On June 10th, I attended my first ever DC Pride. I am rather introverted and tend to feel uneasy in large crowds; however, as I quickly approaching my 30th birthday (as in next month), I thought it was time to finally attend my first ever Pride. While I reside in Philadelphia, I chose to attend DC pride for several reasons: (1) I have heard, time and time again, that DC pride is one of the best to attend, (2) My partner’s old college roommate lives near DC so free housing for the weekend was awesome, and (3) The grad coordinator from my Masters program was taking a group of students for a class he was teaching so I got the chance to reconnect with some old friends and colleagues.
I decided that I would be attending the parade on Saturday and that would be the extent of my Pride activities. I was thinking about just sticking my toe in the water rather than diving head first into the experience and possibly drowning. I traveled with my partner and his old roommate on the metro–about 20 minutes or so to DuPont Circle. When we arrived I was floored at the amount of people that actually attend this event–there were so probably about 100+ people trying to make their way from the metro station up the escalator.
When we arrived above ground, there were so many people everywhere and this both excited and terrified me. I was excited to see so many different people from so many diverse backgrounds and identities being represented–many of which I am sure I would not be able to completely explain just by sight. I was enamored to see so many people playing the boundaries of gender–I had never seen such displays of gender bending in such a public space as DuPont Circle. The fact that even in this political climate we live in, people are brave enough to live their true self, is amazing and empowering to me. I saw so many states of dress and undress but nothing that I would say shocked me.
While on route to the parade, we came across a person who was “preaching” about the immorality of our behaviors, ways of being, and our need to cleanse ourselves of this sin. The individual was standing on a box, screaming to all who would listen. What I didn’t notice until I got closer to the speech was that a group of individuals were standing around him–they were holding signs that didn’t necessarily protest his speech but rather affirmed that we have the ability to exist as we are without the need to justify ourselves. I liked that rather than fight with this individual, this group of people chose to demonstrate in a way that was positive to individuals attending the event.
When we finally got to the parade, we found a nice shady spot and proceeded to enjoy the event. We saw so many different individuals from all walks of life–I have included a few photos below for your enjoyment (In my amazement, I took very few pictures so I borrowed all but one of these from my friend Jo Forrest-Stuart).
All in all, I had a great experience and I think next year, I would like to maybe attend more events. I owe a lot of my ability to be comfortable in a sea of so many individuals to the amazing people that were there with me. Thank you Dr. Richard Stevens for inviting the alumni of the CSDA program. I will remember this experience with fond memories and cannot wait to see what is in store for next year.
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