How Activists Organized the First Gay Pri Paras | HISTORY

Contents:

• ‘GAY AND PROUD’ HISTORIL FILM PROVIS LOOK BACK AT EARLY PRI MARCH
• ARE 'THE GAP' STOR NAMED FOR 'GAY AND PROUD'?
• JUNE 28, 1970: GAY AND PROUD
• GAY AND PROUD
• NO, GAP DON'T STAND FOR "GAY & PROUD," BUT THE SCHOOLYARD TNT STILL FOLLOWS ME TODAY
• HOW TO ACCEPT THAT YOU ARE GAY
• MAKINGGAYHISTORY—THE PODCAST
• HOW ACTIVISTS ORGANIZED THE FIRST GAY PRI PARAS

‘GAY AND PROUD’ HISTORIL FILM PROVIS LOOK BACK AT EARLY PRI MARCH

The film ntas footage of one of the earlit Gay Pri monstratn march, the first Christopher Street Liberatn Day Para, which was held New York Cy a year after the Stonewall rts on June 28, 1970. Ak to the Troop Sport ("To Rule Over Opprsed People") and Adidas ("All Day I Dream About Sex") nards, the mor about The Gap asserts that drew s name om an ializatn of the phrase "Gay And Proud":. Although The Gap did beg San Francis, a cy home to a large homosexual populatn and strongly associated wh gay pri, s name has nothg to do wh eher of those cint facts.

"Gay and proud" beme a tchphrase wh the gay muny bee proclaimed a posively-voiced manner that s members took pri who they were rather than feelg ashamed of their liftyle. It wasn't that long ago that ncealg all evince of a same-sex preference was the orr of the day, and the phrase "Gay and proud" th reprented a major shift how a muny viewed both self and the value of s dividual members society.

(It's one thg to wave a "Gay and Proud" sign if you know you're holdg , but que another to fd one has been pned to your back whout your knowledge. ”Advertisement - Contue Readg Below5 Glo Butler, Comedian Bridget Badore“What pri means to me is a celebratn of all of our gay and trans anctors that have fought for any of to walk the streets and even have an inty. Gettg back to Hoton's song, I thk is so praised wh the gay muny not jt bee of the inic late diva herself, but bee of what says: 'I need a man who’ll take a chance, on a love that burns hot enough to last/I wanna dance wh somebody/feel the heat wh somebody who lov me.

ARE 'THE GAP' STOR NAMED FOR 'GAY AND PROUD'?

Narrated by Breck ArryA livg history of the homosexual rights movementThe voic of gay lears across AmeriActual sounds of the massive gay monstratns. The One Life to Live scene stealer — now and forever David Vickers to soap fans — announced durg a 2013 talk-show appearance not only that he was gay but that he’d bee a sgle father of two. Though the rap in and Equalizer star told the New York Tim as recently as 2008 that “I don’t feel like I need to share my personal life, and I don’t re if people thk I’m gay or not, ” she fally end all the speculatn at the 2021 BET Awards when, acceptg a Lifetime Achievement Award, she thanked partner Eboni Nichols and the son that they share.

Four years after As the World Turns stopped spng, the actor who ma history as half of daytime’s first gay male kiss me out publicly an terview wh The Fight Magaze. The Grey’s Anatomy vet’s g-out wasn’t exactly the easit: His sexual orientatn was ma known after stmate Isaiah Washgton ed a gay slur on set, leadg to a wily reported altertn. The brother of movie star Chris Evans — beloved to soap fans for playg Oliver, half of One Life to Live’s “Kish” the late 2000s — me out as gay when he was 19.

And if we hadn't done that, nobody would remember the Stonewall today, " said Karla Jay, the first woman chair of the Gay Liberatn Front and a retired women's and genr studi profsor at Pace Universy. “Gay and Proud” was featured on the Olivia Rerds pilatn album Lbian Concentrate, which was released rponse to Ana Bryant’s ‘Save Our Children’ mpaign. Picket agast homosexual persecutn; the first to appear on the ver of a natnal homosexual publitn; and the first to document pivotal pots of our history on film.

JUNE 28, 1970: GAY AND PROUD

Lilli Vcenz’s film “Gay and Proud” is only twelve mut long, but provis a unique glimpse to the early days of the gay rights movement the Uned Stat. That’s bee “Gap” was synonymo wh “gay and proud” amongst my thls, pre-teen schoolyard tntg related to Gap is one of the most formative memori I have about fashn — and my own queerns.

