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Your post does answer my question: Why do they do it? In the context of the purpose of the parade, what message are they trying to communicate to their public audience? That they are vulgar?
My post explains that there is really no raunchiness in the parades I've seen, and I've seen a few.
I haven't seen anything I would classify as vulgar.
I don't think the mayor, or the premiers or police chiefs back in the day, would participate in a " vulgar " parade.
There are even church groups in the parades as well.
As for the message of the parade, it's like a Mardi Gras. A celebration.
It morphed from protest marches to what we have today.
When I was a kid, one of the events on fair day in my little town was a beauty contest. The beauty contestants were local men dressed as women because you couldn't ever have a beauty contest with the wives of the men as you'd just never live that down as to which woman won or not.
A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes..
Doesn't really differentiate between straight or gay when it comes to drag queen. I get what you're saying though - typically a drag queen is a gay male.
Quote:
Originally Posted by netwit
When I was a kid, one of the events on fair day in my little town was a beauty contest. The beauty contestants were local men dressed as women because you couldn't ever have a beauty contest with the wives of the men as you'd just never live that down as to which woman won or not.
I don’t think I gone to a parade since I was a kid. It’s just not my thing.
However, I am rather baffled by the talk of parade raunchiness in this thread. What are those people trying to communicate to those watching, particularly to children who might be around? Is the behavior a form of exhibitionalism?
There certainly are members of the gay community like this but this is not the essence of the parades really. I think Nat really summed up what goes on in a parade. If nudists or people dancing provocatively is considered exhibitionism I digress. I mean Miley Cyrus has twerked on national television and i've seen just as many 'provocative' displays in mainstream straight media as what goes on at a gay pride event.
Now there are some events that are more along the lines of what you are writing about here - but those are usually smaller one's and not part of mainstream gay pride events.
As much as they have become commercial, ultimately it is just largely an excuse to go out and have some fun. Dance, party and get together with like minded individuals. Heck Caribana parade in Toronto is just as 'provocative' as gay pride parades - easily.
I recall watching an episode of Judge Judy once. I like Judge Judy's show, because what is at issue is usually quite simple, though it may not seem so to the litigants; and I can usually tell what Judy's decision is going to be before she announces it.
This matter involved two drag queens. What was at issue here was the loan of a dress. A loaned B an expensive dress (as in custom-designed and made, and costing thousands of dollars), and B didn't take care of it, and somehow ruined it. Naturally, A wanted repayment or replacement, but when B said it was an accident and he was not at fault, A commenced legal proceedings. Judge Judy heard the matter and made her decision (as an aside, A won; B had a duty of care to take care of the dress, and was negligent in doing so).
But here's the thing--both litigants appeared in court as men, dressed as men. One was in a shirt and sport coat, the other was in a shirt and tie and sweater vest. Or something like that, just normal-looking men. They presented as just two men. If they were gay, you'd have no idea.
Now, let's look at the other side of the coin. Back in the 90s, a friend transitioned, all the way, up to and including the surgery. But he (he was still a he, then) had to go through the protocol--a year of living as a woman, before any physical treatments, such as hormones, could start. Of course, there was psychiatric care, group counselling, and so on, during that time.
But some things never change, and he never lost his love of TV sports accompanied by a couple of drinks. We got together a number of times during that year to watch a game and have a drink at a pub. Beer was mine; he liked highballs (rum and Coke, gin and tonic, rye and ginger, and similar). Anyway, we always had a fun time. He looked like a woman--more or less--but nobody ever gave him any grief about it.
Why? Because he made an attempt to look like any other woman his age might, in that setting. Jeans and a sweater. Jeans and a football jersey to cheer on his team. Sneakers or flats on his feet. Those sorts of things. If I tell you that there were no sequins, no big poofy hair, no heavy makeup, no stiletto heels, or anything else you might equate with drag queens, you might not believe me. But that's how he looked on those occasions: like any woman who might go to the sports bar to watch the game, and not like anybody who was trying to ram his difference down anybody's throat. He just wanted to blend in anonymously.
Why? "Because I'm not a drag queen," he said. "They're over-the-top representations of women performers; I just want to be an ordinary, everyday woman, blending into the background." And so he, eventually she, was dressing to do so.
Having seen all that myself, I am confident in stating that there is so much nuance to this topic that it is impossible to make blanket statements about anything in it. My friend had no interest in converting anybody, he was not gay (he was married to a woman with whom he would have a divorce), and it took a little time before he was comfortable heading to the ladies' room at the sports bar when nature called. Not everybody is like he was, of course; there are many shades of grey to consider. Regardless, it is my opinion that blanket statements cannot be used when we discuss this topic.
Last edited by ChevySpoons; 07-29-2022 at 10:58 PM..
I believe drag queens would fall under the ***** category would they not? So they are covered by the Q in LGBTQ.
Of course not all drag queens are gay.
Not all trans people are "gay" either, though that is a bit complicated to figure out sometimes.
btw AJ whatever you posted " under the ..... was starred out. I lump them in just because the majority are gay men. I mean you could get other groups but 99 percent of the time, you see men in drag they are gay. If not then as I said, there may be some wives out there having some 'discussions' with their man.
The Q could also mean 'questioning' - I have to admit this all gets a bit confusing for me too
post -edit Acajack look at my link for the word that C/D doesn't want posted - I think that is what you tried to post. I guess it was used offensively too many times even though there are individuals in the community who associate with it.
Absolutely nothing bothers me about the LGBTQ community anywhere in the world. I firmly believe that policies encouraging tolerance and integration are far more valuable to society than those that support discrimination. Homosexuality exists in the wider animal kingdom as well.
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Your post does answer my question: Why do they do it? In the context of the purpose of the parade, what message are they trying to communicate to their public audience? That they are vulgar?
