Talk:Gay pride

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[edit] "Homosexual" mannequins

 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.99.206.2 (talk) 18:13, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

I've removed following section added by anon. Seems too unimportant to me. -- tasc talkdeeds 05:40, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

A Macy's East store in Boston MA on 6/6/2006 touched off a national public relations firestorm when it bowed to pressure from a local anti-gay group and removed two "homosexual mannequins" from a window display promoting Boston's Annual Pride Celebration.[1] Boston's Mayor Thomas Menino called the decision by Macy’s to alter the window in response to complaints "unfortunate." "I’m very surprised that Macy’s would bend to that type of pressure," said Menino.[2] “Macy’s was celebrating a part of our community, gay Pride, and they should be proud of the gay community, and I’m proud of the gay community and gay Pride. Once again it’s the radical right wing that’s doing this. They don’t represent the people. Their motto is, we’ve had enough of 'them'." [3] A spokeperson for the groups stated to the press: "Basically, here you have two apparently homosexual men touching each other, both of them with big breasts that are unlike any mannequin anyone’s ever seen. A number of people are getting a little tired of having homosexuality pushed in their faces".[citation needed] The mannequins used in the window display clearly were designed to look like young athletic males with developed pectoral muscles - not breasts. Macy's further upset the gay community by removing from the display the website address for a local Aids Action Committee. AIDS prevention continues to be a major theme of the Boston Pride celebration. The Boston Pride Committee, which organizes Gay Pride Week, serves the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities by promoting tolerance and awareness. Linda DeMarco, president of Boston Pride, told reporters she was disappointed by Macy’s decision, though she praised them for not taking the exhibit down entirely. "I’m disappointed because I thought Macy’s was a little stronger than that. I give them credit for not breaking down completely, but I would at least have appreciated them calling the Pride committee or going to the Web site and seeing that it is not a threat and certainly seeing that the AIDS Action Web site was not a threat." [citation needed] ACLU of Massachusetts spokeswoman Sarah Wunsch criticized Macy's for "succumbing to the bigotry" of what she said was a fringe anti-gay group.[1][2] The group involved is opposed to same-sex marriage (in a state where the democratic judicial system made same-sex marriage legal in 2004) and gay-straight alliance clubs in public schools and are known to seek out gay visibility and signs of acceptance to protest. The Macy’s display window was in step with Boston's community standard of diversity and was just one of several public displays and advertisements marking Boston Pride June 10. Boston City Hall had raised the Pride Flag on June 2, Faneuil Hall Marketplace held a Pride event June 3, and signs advertising Pride are up on street lights around Boston Common which host the Pride Festival also on June 10. Mayor Menino said a small but vocal group have called City Hall to complain about the Pride flag raising, but he has no intention of bowing to pressure. "They call, but I treat them like they’re a piece of wet paper", said Menino. "They’ll disappear eventually. I don’t take them very seriously." [3] Macy's community public relations misstep gained national attention after the story was included on a lead story on The Drudge Report website on 6/7/06. A national boycott campaign has begun calling for consumers - straight or gay - offended by Macy's decision to appease bigotry to cut up and return their credits to Macy's with a request to cancel their accounts. The boycott is calling for offended consumers not to shop at any Federated Department store until Macy's offers a public apology to the citizens of Boston, takes the mannequins "out of the closet" and back into the store window.[citation needed]

Actually this is a good example of a high-profile backlash against Gay pride so might be worthy of inclusion. Benjiboi 01:19, 31 July 2007 (UTC)
Maybe if it was about 1/5 th the size... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.194.30.174 (talk) 07:40, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Living Memory LGBT History Timeline from Trans perspective

A possible resource. Transgender Aging Network has launched a project - Living Memory LGBT History Timeline to assist with aging LGBT folks "It is impossible to tell without asking someone precisely which public events shaped their lives, but knowing what was likely reported in newspapers and discussed at dinner parties during a person’s lifetime may help you understand how their worldview was shaped. To offer insight into the concerns, lifestyles, and belief sets of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people who are now 50 and older, the Transgender Aging Network has constructed the following timeline showing how old they would have been when there were critical events or changes in the lives of LGBT people." Starting with the 1920s the events list can be cross-referenced with current GLBT timelines and used as a possible stepping stone to aid Trans projects and awareness. The PDF version is here [1] Html via Google is here [2] Benjiboi 01:23, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

That is a great resourse! I have always wondered where the term "Gay" was first used!--Amadscientist 03:41, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Explaining Why Pride?

I think it's important to understand that the concept of Gay/LGBT Pride developed in the context of a culture and society which saw homosexuality and homosexual acts as something to be deeply ashamed of. Prior to Stonewall, we were all taught to see ourselves as sinful, criminals, a product of arrested development, unable to form meaningful relationships, in desparate need of psychiatric treatment, etc. These messages are, in fact still promoted by a significant segment of the population. It is of particular significance to be able to stand up and say we are not ashamed, we are proud to be who we are. The beginning section needs to include this idea. Wayne King 02:41, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

write something up! Either in the article or here for another editor to add. Benjiboi 06:16, 25 September 2007 (UTC)
In addition to writing something we should have sources to back it up although I imagine there are quite a ew books that wuld handily cover the topic. Benjiboi 02:10, 12 January 2008 (UTC)
I think that's an important part of the experience of sexual minorities in the West, but this whole article is (like so many I've only had time to comment on, rather than substantially adding to) quite limited in its worldview. Being new to this article, I'll hold off a bit before tagging it as such and I would like to help add to it. Somewildthingsgo (talk) 00:38, 27 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Date of Stonewall riots June 28, not 27

The historic date of the Stonewall riots is June 28, 1969, not June 27, 1969, as stated in this article. --194.255.112.21 (talk) 17:47, 29 May 2008 (UTC)