“I walked to middle school as a fifth grar wh a GAP hoodie on and had to go home and Google what ‘gay’ meant, ” 25-year-old Meghan Welch, who is one of my former classmat, tells me. Queer sexualy wasn't somethg often talked about my small Massachetts town, and I certaly didn't know any queer “gay and proud” Gap tnt ma abundantly clear that LGBTQ sexualy was supposed to be shameful and hidn. Nothg the brand’s history pots to a queered Pchnie/Getty Imag News/Getty ImagThough Gap don’t officially mean “gay and proud, ” the pany hasn’t been aaid to champn those who are gay and proud recent years.

GAY AND PROUD

A Global Brandg ProblemWhile the ter is peppered wh Snop articl and media platforms addrsg Gap’s “gay and proud problem, ” the roots of the tnt will probably never tly be unvered.

“I’m queer and was specifilly aaid to wear clothg that implied I was gay as a middle schooler, cludg the GAP thg, ” 23-year-old Bec L'Hrx, who grew up my hometown, says. ’”Twenty-year-old Maggie, who is bisexual and grew up on Long Island, remembers hearg the “gay and proud” tntg om boys elementary school. The bullyg ma me thk that gays would always be bullied, as would alli bee if you stuck up for one of the kids, you would be lled gay, too.

"At the time, I didn’t know I was bisexual, as I didn’t disver this until I was 15, but I remember feelg bad for homosexuals that was lghed at and the word ‘gay’ was beg ed to tease someone, " she S Warren/AP/ShutterstockIn all s, the Gap tnt enuraged those I talked to and many social media ers to avoid the brand’s clothg to not be a target of ridicule by peers — and the same n be said for me. But did fe how many queer people my generatn experienced Gap’s brand and, for me, how I still thk of Gap every time I see the inic logo Tntg FasThough Gap ed now champns those who are “gay and proud, ” the brand’s moniker seems to no longer be associated wh the phrase as a schoolyard tnt, at least on a mass ternatnal sle.

NO, GAP DON'T STAND FOR "GAY & PROUD," BUT THE SCHOOLYARD TNT STILL FOLLOWS ME TODAY

Uld give me ment on the schoolyard tnt and whether ’s somethg addrsed ternally, I recently went to a Gap store New York Cy to ask if the employe still hear ctomers askg about if the pany’s name stands for “gay and proud. Though that may lor my personal view of the brand, there's also another nugget of tth: If I cid to wear a Gap logo sweatshirt today, I would no longer be ashamed if someone tnted me wh the "gay and proud" phrase.

HOW TO ACCEPT THAT YOU ARE GAY

Most people the LGBTQ+ muny know om experience that acceptg your sexualy will lead to your beg a happier, more open this gui, the term gay has been ed to clu all forms of non-heterosexual attractn, whether that be people who are lbian, gay, bisexual, queer, pansexual, or otherwise not straight. Beg gay do not necsarily make you any ls mascule or feme, and there is no need or prsure to nform to stereotyp that don't feel right to you - bee you are who you are.

The laws the Bible were maly for health purpos - shunng homosexualy is right next to not gettg tattoos, not eatg pork, and not wearg mixed lens, but you n bet your bottom dollar all your neighbors do those thgs.

MAKINGGAYHISTORY—THE PODCAST

It is important to note that the Amerin Psychologil Associatn has clared that groups claimg to cure homosexualy are dangero and unhealthy. If you are still beg supported by parents whom you are que sure would disown you for beg gay, may be pnt to wa to tell them until you are pennt.

HOW ACTIVISTS ORGANIZED THE FIRST GAY PRI PARAS

You may regret the acceptance of your orientatn the future, pecially if you're a part of the world where the gay muny is beg prosecuted by a specific culture. Article SummaryXIf you stggle wh acceptg your attractn to the same sex, know that beg gay is pletely normal and you n be proud of who you are by fdg support and embracg your dividualy.

Donna Gottschalk—lbian, femist, activist, photographer, artist—at the first Christopher Street Gay Liberatn Day march New York Cy, June 28, 1970.

Episo NotFrom Eric Marc: After listeng to Makg Gay History’s first two Stonewall 50 episos, you know that Stonewall isn’t where all began.