I’ve Only Just Begun

With respect, it’s the fags, queens and bull dykes – the very people who challenge gender/sexual orthodoxy by their mere existence – who put it on the line for queer equity. Without them the revolution would never have happened. “Gay” marriage and equal rights would still be an absurd notion.
All but a handful of the ‘straight acting’ queer folk were too afraid to speak up for anything.

My home town, Vancouver, just held its 34th Pride Parade. I was around for that first one, when I was 18. It was a tiny affair, just few blocks long with only a handful of participants and some horrified onlookers.
This year, instead of religious people with signs condemning us, there were religious people with signs apologizing for all the years of Christian abuse. Well over 500,000 spectators – tourists and locals – cheered from the sidelines. Members of the local pro hockey team – a bastion of homophobia – marched in support of the queer community, as did Christian groups of various denominations, Jewish groups and even Muslims. Mainstream politicians were there, as were contingents from various police and fire detachments; the trade unions were there along with various professional organisations.
There were gay teachers, gay foster parents, PFLAG, queer youth groups, queer construction workers, queer old people, queer Asians, Iranians, Indians, First Nations, queer conservatives and queer communists.
And everywhere there were drag queens and pretty boys in speedos (or less) and leather dykes. As is customary in Vancouver, this entire contingent was led by the less-than-subtle Dykes on Bikes.
The point I’m taking so long to make is that it is this diversity that makes it all work. Pride Week in Vancouver has become a cultural and economic hot spot, contributing millions to the City and to the Province. Better than that, over the years this mass declaration of queerness has encouraged a climate of tolerance – you’d be amazed at how many folk from our bible belt come to this event every year. They bring their grand parents and kids. Lots and lots of kids.
A social revolution requires the participation of all aspects of a community. Often, this only happens once things get rolling and the more ‘mainstream’ members of that community feel comfortable enough to get involved. But those first steps must often be taken by those who feel the bite of oppression most keenly.

In regards to my last comment I do realize that the situation in Vancouver three decades ago isn’t absolutely analogous to Moscow today. That said, I still believe my point holds.