In major cities across the country, the last Sunday in June is the day of the apocalypse.
Around the world June is Gay Pride month and it begins a series of festivals, celebrations, and parties, all culminating in the finale, the parade. Depending on the size of the city, or the political climate, the parade can attract anywhere from a few hundred thousand—to over a million people in the city of New York (where Pride started).
Pride is a time of parties, reveries, binge drinking and hangovers. It’s a time of debauchery, peacocking, and ostentatious displays of individuality. It’s indecent, licentious, immoral, and iniquitous. In short, it’s the antithesis of morality and decency as defined by fundamentalists of all stripes. So much so that somewhere in every Gay Pride parade, Fundies will be out en masse with their bullhorns and picket signs, warning participants that they are in danger of incurring the vengeful wrath of a loving God, who intends to lovingly torture them in ever-burning hellfire. It’s not personal. God loves you, he just hates you for being gay, and since he can’t reconcile those two, he’ll just send you both to hell… OLE!
Not every society has had such negative views of homosexuality. In ancient Greece, the cradle of civilization, we don’t see a strong difference in the language between hetero and homo. People who had erotic feelings for members of their own gender were not so different than those who liked members of the opposite sex. (I’m not denying that they were a misogynistic culture, though.) In Rome it was a little more complicated because of the morass of social stricture and class, but it was accepted nonetheless (for example, it was illegal for a slave to ‘penetrate’ the master).
Then: enter the church, and sanctioned intolerance, created by saint and homophobe, Saul of Tarsus, a.k.a. St. Paul of Homophobia. No organization has done more to oppress those who didn’t fit their narrow view of humanity than the church, and their animosity has continued to spill over into our modern world. They have worked tirelessly to deprive the gay community of every right that they themselves enjoy: Including the right to marry, the right to walk down the street unmolested, and the right to have rights.
The church claims its right to harass the gay community is sanctioned by the Bible, the tome in which it draws its “authority.” The first religious ban on the act of gay lovemaking was codified into the Levitical law, a bronze-aged document written as a guideline for the Aaronid priests of Israel (the ban shows up in P, but not in JE). (Notice too that there’s no ban on woman-on-woman sex—a clear indicator that God is a straight male.) Ironically though, Christians eat seafood… which Leviticus also called an abomination. That’s right, eating sea food is in the same league as man-on-man action—so enjoy that lobster guys. You and me can abominate together.
Even those who should understand intimately the pain caused by discrimination and bigotry, Alveda King, the niece of the late Martin Luther King Jr. is on record saying, “I have met former homosexuals, but I have yet to meet a former black.” Gospel singers Angie and Debbie Winans were praised for their controversial 1998 antigay song “Not Natural.”
So that the Gay Pride parade happens in the presence of those who so vehemently oppose it is highly significant. One might even call it a miracle. Gay Pride is more than an outlandish display of sexuality, more than a carnival, more than a parade. It’s more than a balls-out (literally), no-holds-barred, unadulterated display of human sexuality. Gay Pride is just that—an expression of being Gay, and being proud. Not because we’re better than anyone, but because, as humans, we have the right to exist right alongside of our straight brothers and sisters—and we’re claiming that right.
It’s this idea of belonging, of connection, even despite perceived differences that gives this event so much significance. The idea of gay or straight is a misnomer. We’re “sexual.” We were born with the need to bang… it’s who we are, and what we came here to do. Once we reach that age of adolescence, our whole body becomes aware of its destiny—sex-sex-sex. As that sexuality “matures,” we find ourselves with various and sundry attractions. Some guys like big women. Some women like older men. Some like it kinky, some like discipline. Some men like men, some women like women… sexuality is all over the place and in so many different ways. But for generations, those who went against the “norm” faced powerful persecution, and sometimes death.
So you could say that Gay Pride is also a spiritual celebration: just like Christmas, Easter, Passover, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and of course, Halloween. Gay Pride also shares relevance with Martin Luther King Day, Independence Day, Memorial and Labor Day…
In short, Gay Pride has a lot in common with most Christian holidays.
- It represents the birth of hope in the midst of oppression (though one would be hard-pressed to find a virgin nowadays).
- It means that gay people are no longer considered “sinners,” but, like Jesus, “sons and daughters of God.”
- It represents a community’s Exodus from hatred and oppression and slavery from those who wish to deny them the right to live.
- It’s a time to give thanks and to be thankful for sexuality in the first place. To enjoy that sexuality and express it.
- It’s also a time to be thankful for how far we’ve come in the midst of how far we still have to go.
- It’s a time for costumes and ostentatious displays.
- And it’s a time to rededicate our “temples.” We acknowledge that our bodies are just as important as our minds and we find joy in this physical expression of humanity.
- It’s a place where sexuality can shine as an eternal light.
- It’s a time to look at our brothers and sisters around the world still suffering and reach out in an effort to help them in their quest.
- And of course, Gay Pride is a time where the ghosts of those who have gone before can walk among us as we celebrate their sacrifices, while wearing outlandish costumes.
Gay Pride is not only a holiday; it’s a Holy Day, a sacred remembrance that the Universe is vast and expansive, and is itself the author of diversity. I am who I am, and I don’t have to apologize to anyone for that. I was created in the image of the universe itself.