Would you take children to Pride in London?

[ThoughtsAndQuestions]

I'm asking for opinions about the appropriateness of children attending Pride in London (including the family section).

I appreciate that some may find the question offensive, for which apologies, but I'm genuinely looking for guidance.

My partner is really keen to go and take our relatively young children but my concerns are a) exposure to trans ideology (and drag queens, frankly, which I just find offensive) and b) nudity of adults and kink flaunting which seems to have become more and more prevalent.

Every instinct is screaming at me to steer well clear (which is a crying shame as if it were just a family-friendly celebration of LGB people, I think it would be great) but my partner is very upset with me for not wanting our children to go and I don't want to fall out unnecessarily. But safeguarding our children is too important to just go along for an easy life.

All opinions and experiences welcome - I'm genuinely torn about whether I'm over-reacting or whether I would actually be essentially negligent to take my children along these days.

I've taken my children to pride since they were young children. They are adults that now go to pride to party and enjoy and support. What are you frightened of? It's a lot of fun. Celebration and music
There is some kink on show but they see that every day online frankly, it kind of takes the interest away when it's presented as "party outfits"
I love pride and it's more important than ever right now in the rise of bigotry again

I wouldn’t go myself (50 y old lesbian)- too busy, commercial and no fun.

This is the reason I probably wouldn't take my children there until they're well into their teens - crowds and drunk people. This applies to many parades though.

Not because it's sexual / misogynistic / whatever else came out of people in this thread

But drag queens don’t just wear make up and high heels, do they? It’s a particularly exaggerated characterisation of stereotyped femininity, sometimes with highly sexualised names etc. Today’s drag is completely different from pantomime dames of the past. I agree many may not have the conscious intention to mock women, but it doesn’t mean they don’t do so. I think you could say many people wore blackface not out of a conscious intent to mock but an ignorance of the humanity and equal importance of black people, supported by the cultural norms of the time.

Not at all - if you didn’t mean ‘less kinky’, then why say it? Surely you meant to say ‘kink free’?

Absolutely not. Pride in Dublin is not for children and I will leave it at that .

To respond to your pathetic attempt at abuse towards me, I have attended many Pride events in the past. I no longer would do so as a direct result of the explicit sexualised behaviour of many of the participants, and lately of the homophobic behaviour from some groups towards lesbians who have, in some instances, been actually banned from joining in with Pride as they will not accept that men who identify as women are also lesbian and therefore should accept them as sexual partners.
When one group of people mock another group of people in the name of so-called entertainment, then I will call it out every single time. drag is precisely that - men mocking women with their parodies of appearance - exaggerated breasts and buttocks, huge wigs, Panto dame make up and ridiculous names that often involve some sort of sexual innuendo.
Many past sponsors of Pride parades have withdrawn their support as a direct result of the lack of safeguarding measures and the extremes of exhibitionistic behaviours on show. Pride is no longer about celebrating same sex attraction.

Do you hear yourself? Are you ok for children to be exposed to kink online? Why???

No way on this earth I’d take my kids to Pride. I don’t think it’s appropriate to take kids to an event based around any celebration of sexual preferences whether that be straight / gay / bi / trans etc.

Just let kids be kids: simple, asexual, innocent. Dont drag them into the world of identity politics, sexuality chat and trans ideology. Plenty of time for that in late-teens. I personally feel people to take kids to such things are the equivalent of performative parenters / virtue signallers: “look at me; I’m so right-on that I’ve got such enlightened, broad-minded kids.”
Yuck.

Equivalent of telling me to ‘calm down, love’, Oozing misogyny, aren’t you?

Children shouldn't be anywhere near men in leather "puppy play" masks, let alone petting such men. This has happened at Pride.

No, absolutely not. So called "pride" events are no longer anything to do with being lesbian or gsy, it's descended into obscene shows of aggressive male sexual devisnce, s and m, "furries", gimp suits, and blojes in fishnet tifhts and lippy. Ugh. No sane adult should go either. And definitely not safe for children.

It's a very messy, chaotic, drunken affair. Regardless of any of the inappropriate stuff they might see I wouldn't take kids purely from a safety perspective

I was at the London pride last year and from late afternoon onwards it definitely became more overtly sexualised with more kink gear on display on the streets. What i found increasingly creepy though was the guys in pup masks.

I'd easily say that to a man too. A misogynist would say something more like "you seem hormonal".

Not everyone who disagrees with you is a misogynist

My 19yo gay autistic son ended up in Manchester on pride weekend by accident. He went to meet a friend and we have no idea it was pride weekend.

He came home visibly upset because he had ended up surrounded in a crowd of men in leather dog costumes, complete with leads who barked at him then laughed when he got freaked out and upset.

These men are awful and have ruined pride.