[raydan]

They celebrate what they are, Lemmy, not what they do... kinda like the Saint Patrick's Day parade.... and I don't think the fight is over yet.

[Gunnair]

Lemmy Lemmy:

Gunnair Gunnair:

How do they flaunt it any more than heterosexuals? Frankly, I think pride parades are exercises in acting out - releasing the inhibitions that they generally have to observe in the hetero dominated society and a society that often pays lip service to their equality. Be gay, that's alright, I just don't want to hear about it. Heteros have no issue letting people know about their conquests - sit down and listen to modern music like rap and such. Why should gays button their lip because heteros feel squeamish?

Maybe "flaunt" was a poor word choice. I just don't see why gays feel the need to have a parade/festival about their sexuality. Why does it need to be an issue any more? I think that homosexuals have won their fight. Just like I don't need to participate in an "I like to get blowjobs from my wife parade".

Gunnair Gunnair:

My last ship had an amazingly gay Chief Cook - so gay one needed to follow him around with a fire extinguisher lest he flame any hotter. He had zero issue talking about his encounters and his sex life - not any more graphic than the heteros in the room if they discussed their past sex life..

Should he have belted up? I don't think so.

Neither do I. If people want to speak about their sexuality, great. But I see no need to hold events where folks with like-minded tastes celebrate the particular sex act(s) that get them off.

The fact that we are even having this discussion suggests gays have not won their fight - only a series of skirmishes. I don't recall anyone here posting about the fuckfest that modern media is when it comes to flaunting hetero sexuality, yet a pride parade once a year is just too much?

[Brenda]

Personally, I am not interested in anyone's sex life but mine, and I like to keep that where it is, which is NOT on the street or on TV...

[Gunnair]

Brenda Brenda:

Personally, I am not interested in anyone's sex life but mine, and I like to keep that where it is, which is NOT on the street or on TV...

It is on the web though - sammichmakingdutchgirl.com

[Lemmy]

Gunnair Gunnair:

The fact that we are even having this discussion suggests gays have not won their fight - only a series of skirmishes. I don't recall anyone here posting about the fuckfest that modern media is when it comes to flaunting hetero sexuality, yet a pride parade once a year is just too much?

No, a pride festival once a year is not too much, but it doesn't further the cause that homosexuals think it does. They will not have truly won the fight until they no longer have those parades though. I see it kind of like 420 pot head demonstrations. Potheads should certainly be allowed to do so, but they also need to understand that they're not generating sympathy for their cause among non potheads by doing so. Getting baked and listening to reggae and playing hackey sack in the local park doesn't further the cause of pot legalization. It just makes non pot users think potheads are a bunch of losers. Same with gay pride celebrations; they just reinforce negative stereotypes that straight people have about gays.

[Brenda]

Lemmy Lemmy:

Gunnair Gunnair:

The fact that we are even having this discussion suggests gays have not won their fight - only a series of skirmishes. I don't recall anyone here posting about the fuckfest that modern media is when it comes to flaunting hetero sexuality, yet a pride parade once a year is just too much?

No, a pride festival once a year is not too much, but it doesn't further the cause that homosexuals think it does. They will not have truly won the fight until they no longer have those parades though. I see it kind of like 420 pot head demonstrations. Potheads should certainly be allowed to do so, but they also need to understand that they're not generating sympathy for their cause among non potheads by doing so. Getting baked and listening to reggae and playing hackey sack in the local park doesn't further the cause of pot legalization. It just makes non pot users think potheads are a bunch of losers. Same with gay pride celebrations; they just reinforce negative stereotypes that straight people have about gays.

I agree. Especially since by far not every gay is a flamboyant queen, which is what the pride parades seem to show.

I'd prefer if they called it that. "Flamboyant Queen Parade" or "Drag Queen Parade" or "BDSM in Leather Parade" or something like that.
It does not even come close to showing how my gay neighbours live. Which is just like me. They work, they mow their lawn, they go out, they raise kids.

[Unsound]

Brenda Brenda:

I agree. Especially since by far not every gay is a flamboyant queen, which is what the pride parades seem to show.

I'd prefer if they called it that. "Flamboyant Queen Parade" or "Drag Queen Parade" or "BDSM in Leather Parade" or something like that.
It does not even come close to showing how my gay neighbours live. Which is just like me. They work, they mow their lawn, they go out, they raise kids.

I refuse to believe that gay people mow the lawn! Do you have any idea how hard that is to do in high heels?

[Brenda]

Unsound Unsound:

Brenda Brenda:

I agree. Especially since by far not every gay is a flamboyant queen, which is what the pride parades seem to show.

I'd prefer if they called it that. "Flamboyant Queen Parade" or "Drag Queen Parade" or "BDSM in Leather Parade" or something like that.
It does not even come close to showing how my gay neighbours live. Which is just like me. They work, they mow their lawn, they go out, they raise kids.

I refuse to believe that gay people mow the lawn! Do you have any idea how hard that is to do in high heels?

[ShepherdsDog]

The entire gay rights movement has been about showing the world that gays are just like anyone else. The pride parade tends to enforce differences and stereotypes..... but then again, 8is what goes on during Spring Break and Mardi Gras indicative of all heteros? I have gay friends who don't attend pride parades because they find them too over the top, and they feel that their sexuality isn't their sole defining characteristic and only a small part of who they are as human beings. They don't want to be defined as a gay something and then everything else is secondary or tertiary. They want o be known as a successful business person, teacher, doctor, lawyer, carpenter, mechanic coach or athlete. Who they love has no bearing on who they are outside the privacy of their bedroom, nor should it

[raydan]

Unsound Unsound:

I refuse to believe that gay people mow the lawn! Do you have any idea how hard that is to do in high heels?

Brenda probably knows.

[ShepherdsDog]

Those high heeled clogs must be a real bitch

[BartSimpson]

raydan raydan:

In Bart's black and white world, there are no shades of gray.

No insult intended, Bart... that's just the way you are.

No offense taken because you're right. The world to me does, indeed, boil down to black and white on a plethora of subjects.

My Republican acquaintances are probably MORE frustrated with me in this regard than anyone on this board. Like with Mitt Romney, I didn't support him as if he was the Savior of Conservatives because he wasn't. I had Reeps tell me he was 'the lesser of two evils' - and to me that's still evil. No shades of gray here.

It's like saying that murdering one person isn't as bad as murdering two. Sorry, but I fail to see the shades of gray in these arguments.

My tendency is to look at every situtation I'm faced with and to seek out the greatest possible good as opposed to seeking out the least possible evil. And sometimes the greatest possible good is still fundamentally evil. Now some people will accept these things as compromises or trade-offs and I don't.

I'd probably have to write a 1000 page book to fully address my thoughts on this matter so forgive me if my brief answer here is imperfect. I've had nearly 49 years of life experience and learning to compose my perspective and it's not something I'm going to be able to distill into a forum post.

[Unsound]

ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:

Those high heeled clogs must be a real bitch

They're actually great for gardening, keeps yourr feet out of the mud, you see.

[ShepherdsDog]

the kids follow mom dropping seeds into the holes left by her heels

[Unsound]

ShepherdsDog ShepherdsDog:

the kids follow mom dropping seeds into the holes left by her heels

She's Dutch. Bulbs, not seeds.