Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2010 > June > 01 > Entry
Not just one way to salute gay pride
Who owns gay pride? Or, more to the point, who owns the Austin tributes to the Stonewall Riots of June 1969, which ignited the modern gay movement?
“Nobody” seems as safe a dodge as “everybody.” Yet anyone familiar with the dynastic rivalries among advocates of African American civil rights or the micro-divisions within the women’s movement knows that such symbolic events come packed with potential strife.
This week, two Austin groups — Austin Gay and Lesbian Pride Foundation and Queer Bomb — will salute the historic riots in distinct ways.
The last part didn’t sit well with everyone.
“We didn’t want pride to become just another circuit party,” says Chad Peevy, 29, president of the foundation, which is attempting to define the annual festival and parade as family-friendly and tourist-genial. “I didn’t always feel included in the past. I don’t think others did either.”
You see, large, elaborate circuit parties attract gay males (almost exclusively) for music, dance and various forms of intemperance. Among the marathon festivities on the international circuit are Palm Springs’ White Party, Montreal’s Black and Blue Party and Miami’s Winter Party. In Austin, Splash parties — the next one scheduled for Labor Day weekend — radiate from the vicinity of Hippie Hollow.
Fine for that sort of thing, Peevy says, but not a way to unite a larger community. “I have felt isolated in my gay experience,” he says. “In my search for a sense of belonging, I’ve been given an opportunity to create a place, one I hope others could relate to as well. You can go to the same circuit party in Los Angeles, New York or Miami. Instead, we wanted to showcase the best among us and the best within us.”
With that in mind, the foundation chose seven grand marshals — Libby Sykora, Oliver Everette, Patrice Pike, Lisa Scheps, Laura Morrison, Megan Hodge and Gregory J. Vincent — representing law, media, music, business, charity, government, education and other fields. Hodge, a rising star, gained fame as a high school student and co-founder of Texas Gay Straight Alliance Network; she now works closely with Out Youth.
Peevy, who runs a marketing company, and his foundation took over duties that had previously been shouldered by the Austin Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, a business group, and Equality Texas, an advocacy group, at various locations.
Not everyone is happy with the Pride regime or its aims. A group called Queer Bomb, which quickly attracted more than 700 friends on Facebook, plans an alternative event on Friday. It will start at 8:30 p.m. at 501 Studios in East Austin, follow a procession downtown, then return to the Studios for a blowout bash.
Queer Bomb spokesman Paul Soileau, who doubles in drag as Rebecca Havemeyer, says that some in the community have felt discouraged by the foundation’s structure. They also suspect that certain elements of gay culture have been shunted aside as Austin Pride was mainstreamed.
Members of Soileau’s group say they felt that Austin Pride was too closely associated with business interests and that it strives too hard to fit in with the straight world. (The presence of children, accompanied by gay or straight parents, seems to heat any such debate.)
The foundation does charge fees ($75-$125) for parade floats, defrays organizing costs through VIP passes priced as high as $179, and encourages behavior that wouldn’t offend sponsors or mainstream audiences.
That’s a sticking point for Queer Bomb, whose members mistrust the Austin Pride leadership based on past experiences.
“We are an array of unique individuals who don’t feel their presence accepted,” Soileau says. “We are being forced to correct behavior in a controlled way. (Austin Pride) is making people feel we are unsafe because of the way we look and act.”
Both groups are seeking greater inclusion, which has led, almost inevitably, to some feeling left out. It’s a disagreement as old as the gay movement. While feelings on both sides have been bruised, neither is discouraging attendance at the other’s events.
“We are asking people to take part in everything,” Soileau says. “Do as many things as you can, since this is the one weekend we really have.”
UPDATE: The starting point for the Queer Bomb procession, 501 Studios, was not announced until after the article in the June 1 American-Statesman was printed.
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By egoiste
June 4, 2010 2:33 PM | Link to this
A circuit party? When does Peevy's BS stop? Pride hasn't even approached anything close to what a circuit party is unless he means a few hot guys in speedos and glitter on a couple of pickup trucks with music blaring.
By Michael Barnes
June 4, 2010 9:08 AM | Link to this
EJ: Thanks for pointing out the origin of the historical photographs. I found them on multiple generic sites about gay pride and gay marches. The piece was as much about the history of the such splits in the larger gay community as about the upcoming Austin pride events. The attributions are welcome.
By Chris Apollo Lynn
June 4, 2010 2:57 AM | Link to this
Very well-balanced post, Michael.
It's interesting that you bring up the notion of kids. In Berlin, families of all sexualities bring their children to pride. In fact, it's kind of like mardi gras. The mayor opens. The city flies rainbow flags. Floats of all types depict such an open variety of sexuality and fetishes that Larry Flynt would blush. AND families come to the event with children in tow.
I'm not saying that America is ready for that yet--BUT we need to think about our own hang-ups that make us want to hide different segments of the gay community from mainstream eyes.
Until gays can accept all members of the community, how can they expect others to do so?
By e j powell
June 3, 2010 3:20 PM | Link to this
Dude, what's with all the photos taken from Duberman's book without attribution? It's not like Sylvia Rivera or Marsha P. Johnson ever marched in an Austin Gay Pride Parade, right?
By Ginger Wong
June 2, 2010 11:05 PM | Link to this
My daughter is the "rising star" and I just want her to be safe as she is navigating her way through this mess. Her convictions of making high school a safe place for any child regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation/identity etc. is what drives her. Her father and I are not gay but we love her and support her. I will not tolerate anything that puts my daughter in harms way. Just like any other group who has fought for their rights, it takes small steps because us Americans are pretty tight and freak out at big steps. People have different views on how to get the job done and that is okay, just don't forget you are working for the same goal and do not tear each other down. If you do then you have disappointed yourself/everyone and have taken a step back instead of forward. Be proud but remember, communication and teaching is key, if you jump out at us without explaining what is about to happen we may not enjoy the scare. Love to you y'all, a straight mother
By Sam Armstrong
June 2, 2010 2:48 PM | Link to this
I guess I just feel like it's ultimately a dumb thing to have to take a stance on. Some people want to let their freak flags fly proudly, others want to show that they are just as viable and competent as their straight counterparts.
To me, it's just too bad that one was created in response to the other, making it a "but" instead of an "and." That would have actually been, you know, diverse. Instead, now we're like the sneetches.
By Bobby
June 1, 2010 5:41 PM | Link to this
I'm more on Queer Bomb's side (thought that Rebecca Havemeyer is so obnoxious at the AGLIFF brunch movies). Why should we, as a community, discriminate and exclude people who ARE a part of our community? It's sort of denying who we really are. Who the heck cares if it causes some uptight individual to be a bit uncomfortable to see "glamorous" drag queens or circuit guys in skimpy underwear?
By Alisa Weldon
June 1, 2010 11:37 AM | Link to this
Can't we all just get along?