And I certainly haven’t marched nude in their gay Pride Parade. Twice.

A friend of mine told me he didn’t like Pridefest. Rather than answering, he asked me why I DID. Here was my answer, I thought I would share with you:

I love the idea of celebrating who you are, and I appreciate that I can go to an event surrounded by peers of similar persuasions, being that I was tormented relentlessly for trying to be myself in school. That being said, I really don’t like being grouped with drag queens and ‘leather daddies’ just because of my physical and sexual attraction to the same sex.  I also don’t think that it *should* be neccessary to ‘celebrate’ something that shouldn’t be a big deal in the first place. On that same note, I do think that it does serve a purpose – awareness leads to change, which I have already seen in my lifetime. I no longer fear walking down the street holding a guy’s hand, like I did oh so many years ago. Is that because I have changed as a person? Maybe. Is that because of pridefest? Partially. Is the world changing? Yes; and I think, just like slavery or women’s lib, it takes numbers and actions to bring human rights to fluition.

~ by Billie Hawkins on June 11, 2009.