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It's Gay Pride month! That hallowed time of year when we don glittery speedos and ride floats in front of the sweaty, cheering masses. But why is it that we strip down and party it up every June? What is it that makes pride so important? And why the hell does everybody keep looking at you all askance when you say you don't know what the Stonewall Riots are?!
Stonewall Riots
Gay Pride comes from a history of political struggle and civil unrest. Not to mention fierce choreography. Check out these 9 facts on the origins of Gay Pride:
1. The Stonewall Riots took place June 28, 1969 at Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street in New York City. (Today it is the popular Stonewall Bar.) There was a riot early in the morning (they were still out from Friday night) and another one that night.
2. The first gay pride march took place June 28, 1970. There were no floats, and it was more of a politically-driven demonstration to commemorate the Stonewall Riots than the non-stop party it is today.
3. A lesbian is actually responsible for starting the first riot on the night of (slash morning after) Judy Garland's funeral. Garland was like their GaGa, and the gays came together for support at the bars rather than on Manhunt and Facebook. They refused to comply when cops raided Stonewall, and things got violent. When a cop hit said lesbian in the head with a billy club, she turned to the crowd of gays and screamed, "Why don't you do something!" And they did: they kicked ass!
Early Pride Marchers
4. Kick lines and a re-write to the Howdy Doody theme song were part of the crowd's reaction to the police attempting to control rioters.
5. Stonewall Inn was owned by the mob. There was literally a peephole in the door, and if the bouncer didn't recognize you or didn't think you were gay, you weren't getting in. Did I mention you could be arrested for even appearing to be gay? Yeah.
6. Stonewall had no running water behind the bar (plastic cups were not all the rage in the 60s), and overflowing toilets were not uncommon.
7. At the time of the riots, cross-dressing was illegal. You could be arrested for not wearing a certain number of gender appropriate garments (sorry, Sherry Vine!).
8. Believe it or not, The Village Voice, today a gay equality champion run by a lot of gays, took an anti-gay stance in covering the riots. Angry protesters threatened to burn their headquarters down.
Pride Today
9. The Voice provided favorable coverage of the Pride march the following year. In fact, the media as a whole began its painful, gradual ascent to a fair and balanced approach to LGBT issues.
So whether you're out on Christopher Street or Market Street celebrating (we really should be commemorating too!), remember that our freedom to collectively show our pride and be who we are (at least for those of us in areas where its safe to do so) came from years of bitter struggle, courage and confrontation. And there will be many more battles to come. But from the dawning of pride we are damn fabulous at fighting back.
For more information on the Stonewall Riots, check the (very detailed) Wikipedia's entry or David Carter's Stonewall: The Riots that Sparked the Gay Revolution.
Check out the GayCities guide to pride.
D. Kareem is a South Carolina native living in NYC. He works in entertainment social media and is the author of the nightlife/travel blog TheBlackoutBlog.com
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