This past June was my first time attending Pride in my city. Some of my more traditional friends and family members warned me of the lewd nature of the event. However, I had my doubts, since traditional-minded people tend to hold a bias. What I expected was dancing, music, and lots of rainbow flags. I believed most sane people would refrain from bringing kids, since it’s more geared towards adults…or so I thought. Loud cheers erupted from the crowd as I made my way through swarms of people. To my surprise, I saw so many children present. Their parents had them wearing Pride t-shirts and holding small rainbow flags. Why are all these children marching? In front of me, a small child was with her mother and dressed in rainbow-themed clothes. If I had to guess, she was maybe five years old. Her small hand was barely holding the LGBTQIA+ flag. I watched in horror as a float of drag queens dancing in extremely revealing outfits rolled by. They wore fake breasts, imitated sex acts, and most of them had a visible bulge. They danced as if they were grinding on a stripper pole. Another float featured a bondage group, and I observed a man, practically naked, prancing around in a jockstrap. Kids watched with family members, laughing and cheering them on, as if this was appropriate.
We have to ask ourselves a very important question: What did we fight for? When I went to Pride, I thought we were going to celebrate the progress gays have made through decades of hard work to achieve equality. Yet this event had raunchy imagery everywhere…in front of young kids. Pride marches originated in the gay rights movement, which pushed for equality. Times have changed. This event was not centered around equality. It was glorifying the unthinkable. I want to be proud of the achievements and accomplishments of gay people, but the perversion of children is an abhorrent act that I won't stand for. Would we let children watch porn? I think not. But if we put a flag on it and say it in the name of Pride month, it’s deemed acceptable. Where are the adults? Do they see how perverse this behavior has become? Our movement used to preach acceptance. Is the sexualization of children something we should accept? The performers sacrificed children’s innocence in the name of liberation. Even the families that brought their kids to the event placed them onto the altar.
To write this is a bit upsetting, but this whole ordeal brought up an unsettling experience back in high school. When I was younger, I went on a dating app that was created for adults. I was not of age to be on that app, and I was in the wrong to be using that platform. But I didn't know any gay people at my school, and I wanted someone to ask me out…just not a female. While I was on the app, a teacher from my school hit me up. He commented on how “cute I looked in school.” I didn't have him as a teacher; however, he was friendly with one of my teachers, and he would come into the classroom to chit-chat. I would occasionally catch him glancing at me. I deleted the app on my phone the next day. The same teacher found me on another app, saying how “hot” I looked and tried flirting with me. I blocked the man, feeling fearful and upset that he kept trying to contact me. During lunch, I spoke to my friends, asking what I should do. They suggested going to the counselor, so I followed their advice. The counselor was baffled and had no idea what to do, so she referred me to the police officer. Sadly, my phone was of no use because the messages had been deleted. The next day, the school announced that the teacher had been arrested in a sting operation. A sigh of relief overcame me. I no longer needed to worry about this creep. Reflecting on this experience is deeply troubling, especially now that I’m twenty years old and saw these older men practically stripping for children in the middle of the street.
We do NOT stand for predators who have hijacked Pride and hide behind these gimmicks to normalize public exhibitionism or act out their fetishes in front of children. Children cannot consent to participating in your kink.
Another video surfaced from the D.C. Pride event, depicting a person dancing in erotic clothing while holding a cross and flipping it upside down. To use a religious object as a toy is deeply disrespectful to the Christian community. Why take a symbol that is so important to Christians and make a mockery of it? Why attack Christianity when not all religions are tolerant of homosexuality? Organized belief systems have a long history of committing homophobic atrocities, and yet you don't see other religions blasphemed at sexual parades the same way Christianity is. The alphabet cult criticizes those who disrespect their flags, yet at the Pride event, they return the same kind of disrespect to Christians. I find it hard to see the message of “love and acceptance” when they publicly mock those of Christian faith. Respecting others who are different from us is a place we need to get back to.
I am ashamed to see what Pride has become. The flag I had in my house is no longer hanging on my wall. I decided to take it down. The sadomasochistic circus of abuse that I attended does not reflect the original intent of equality. Respect and dignity was completely absent from all of it. The inclusion of children degrades our community. Things will not end well if this persists. You can’t step on a snake and think it won’t fight back. Respect is a two-way street. People respect you when you contribute positively to the world around you. It is disheartening to see such actions take place in plain sight.
All of the gays I know just want the same freedoms as everyone else and the ability to live as productive members of society. Gay people are not a monolith. Not all of us hold the same beliefs. The colonization of Pride by depraved opportunists who target the youth is both vulgar and dehumanizing.
What started as an annual civil rights march has been overrun by paraphilic narcissists who exploit narratives and lie their way into garnering public sympathy for a Machiavellian agenda. They manipulate the tolerance of others in order to justify the corruption of child innocence. It is a problem. And demanding accountability from the groomers who claim to speak on our behalf is the only way forward.