Not sure if you belong at Pride?
If you aren’t 100% sure you’re a cisgender, alloromantic and allosexual heterosexual, then society doesn’t give you any cues or help, so you belong at Pride. You have a much better chance of finding help and guidance, or at least space, there.
If someone has a problem with your self-expression at Pride, that’s their problem. Every other time and space, you’re the one who has to adjust to make others comfortable. Take up as much space as you like at Pride, that’s what it’s for. Dress your gender, flaunt your body, wear your gear.
If you’re worried about being seen at Pride, think about this—If someone recognizes you, then either they’re there as an ally or a protestor. If they’re an ally, it’s their job to get comfortable with you, not your job to make them comfortable. If they’re there to protest Pride, fuck ‘em.
Honestly there's only a few groups of folks that are not welcome at Pride that I can think of off the top of my head:
a) Homophones and Transphobes
b) People who actively trying to disenfranchise other's life decisions
c) Police (I wish it was a better world where this wasn't the case though)
Personally, I’m sitting at home by myself, folding laundry and watching Godzilla because the idea of doing anything with people today is too daunting. It’s there as an option, not an end-all, be-all solution to all problems.
I get that. I see nobody that looks like me, I'm queer but not THAT queer and I've always felt like I haven't gotten an invite to participate in things like that. Also: I'm too broke. Seems better suited for deeper-pocketed folks who'll buy anything with a rainbow on it.
Yeah, the commercialization of Pride is definitely an argument worth having. I’m in favor of keeping it small and weird, and driving out corporate money that tends to homogenize whatever it touches.
