I run a LGBT Pride: AMA

[lgbtpride]

Long time lurker but have NC for this.

I run an LGBT Pride event. I want to deal with some of the nonsense theories that we welcome pedophiles or have banned lesbians.

Ask me anything. (Disclaimer: I won't answer anything specific that might out me.)

Forgive me if you have answered this but I don’t see an answer to the question ‘why do you welcome fetish and kink?’, beyond ‘they’ve been there since the 70s.

Fair enough they have, but why? And why do you think it remains appropriate? Should people take pride in public about their fetish?

No harassment or behaviour like that is acceptable at any Pride. No one - trans or GC activists - should be coming to Pride to deliberately wind up the other. Sadly there are far too many in both groups who go around looking for trouble.

'Both sides', huh?

What terrible examples of lesbian behaviour are you thinking of here?

Well yes but dancing in the local park surrounded by men in fetish gear isn’t going to influence the laws of Iran, is it.
If anything the merging of sexuality with public displays of sexual fetishes would probably make conservative governments think they had the right idea!!

This is a really good point - OP if you take a step back, can you see how the inclusion of kink and fetish can in fact perpetuate negative stereotypes and judgements of gay people?

Because I don't see a problem with kink being there, provided it is within the confines of public decency.

Well, let me judge it by the sponsors and funders who pay for the event. That's probably 60 organisations over the last 10 years or so. None have ever asked about kink, nor withdrawn because of it.

Exactly this. Parading kink and fetish in the public street is surely counterproductive if your aim is to secure rights for actual homosexuals in other, more conservative countries.

@PencilsInSpace I've seen GC groups (I have no idea if they were lesbians) shouting at trans people at Manchester Pride and Birmingham Pride, and pretty damn offensive placards too.

What did the alleged placards say? Please use asterisks if necessary. I’ve never, ever seen a lesbian holding an offensively worded placard and I’ve been attending lesbian events (despite being straight ) for decades.

Were the “lesbians” male bodied individuals? If so, they are not lesbians, just straight men.

Really? I've never heard of that, do you have receipts?

What did the placards say?

Well, let me judge it by the sponsors and funders who pay for the event. That's probably 60 organisations over the last 10 years or so. None have ever asked about kink, nor withdrawn because of it.

Well no, obviously sponsors and funders who contribute to the events aren't going to withdraw if (as you said), fetish and kink have been part of such events from the 90s onwards.

The point being made was that the merging of sexuality / sexual identity and fetishes / kinks serves to reinforce the outdated and homophobic attitude some people have, seeing homosexuality as a hyper sexualised thing or 'deviant'. Perpetuating this lazy stereotyping and hyper sexualising of gay people surely is a concern as part of the community?

So it's all about your preferences and pleasing sponsors now, rather than the LGBT community?

Tell me you're male without telling me you're male....

@throwawayimplantchat If that were the case I'd expect the community to stay away if they object so much. But we get bigger and bigger each year.

What did the placards say?

@PencilsInSpace

'T is for Trash'
Trans Dick is Dick
Get the L Out
LGB not TQ

etc

In my experience, the community are already staying away. Most local pride events here seem to have a small smattering of LGBT folk surrounded by drunk straights in rainbow gear.

Are you male or female OP? I only ask as I think the lesbian experience of pride can be quite different to that of gay men.

I tell you who else has been there since the 70's - paedophiles trying to glom onto the gay movement. Back then it was PIE here and NAMBLA in the US. The frightening thing is they actually achieved some success:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-26352378

OP, what is your organisation doing to prevent this kind of infiltration in 2023?

Can you tell us who is included in the '+' of 'LGBT+'?

The first one is certainly offensive. Second is factual.

Has it ever occurred to you that there are more straight people than gay people?

What got you involved in the first place? What's been your favourite/hardest part? I'm hesitant to post on this thread which I feel will inevitably turn sour but how do you find the politics within the organisational group? I've been a part of a few groups/community projects but find internal politics hard

I'm a 57 year old cis lesbian.

Thanks for asking! I got involved through an ex and just loved the adrenaline and general chaos of so much effort going into a two day event once a year.

The politics can be tricky and especially when I was chair. Our committee is elected by members and is mostly harmonious. Those with big egos don't last long cos we tend to tease them that they should be with (nearest big city) Pride where they could be Director of Megaphones.

A lesbian who centres the rights of (predominantly) straight kinky men, and doesnt understand why other "cis" lesbians may want their own spaces?

Do you think the term "cis" is appropriate? Can you understand why it very much annoys some people?

Honestly I can't even imagine the mania leading up to the event!! I quite like the 'go join the nearest big city' pride group may adopt something similar myself, thanks for the AMA