Tongue in Cheek
|
Tongue in Cheek The Theme's the Thing |
by Kevin Isom
The
queer Pride season is upon us, and the question being asked in each city
is, "What's YOUR Pride theme?"
Come again? When did Pride celebrations and parades all start coming out
with a "theme"? Did we all watch too much Queer Eye
and decide that like all good parties, a Pride celebration has to have
a theme? This phenomenon completely slid under my radar screen. And yet,
there they are.
High school English for me was back in the
age of the dinosaurs, but I vaguely recall (as we read our stone tablets)
that the "theme" was the message that the writer in question
was trying to get across. In other words, the theme encapsulates the message.
So is that the purpose of the Pride themes?
I suppose in the early years of Pride, we didn;t
used to have themes – because the theme of Pride was understood:
survival and acceptance. Basically, every Pride march – before they
evolved into the wonderful festivals and weekend celebrations we have
now in many cities and towns – had the theme of "We're here,
we're queer, get used to it!" Those were the heady, scary, exhilarating
old days. Before we had gay marriage in Massachusetts and civil union
in Vermont. And, on the down side, before we had Christian conservatives
taking over statehouses and the White House.
These days, everyone basically knows that
we're here, we're queer, and we're not going away. So now themes add the
political message to parades that have become in many cases more celebrations
of who we are (true pride) than demands for recognition and the right
to live as the people we are. In other words, now the theme's the thing.
I did a quick Google search of pride themes
in cities around the country and in Europe to learn more. As line after
line popped up on my computer screen, I was stunned at how evocative the
themes are. How about Boston: "Pride in Progress... What's Your Fight?"
Or Los Angeles: "How Do You Wear Your Pride?" where the idea
is to ask whether you are out and proud by putting a picture of your partner
on your desk at work, by bringing your parents to the parade, or by wearing
buttless chaps. Atlanta's theme: "Unite and Act" sounds stirring.
Until you realize, "Wait a minute – where's the gay in that?"
Taken out of context, it could apply equally well to a screen actors'
guild union rally – or an anti-gay Family Research Council rally.
New York City offers "Equal Rights
– No More No Less." Now that could apply to any civil rights
issue, but it confronts the "special rights" claim of those
on the other side head on. San Francisco's Pride theme this year is "Stand
Up, Stand Out, Stand Proud." Just reading it makes you puff out your
chest a little.
Even Paris, France, one of the most apolitical
groups of queer folks you'll ever find, has a really strong theme this
year: "Couples, Parenthood, Equality Now!" Mon dieu!
Farther afield, little Leicester, England
has a groovy 1960's theme: "Summer of Love – Peace, Passion,
and Partnerships." Which immediately presents two things straight
folks like to NOT imagine about us: hot blooded passion between members
of the same sex AND the commitment of same sex couples. Way to go, Leicester!
The most boring Pride theme I found is from
our neighbors to the North. Toronto's theme this year is the not-too-rousing
"25 Years and Counting." Whoo-hoo! Yawn. But then, they're Canadian,
so what can you really expect? They're not exactly known for flair –
at least, not the non-French ones.
After I looked at actual themes, I
did an informal survey of what other folks might want to see as Pride
themes. One person suggested "Gay Rights = Family Rights." Another
offered the hard-to-fit-on-a-poster "Proud to Be Your Queer Brothers,
Sisters, Neighbors." Yet another, not too seriously perhaps, suggested
the slightly more tactile "Women Lovin' Women Is Finger-Lickin' Good"
and the more Village People-esque "Proudly Honoring Our Gay Men In
Uniform." I liked – but Disney would not – a theme that
you couldn't get out of your head: "It's a Small (Gay) World, After
All." A Democrat friend liked "Lesbians Never Tire of Licking
Bush." Another liked "Gay Bashing Is a Weapon of Mass Distraction."
Or there was my favorite: "Mess With Us and We'll Dress You Funny."
It's probably a good thing that we think
about Pride themes now. It means we've come a long way, baby. Because,
thematically speaking, we now can say "Gay Marriage Rocks,"
and we're "Proud to Be... LGBT."
Kevin Isom is the author of It Only Hurts When I Polka and Tongue in Cheek and Other Places, available at bookstores and online. He may be reached at isomonline@aol.com or www.KevinIsom.com