It would have been nice if I had, but that didn’t seem to be the main focus of a Pride parade. I didn’t walk away with a deeper or more comprehensive understanding of the queer community’s oppression by the government, or the homophobia and transphobia pervading mainstream culture-not as a historical reality, nor the probability of its resurgence.Īnd that’s okay. I walked away from the parade thinking wow, the queer community in West Hollywood sure knows how to throw a party. I didn’t have much else to say, except to describe decorations and dance moves and drag queen regalia. When other people asked me about my experience, I told them just that: I had fun. It was the first time we got to hang out with him in an expressly queer space. My friend A.J., who I’d known since high school and who came out as gay after he’d moved out for college, invited me and all of our friend group from that time. I went to a Pride parade once a number of years back in West Hollywood.
