Gay pride

Gay pride

The gay pride or simply pride campaign of the gay rights movement has three main premises: that people should be proud of what they are, that sexual diversity is a gift, and that sexual orientation and gender identity are inherent and cannot be intentionally altered. Marches celebrating Pride (pride parades) are celebrated worldwide. Symbols of gay pride include the rainbow flag and also of the pink and black triangles reclaimed from their past use.

The movement may arguably be seen as analogous to the "Black is Beautiful" movement in the United States during the 1970s. Just as African-Americans argued that beauty should not be solely defined by the standards of the ethnic majority, members of the gay pride movement argue that the inherent worth of homosexuality should not be defined in terms of the heterosexual majority.

Activist L. Craig Schoonmaker claims to have coined the term "gay pride" in description of the 1969 Stonewall riots.

Opposition

Within the gay community, some reject the notion of gay pride, perceiving therein an undue emphasis on sexual orientation and a lack of discretion and modesty to the detriment of either public morals or the cause of gay rights; they propose to soften strident activism in order to better integrate into the mainstream. Others see it as depreciative of the identity of the individual; that one's sexual orientation should not be one's quintessential defining characteristic.

Critics of such opposition regard it as pandering to homophobia.

Social conservatives, on the other hand, generally reject the premise that sexual orientation is inherent and fixed, and thus see pride parades as celebration of what they see as negative life choices.

See also

• Homosexuality
• Lambda Literary Award
• Millennium Pride Festival
• Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras
• Gay Pride Week (Toronto)
• Queer culture
• Utah Pride Festival (Salt Lake City)

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