Are Pride parades passé? New ways to celebrate LGBTQIA+ diversity could expand inclusion

The eve of the annual Gay Pride Parade in Manhattan, I headed into the city to see a play way downtown.  Emerging from the Christopher Street PATH station, I turned left toward Sheridan Square, which is where the Stonewall Inn is located.  The riot there in 1969 gave birth to the gay rights movement.

The entire neighborhood was filled with so many people in a celebratory mood. In the midst of hundreds of people were two men wearing only a jock strap and I passed behind them. I’m no prude but that’s just one of the more shocking sights millions of people, either in person or on television, would see in the Pride parade the next day. The parade is colorful, full of all LGBTQ people in various degrees of attire or lack of. That is what makes Pride so distinctive. 

But it's also what turns so many people off about the LGBTQ movement. Is it time for the parade to take a detour in order to bring in more non-LGBTQ partners so they can work together to craft a new movement so their concerns can appeal to more Main Street instead of Christopher Street?

Gay men and lesbians reacted to the Stonewall raid by the police in 1969 by staging a public outing so the world would see that they had enough mistreatment and weren’t taking it anymore. While the first parades from 1970 were more protest than pageantry, eventually the parade took on a circus atmosphere that would shock Main Street as it showcased Christopher Street. And it was understandable for people to seize the power of the gay community to demand respect and rights that were denied routinely in business, employment, government, education and houses of worship.

“We’re loud and proud,” said it all.

Soon the parade would reflect the progress made from year to year as discriminatory practices would fade and gays would be welcome — well, mostly — in all walks of life.  As the marchers increased in the parade from year to year, the LGBTQ community became a force to be reckoned with. 

Fast forward, Pride parades are held all over the world and WABC-TV devoted two hours on June 30 to showcase many of the ones held throughout the U.S. And while there are similarities like marching bands, floats and Grand Marshalls riding in historic cars to almost any parade up Fifth Avenue, Pride’s flair is unparalleled.

And that over-the-top-quality can be as off putting to so much of Middle America including those who live on the East coast. Their takeaways from the parade are debauchery, sensuality and just plain ole’ sin. And as much as I do not object to the parades, I wonder if they have become passé and maybe the gay community has to shift its image to bring more people on board for promoting inclusion and diversity.   

More churches and houses of worship, like mine in Hoboken, have Pride events and even Pride Masses.  We have held seven annual Masses at the end of June thus far and call it Pride because it welcomes our LGBTQ brothers and sisters to experience the love of God, which can benefit any person.  Walking along Hudson Street that night, I noticed banners on the walls of St. Luke in the Field Episcopal Church, “St. Luke takes Pride in the diversity of people.”  St. Luke is located right smack in the middle of the Manhattan gay community.  Hoboken is not and we have attracted peaceful protesters every year.  And I receive hundreds of e-mails, protest letters and angry phone calls. And they’re all focused on their association with our use of the word Pride in front of our Mass. 

“How can you condone sin?”   

“You have to judge the people and save them from Hell.” 

“You are blessing deviants.” 

These phrases capture the tenor of the opposition. 

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And I can understand their concerns though I disagree with reducing all LGBTQ individuals to simply their sexuality. They should shift their sights upward and look at the hearts and heads of people who crave acceptance as children of God and not reduced to sexual animals. People are entitled to experience the grace of God and live their lives in the best way they can. And I know we have LGBTQ people in our parish for years and they do not attend our outreach programs or events. They are beyond always being labeled and simply want to live with the rest of the community without being singled out. No one is taking their God and spirituality away from them and they simply want to be left alone.

And maybe that’s why Gay Pride parades may need to pivot and display different aspects of the LGBTQ community that invite the wider community to see them in a different light. Today a resurgence of hate is fueling so many acts of violence — some even deadly — because some people can’t integrate diversity and see beyond prejudice. More dialogue and interaction are needed to allow people to understand and relate. The LGBTQ Pride parade needs a detour from flamboyance to fraternity in ways that welcome all people to celebrate the diversity in community. Less in your face and more talking face-to-face.

The Very Rev. Alexander M. Santora is the Pastor of the Church of Our Lady of Grace & St. Joseph in Hoboken, New Jersey, and the dean of the area's Catholic parishes.