Kink enthusiasts are respectable people they know where to draw the line. While I understand some Pride marches in the US can be pretty full-on – tackle out and everything, it’s wild – those in the UK are usually much more demure. Childhood innocence is a myth that only protects parents from explanations – nothing more.Ī successful Pride works by respecting boundaries and encouraging empathy and discussion. You could argue – and indeed I would – most kids are better off experiencing as much of the world to avoid being confused or scared later in life or, worse still, lashing out against those who are different from them.
Think of the casual racism, sexism, terrorism, violence and frightening populism that swirls around us at every turn.
We expose children to much scarier worlds than the LGBTQ one. It smacks of homosexuality being some kind of deviance, that exposure to it will tempt the helpless youth into our web of sin. Reading through replies to the initial discussion on kinks, with people furious at the suggestion kinks had no place at Pride and those who agreed it should be kept out of sight – both sides using aggression and/or language that in no way furthered the debate – I came across what appeared to be genuine tweets from young LGBTQ teenagers who said they would like to go to Pride but admitted they’d feel uncomfortable if confronted by any reference to sexual kinks.Ī lot of oppression is hidden within a nebulous desire to “protect” children – it’s never made explicit from what but you can guess. Witness the much maligned, PG-rated slogan “Love Is Love”, which straight allies have taken to in abundance, which is in turns quite sweet and drearily patronising.Īlthough visibility has always been a top priority for LGBTQ people, sometimes it’s easy to forget that for some, especially those at the very start of their journey, invisibility is just as sacred.
#When is the gay pride parade in colorado free#
The free expression of sexuality has always been integral to LGBTQ equality, right? But the tide has been turning for a while with many LGBTQ people, gay men especially, tired of fighting perhaps, craving only assimilation, to be treated like an equal, moving away from overt sexuality or in-your-face protest toward a new respectability. Knees were quick to jerk on both sides and there was a huge outcry from those worried we were regressing to times when sexuality had to be hidden, back to the faux-tolerance of “I don’t mind what they do as long as they do it behind closed doors.” While being LGBTQ is not all about sex – for example, gay children exist before they even know what sex or sexual orientation is – what we do in the sack has historically been the main target of oppression.