Pride 2012 and Janice Kennedy

On Friday, the Ottawa Citizen published a piece titled What does tacky sex have to do with gay pride? by Janice Kennedy. In it, she blasts Pride week and the parade in particular, calling it “classless”, “vulgar”, and undignified:

Not to mention the big parade Sunday afternoon, which will feature drag queens, leather kings, sailor-capped guys in leopard skin bikinis and the usual display of rampant horniness on floats dedicated to sexuality made adolescent, trivial and — what’s the word? — tacky? vulgar? classless? all of the above?

How does iconizing the pageantry of monumental bad taste — even when it’s dressed up in adjectives like “fun” and “colourful” — serve as a vehicle for dignity? How does a public sexfest honour a struggle for equality and human rights? Assuming a desire to end the alienating forces of segregation, how does any of this function as a bridge?

She’s certainly not alone in voicing a disdain for the events. This conversation repeats itself every time Pride rolls around.

I wonder if she’s ever actually been to one of these parades. Her view that it is no more than a hedonistic orgy on wheels doesn’t at all reflect how the march actually is. It is far more mundane, involving dozens of groups walking down to show their support for various causes.

The title for her piece, in which she calls it gay pride, goes some way into explaining why she doesn’t get it. It is not a gay pride parade. It’s been called that, and it certainly has its fair share of gay people in attendance, but it isn’t a gay pride parade. It is a nexus for all those who want to show solidarity with issues surrounding the body, of which sexual orientation is only one small part.

That’s why you’ll also find in the parade groups dealing with such things as gender expression and identity, HIV stigmatization, non-monogamy, BDSM and leather. It is an environment where people can celebrate among others and not be judged for it.

To ask such things is not to be joyless or puritanical. It is to be publicly aware and socially respectful. Yes, the world should know who you are, why you’re flying the flag or wearing the triangle, why (against family expectations) you have a boyfriend, girlfriend or same-sex spouse. But the world really does not need to know explicitly what turns you on.

With the exception of sexual orientation, Janice is uncomfortable with any notion of body and sex that deviates from her perceived norms. To the point where she argues that people shouldn’t be open about it at all, not even at its own parade. She sees it as taboo.

I don’t believe that anyone should be ashamed about their body. I think that shame inhibits communication and so fosters ignorance, which in turn opens a world of pain for a lot of people.

This is a parade about liberation. Unlike Janice, I believe this is very much the place for people to be open and free of the shame for who they love, how they dress, their gender, their kinks, etc. To her it’s an undesirable expression that is entirely unrelated to the struggle for acceptance. To me, it couldn’t be more about it.

I’d also like to throw a shout out to Jeremy & Tina for having joined us at the parade. I had a great time, thanks guys!