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Politics and Silk Thongs: The 2003 San Francisco Gay Pride Parade
By Moira Williams, TheWorldJournal.com

Market Street, San Francisco's main street, is dancing to Colombian music blasting out of a black truck. Girls on a blue sequined flatbed stomp their feet until it shakes; chestnut men in three-feet tall shimmering feathers step-dance in circles; four naked old men watch the Police Commissioner and Deputy Chief of Police nod their heads from their sporty car; and a heavyset black man dances along the sidewalk, clad in a purple silk top hat and cape. Each time he twirls, he reveals a matching thong - and a little bit more.

Welcome to the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Parade. As the STOP AIDS Project's sign reads, "Welcome to San Francisco. Please fuck safely." San Francisco has never been shy about speaking out on gay issues, due largely to its sizeable gay community and the city's liberal ambiance, and this year the parade is more politically charged than usual. A major theme is the push for gays to have the same rights as heterosexuals - in particular, the rights to marry and for domestic partners to be legally considered family members, which would affect couples' lives with respect to how they raise children, own property, and deal with illness and death. The 2003 parade is also notable because it marks the 25th anniversary of two historically significant events specific to the city: the creation of the rainbow gay pride flag by San Franciscan Gilbert Baker and the assassination of the first openly gay city supervisor, Harvey Milk, by ex-supervisor Dan White.

It would be hard for the parade not to be political, considering its timing: held on Sunday, June 29th, it takes place three days after the Supreme Court overturned a ban on sodomy. Voting 6-3, the Court's decision nulled laws prohibiting oral and anal sex in states across America. Canada changed its laws to legally allow same-sex marriages the week before. The optimistic political atmosphere adds to the spirit of pride parades held the weekend of June 28th in New York, Atlanta, Seattle, and California. The SF Parade uses Harvey Milk's saying, "You've gotta give them hope" as its motto.

The San Francisco parade involves politics, but its emphasis is more on uniting community, showing support, and having a good time. Aside from the dancers, the police, and the purple-caped man, those walking or watching the parade include stilt-walkers, drag queens, parents with children, a cheerleading squad, and a man dressed as the Grim Reaper with a sign reading "THE AIDS MONSTER" hanging around his neck. Thousands march, including over fifteen high school Gay-Straight Alliance clubs, some from as far as fifty miles away, and five candidates for mayor in the upcoming SF elections. The floats passing by represent Starbucks; Altoids; Washington Mutual Bank; ethnic groups from Colombia, the Middle East, Hawai'i, Fiji, Nepal, Ecuador, and the Philippines; and Presbyterian and Lutheran religious groups. The latter's sign reads: "Jesus Loves Everyone So We Can". The signs are plentiful: "I love my gay daughter," "GAY. ARAB. AMERICAN," "I love my gay dog," "Alien Lover," and "PROUD TO BE AMPHIBIAN."

The fun mood combined with the city's open acceptance of gays make the San Francisco parade legendary. Don Bintz, a Los Angeles resident, notes that in contrast, the L.A. Parade isn't exactly "the Tournament of Roses"; the crowd at the L.A. Parade is "two-deep", whereas in San Francisco it's "six-deep". A husband and wife from New York, in town for a wedding, are amazed at "the total freedom of expression. It's such a safe atmosphere." Two more parade-watchers, Arnold Buenafe and David Estrada, offer me a seat, donuts, and a bottle of water when asked if they'll answer a few questions. They're part of a group of gay Filipino friends watching the parade from underneath a blue sun tent. The parade is almost over and big squares of glitter layer the street beneath us in a plethora of colors.

Buenafe and Estrada are Oakland residents who used to live in San Francisco and have been coming to the parade for fifteen and six years, respectively. They've both walked in it several times. Over the years, "it's become more friendly, more mainstream - relative to the Bay Area," expresses Buenafe, "It used to be more localized [to the gay community]. Now it's more of a San Francisco thing. It's less wild. There used to be more naked men!" Everybody laughs. Buenafe and his partner, Estrada, explain that as the event has become more popular, the groups in it have adjusted to fit the changing population of viewers, which now includes tourists and young children. Although difficult to imagine, the parade has lost some zaniness over time.

Dennis, a friend of theirs from Daly City, echoes what many others have told me when he says that he comes to celebrate his freedom and his sexual preference. As a member of the Richmond/Ermet AIDS Foundation, he's also walked it a number of times. Like his partner, he was born and raised in the Philippines until age fourteen. Asked if he knew from a young age that he was gay, he strokes the long ribbons on the garland he's wearing and grins, "Ever since I was a little girl!" He never felt violence or repression in the Philippines but he experienced the ethnic prejudice against gays. He describes "a strict and traditional culture, and [San Francisco] is more liberal and understanding".

The three tell a story about a restaurant they stopped at that morning. A Filipino restaurant staffed by Filipinos, the waiters were teasing each other about going to the parade and accusing each other in jest of being gay. Estrada says, "They didn't mean to be threatening or offensive, but they were simply being rude. They were condescending, like [being gay] was a joke. I spoke up. It was unacceptable. This is the Bay Area."

This is the Bay Area, 2003. Welcome to the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade.

© July 4, 2003

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