‘Barbie’: Ken Has Never Been Barbie’s Boyiend. He’s Her Gay BFF.

Contents:

• GAY PRI
• HOW ACTIVISTS ORGANIZED THE FIRST GAY PRI PARAS
• KEN HAS ALWAYS BEEN BARBIE’S GAY BT FRIEND—NOT HER BOYIEND
• INSI THE FIRST PRI PARA—A R PROTT FOR GAY LIBERATN
• THE HISTORY OF GAY PRI
• GAY RIGHTS

GAY PRI

Origs of Pri MonthThe roots of the gay rights movement go back to the early 1900s, when a handful of dividuals North Ameri and Europe created gay and lbian anizatns such as the the Society for Human Rights, found by Henry Gerber Chigo the 1920s. Followg World War II, a small number of groups like the Mattache Society and the Dghters of Bilis published gay- and lbian-posive newsletters and grew more vol mandg regnn for, and prottg discrimatn agast, gays and lbians. In 1966, for example, members of the Mattache Society held a “sip-” prott at Juli, a bar New York Cy, where they mand drks after announcg that they were gay, vlatn of lol laws agast servg alhol to gays and lbians.

Dpe some progrs the postwar era, basic civil rights were largely nied to gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr people—until one night June, 1969, when the gay rights movement took a fur step forward wh a seri of vlent rts New York Cy. By the time the Stonewall Rts end on July 2, 1969, the gay rights movement went om beg a ge issue largely ignored by policians and the media to ont-page news Gay Pri ParaOne year later, durg the anniversary of the Stonewall Rts, activists New York Cy marched through the streets of Manhattan memoratn of the uprisg. The march, anized by the Eastern Regnal Conference of Homophile Organizatns (ERCHO) and the Christopher Street Liberatn Day Umbrella Commtee, was named the Christopher Street Liberatn Day time, that celebratn me to be simply known as the Gay Pri Para.

March and paras also took place that June Chigo, Los Angel and San the years, gay pri events have spread om large ci to smaller towns and villag worldwi—even plac where reprsn and vlence agast gays and lbians are monplace. The atmosphere at the events n range om r, rnivalque celebratns to strint polil prott to solemn memorials for those lost to AIDS or homophobic June 2000, Print Bill Clton officially signated June as Gay and Lbian Pri Month, regnn of the Stonewall Rts and gay activism throughout the years. A more-clive name was chosen 2009 by Print Barack Obama: Lbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgenr Pri origs of Gay Pri Month were also honored by Obama when, 2016, he created the Stonewall Natnal Monument, a 7.

HOW ACTIVISTS ORGANIZED THE FIRST GAY PRI PARAS

7-acre around the Stonewall Inn where the morn gay rights movement, Gay Pri paras many ci are enormo celebratns: The events Sao Plo, Sydney, New York Cy, Madrid, Taipei and Toronto routely attract up to 5 ln Pri Month has grown populary across the globe, cricism of the events has grown, too. Many early anizers now cry the mercial fluence and rporate nature of Pri paras—pecially when those rporatns make donatns to policians who vote agast gay, lbian and transgenr Pri events are nohels seen as val protts agast reprsn and isolatn plac such as Serbia, Turkey and Rsia, where Pri paras have been met wh antigay vlence. Gay Pri typilly volv a seri of events and is often pped by a para volvg marchers and lourful floats om the LGBTQ muny and s the Stonewall rts, LGBTQ dividuals had generally not broadst their sexual orientatn or inty, but the event galvanized the gay muny and sparked greater polil activism (see gay rights movement).

In 1970, on the first anniversary of the rts, several hundred monstrators marched along Greenwich Village’s Christopher Street, which ns past the Stonewall, what many nsir the first Gay Pri march (though other memoratns were also held that year). Known then as the Christopher Street Liberatn Day March — named after the street on which Stonewall is loted — the para began on Washgton Place between Sheridan Square and Sixth Avenue and moved up Sixth Avenue, endg wh a “Gay-In” Central ia that LGBTQ+ people would march through the streets of New York Cy, proudly clarg their existence, their pri and their love was tly revolutnary back then.

Acrdg to the History Channel, five months after Stonewall, Sargeant, Rodwell, and activists Ellen Brody and Lda Rhos attend the Eastern Regnal Conference of Homophile Organizatns (ERCHO) Philalphia and proposed a rolutn: that an annual march be held on the last Sunday June New York Cy to memorate Stonewall. ” Over a dozen LGBTQ+ rights groups were volved the planng, cludg lbian femist group the Lavenr Menace, formed rponse to mastream femism's excln of lbians; Gay Liberatn Front, formed post-Stonewall; lbian civil rights anizatn Dghters of Bilis; trans rights anizatn Queens Liberatn Front; and var stunt groups.

KEN HAS ALWAYS BEEN BARBIE’S GAY BT FRIEND—NOT HER BOYIEND

For example, trans people were left out of early drafts of feral legislatn that would protect LGBTQ people om workplace discrimatn bee gay activists felt the bill had a better chance of succeedg whout their cln. Five months after the rts, activists Craig Rodwell, his partner Fred Sargeant, Ellen Brody and Lda Rhos proposed a rolutn at the Eastern Regnal Conference of Homophile Organizatns (ERCHO) Philalphia that a march be held New York Cy to memorate the one-year anniversary of the raid.

”Spencer Grant/Getty ImagView of the large crowd, some of whom are holdg up handma signs and banners, participatg a gay and lbian pri para the Back Bay neighborhood of San Francis, activists marched down Polk Street and held a “Gay-” at Goln Gate Park on June 28th, too.

