What Pride Means to Other SCN Members
What Pride Means to Me
I see Pride as a way of honoring our past, and looking towards the future. There is a political element to it, aimed at uniting us in a common struggle. I also see elements of freedom of expression, and sexual freedom. I think an important piece of Pride is the opportunity to claim an aspect of one's Self, and confront those who seek to oppress us. It's a bit of, "We're here and we're queer, get used to it."
When I go to Pride, I've also seen an emphasis placed on LGBTQ youth. Any movement needs future leaders, and I think the organizers see a real need to prepare this generation for what may lie ahead. I also see an emphasis placed on connecting people to resources and on health. There were quite a few social organizations (bowling leagues, college QSAs), as well as health organizations (HIV testing, LGBT Therapist Guild) that had booths at our Pride festival.
Another common theme was also very present, family. Some Pride emphasize different aspects of Pride (ex: sexual freedom), and while that was present, the family aspect was definitely felt. There was a whole exhibit of pictures/stories of LGBT families. Many of the people who attended Pride brought their families as well. I saw a lot of family members who walked in the parade, including our supportive Major and his young daughter. It was nice to see that LGBT families as well as the families of supporters were made visible. One of the most problematic stereotypes is the heterosexist assumption that LGBT people don't have families. I was glad to see that assumption drowned at our Pride.
My 2009 Pride Experience
This was my third time attending Pride. Perhaps my favorite part of Pride is walking in the parade. This year I walked with Equality Utah, a LGBT-rights organization. I walked alongside many of the politicians Equality Utah endorsed, and more importantly, walked alongside my best friend and her two boys.
This Pride had a little different flavor than past Pride festivals. In the wake of Prop 8 and the legalization of same-sex marriage in several states, this one was political. This year our Pride festival invited activist Cleve Jones to be our Grand Marshall. If you don't know who Cleve Jones is, here's some
background for you. Cleve Jones was personal friend & intern of Harvey Milk, and is portrayed by Emile Hirsh in the movie
Milk. He went on to found the NAMES project in the mid-eighties, or as you may know it- the AIDS memorial quilt. You can read about the history of the AIDS quilt
here.
While he was here, he gave a stirring speech. He called for a national march on Washington D.C. in the name of equality on Oct 11 (National Coming Out Day). He first announced this on
his blog back in May. He also had some very poignant words for Utahans, saying, "I've got a message for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I've got two words from California ... I've got two words for the prophet ... Thank you. Thank you for uniting us. Thank you for galvanizing us." The video of his speech is below. It gave me the chills watching it, maybe you can tell me how you felt as you watched it.
Here are a few pictures from Pride. The first one was taken by Scott Sommerdorf/Salt Lake Tribune (one of our newspapers), the next two are by Steve Wilson/AP, and the rest are personal pictures. Oh, yeah, it literally rained on our parade (hard) for a little while anyway.
One of the places at the festival where I spent a fair amount of time was called the Gender Zone. They had this cool wall of writings where some serious queering of gender was going on. I loved it, so I took a picture of some of them.
After the festival, my friend, her partner, kids, and I all decided to end the day with a BBQ at the park. We made some yummy kabobs and took a few pictures.
Overall, it was a really good pride. All of them have been special, but for different reasons. My first pride was special because it was, well, my first. Last year's pride was special because I got to walk with my then partner. This year was special because I felt a better sense of belonging in a community. I found it to be a healing experience for me, and I reconnected with some important people.
I will continue to edit/update this blog as more people attend their Pride(s) and share what Pride means to them.
Your Pride Experience(s) 
