your list. BTW…the politicians were probably wearing pastels b/c it was about 150 degrees yesterday. 
No matter, that behavior is ILLEGAL - and a parent should not have to risk brining their kids to Wrigglyville on any day for fear that there will be a parade of social deviants on display. I got what I expected, what I didnt get is what I paid for…and I paid for, and pay for a police in my state to enforce the laws for all people, and with all people in all instances…“Justice is Blind”? Or does it turn a blind eye for some?
I think we need a bank robbers parade…we can all join in and rob a bank that day…should be legal that day right?
Now, do I like to see a random vagina…certainly…BUT, that does not take away the fact that the behavior was inappropriate in ANY public area…and that the police were helpless to enforce the laws as they would have been seen as “gay bashing” - not as enforcing the laws of the state of Illinois, and the City of Chicago. That is the whole point.
.
They get one day a year. Imagine how nutty we would all be if there was only one triathlon a year.
They’re not gay the rest of the year? They’re not gay in public for the rest of the year? They don’t have large gay parties for the rest of the year? I’m not following.
If we had a “Triathlon Pride Parade” one time a year for the world to see, are you saying that there’d be nudity all over the place, triathletes puking off floats, guys bending girls over aero bars, etc? I’m not buying that.
Seems like people are going out of there way to condone certain behavior … behavior they might not condone if it were antoher group. Can a person say “Gays shouldn’t put their balls in another guys mouth during a parade”, and still be supportive of gay rights? Sue they can. I’ll say it right now.
It’s a parade, not a night club. The explanantions of “Hey, they do it at Mardi Gras” as a means of saying “it’s okay” don’t fly with me. If I was running down the street drunk and naked, I wouldn’t be able to use the “Mardi Gras defense”. Really, I don’t get it.
In truth, the subject does not affect me. I’m not gay, I didn’t (and now, won’t ever) go to the gay parade, etc. I feel for all those gay folks that work very hard in life, try to live their lives in a way that make it possible for the to adopt, be accepted, etc. I feel for them, b/c too often, the behavior at the gay parade overshadows everything else gay people do. Both sides of the fence know this. What it amounts to is that certain gay folks being a selfish, perverted jackass in a public event is more important than the cause or other societal issues. That’s how it seems to me. As always, I could be wrong.
Men showing their penis, and being breifly inserted into the mouths of other men “watching” the parade…
Women inserting dildoes and licking fake vaginas…on floats
Men portraying anal sex with other men, on floats
You saw all these things and didn’t take any pictures? Did watching this stuff make you want to go home and drill your woman?