Supreme Court lg that favored of a signer who don’t want to make weddg webs for gay upl and a slew of anti-LGBTQ+ bills across the untry this year, such as legislatn targetg drag performanc and genr-nfirmg health para-goer said was nice to see a posive si to thgs bee Pri is sential to show people ’s worth to live as their tt self. The film won’t say , but a post-creds punchle about Ken’s handwrg, plete wh hearts and stars surroundg his name, tells what we need to heavily implied nature of Ken’s gayns Toy Story 3 harkens back to Hollywood’s tradnal gay bt iend-type characters. In the Hays Co era, explic referenc to homosexualy weren’t allowed, so characters like Van Buren (Frankl Pangborn) 1937’s Easy Livg, Kip (David Wayne) 1949’s Adam’s Rib, or Addison (Gee Sanrs) 1950’s All About Eve stead were imbued wh effemate characteristics, offerg a glimpse outsi of heteronormativy whout explicly beg of the characters were the same—some were tty, others sweet.

INSI THE FIRST PRI PARA—A R PROTT FOR GAY LIBERATN

As a rult, gay men bought the doll drov, and spe Mattel ultimately rellg the doll and wipg away any trace of Earrg Magic Ken, was near-impossible to see Ken as anythg but the glor homosexual he was born to be om then on.

While there is no way to “drs gay, ” there are several dolls that seem to suggt otherwise, such as:Fashnista Ken #193, who looks very exced to tell you about his new obssn, Troye Sivan;Travel Ken Doll, who has a satchel perfect for bathho and a purple overnight bag that lerally proclaims he’s “extra;”Ken Looks Doll, servg “I’m gonna give you a makeover”-type realns while sportg black pleather pants;This Ken, who wears the least heterosexual double nim I have a feelg the new Barbie movie will put the work to nvce that Ken is a hetero du who lov nothg life more than Barbie herself, the wrg’s already on the wall: Ken is, and always will be, Barbie’s gay bt obssg! As they enjoyed the floats and affirmatns of support for LGBTQ+ persons, they also ponred polil headwds facg gay and trans Amerins portns of the the rner of Bnswick Street and Park Avenue Rochter, llege stunts cheered the Pri Para om their porch Saturday afternoon, watchg the last of the floats and marchers. But you have to be you, no matter what, Barn Barn held a cellphone toward the Pri Para and shared a livtream of the joyful marchg happeng down Park, who wore a rabow flag like a super hero pe, is a gay Black man livg Rochter.

THE HISTORY OF GAY PRI

The uprisg beme a talyst for an emergg gay rights movement as anizatns such as the Gay Liberatn Front and the Gay Activists Alliance were formed, moled after the civil rights movement and the women’s rights movement. In a recent addrs memoratg “Pri Month” (the month-long celebratn June of all thgs LGBTQ), Print Joe Bin revealed that nearly 14% (about 210) of his “1, 500 feral agency appote intify as lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer. “Comg out” me wh threats of vlence and social that changed the aftermath of the 1969 Stonewall uprisg—when a group of LGBTQ people rted rponse to a police raid of the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar New York Cy.

” The same day, a small group of San Francisns marched down Polk Street, then had a “gay-” piic that was broken up by equtrian and other New York groups had spent months planng the Manhattan event wh the help of anizers like Brenda Howard, a bisexual activist who had cut her anizg teeth durg the anti-Vietnam movement of the late 1960s. Though the first Gay Pri Liberatn March took place Manhattan 1970 to memorate the one-year anniversary of Stonewall, took 30 years for Pri Month to bee official, a 1999 proclamatn om former Print Bill Clton. The Internatnal Gay and Lbian Travel Associatn matas a lendar of over a hundred Pri events around the world, updated every year, to help you fd the celebratn that works bt for your Globe/Getty ImagWhat is the history of the NYC Pri Para?

It was clear that there was tert holdg more events like , and over the followg year lol activists proposed a larger annual march, moled on quieter protts that had been happeng for years new annual prott was to be lled “Christopher Street Liberatn Day, ” and were anized by reprentativ om groups like The Mattache Society, Gay Activists Alliance, and the Gay Liberatn Front. In San Francis, for example, anizers were outraged to see that the lol Pri event was partially fund by Google, spe the pany’s refal to fully addrs homophobic harassment on s YouTube rponse, activists have tablished pennt Pri events many ci.

GAY RIGHTS

The para New York Cy on June 28, 1970, known as Christopher Street Liberatn Day, is generally creded wh beg the first Gay Pri is Gay Pri Month, not jt the Uned Stat, but untri all around the New York Cy, San Francis, Boston and numero other ci, the month will be filled wh ftive events both led by and celebratg the Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgenr and Queer (LGBTQ) the half-century sce the first Gay Pri para took place New York Cy, the celebratn has gone mastream and been embraced by the public at story of how Gay Pri got started rooted is actually one of the darkt moments the LGBTQ muny’s history – somethg known as the “Stonewall Rts. ”Gay Pri Month n feel almost btersweet for many of the people old enough to remember the Stonewall Rts, which took place durg a time when homosexualy was illegal the first Gay Pri paraThough members of the muny are still fightg for rights, much of the legal discrimatn agast LGBTQ people that once existed the US has ’s largely due to the work of LGBTQ activists and the ph to make the muny more visible through events like Gay before June was emed Gay Pri Month, the phenomenon was basilly iated wh many different paras around the untry on June 27 and 28, 1970. Chigo, San Francis and New York Cy were the ma ci to hold monstratns that though other ci had paras and events a day earlier, the para New York Cy on June 28, 1970 known as Christopher Street Liberatn Day, is generally creded wh beg the first Gay Pri para.