I visited London Pride on the first weekend of July, and then embarked on a float on Christopher Street Day in Frankfurt on July 22nd during my visit to Germany. Both have been a fantastic experience. But some questions have evolved, as - what are the different names and formats of these events? And what is the history of Pride, how and when did it come about? Here is a little research.
By Anna Kii
Anna Kii is the new JOYclub ambassador for the UK. She’s a German expat and has been based in London for 10 years, living and breathing all things kink and alternative lifestyle, as well as exploring art, shops and any other cool hang out spots London has to offer.
How did Pride come about?
The gay rights movement has its origins in the early 1900s, when a small group of people in North America and Europe launched gay and lesbian organisations such as the Society for Human Rights, which was founded in Chicago in the 1920s by Henry Gerber.
In particular, later Pride traditions were adapted from the ‘Reminder Day Pickets’ - an organisation of a homophile group held annually 1965-1969 on July 4th at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Pride is celebrated in June to coincide with the catalyst of the Gay Liberation Movement that was the Stonewall Uprising. In the early morning hours of June 28th in 1969, police raided a popular gay bar in N.Y.C. 's West Village, The Stonewall Inn located on Christopher Street. This was commonplace for the time, but on this particular evening, the patrons of the bar fought back, starting the Stonewall Riots, which went on for days. This uprising marks the beginning of a movement to outlaw discriminatory laws and practices against LGBT Americans.
As a result activists have formed the Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee. The committee defined its aim of holding a massive march at the culmination of a Gay Pride week June 22-28.
The first Pride march was held on June 28th in 1970 in NY, LA and Chicago, the one year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. The first Christopher Street Day took place on June 30th in 1979 in Berlin - "Gay Pride" was the motto under which 450 protestors took to the streets of West Berlin. The mood during the protests was boisterous and cheerful - no hostilities or even violence against participants were recorded, a marked difference to earlier events. The most prominent CSD events are Berlin Pride, CSD Hamburg, CSD Cologne, Germany and Zurich in Switzerland.
From Today's Perspective
The organisers of Christopher Street Day have made clear they see the day as a "demonstration — not a parade". This is reflected in the name that is generally used in Germany for Pride events, as they are known in the English-speaking world.
LGBTQ+ Pride Month activities now include parades, picnics, parties, conferences, symposia, and concerts, and participants from all over the world flock to these events. Pride month is about acceptance, equality, celebrating the work of LGBTQ+ people, education in LGBTQ+ history and raising awareness of issues affecting this community. The goal of the commemoration month is to acknowledge the contribution that LGBTQ+ people have made to local, national, and global history.
Unfortunately, both Pride and CSD organisers have come under fire in recent years for accusations of overcommercialization — allowing a large proportion of corporate floats to take part, for example, and cutting out small non profit groups with high participation costs. Many LGBTQ+ activists worry that Pride’s commercialization has diluted its political legacy and lets corporations off the hook for supporting anti-LGBTQ+ politicians.
A personal angle
For me personally, Pride is a chance to show my identity and a queer way of thinking in public, what I am finding more difficult in my everyday life. I am already quite open and privileged to be in a worldly and accepting city where I am able to explore so many aspects of gender and love, however coming from a straight laced and conventional upbringing I am struggling to fully find acceptance within myself. Coming to Pride, meeting like-minded people and surrounding myself with friends in queer circles helped me so much to build a positive self image.
We're curious: Have you ever participated yourself? If so, where and when and what was your highlight? How relevant is it to you? Share in the forum!
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