“When Peter Tatchell asked if DIVA would support the Reclaim Pride March and explained the concept, there was no hesitation. The idea of taking Pride back to its roots is one that we’re absolutely behind.” - Linda Riley of DIVA magazine and Lesbian Visibility Week.
And so it came to pass that a smattering of members of "our gang" - me, Madam Arcati, John-John, Baby Steve and Houseboy Alex from Essex, Mark, and the Madam's sister Carol and neice Jen all the way from Plymouth (and her friend from Brighton, too) - gathered at Parliament Square for what promised to be an event that took Gay Pride back to where it began, as a protest rather than merely a party.
click any photo to embiggen
Organised and led by our "Patron Saint of Pride", the admirable and unstoppable Peter Tatchell, Reclaim Pride was the first of its kind in the UK [there have been similar protests against the "commercialisation" of Pride events in the US], and its route was planned to follow in the footsteps of the very first Gay Pride march in London in 1972, from Parliament up Whitehall, Trafalgar Square, Regent Street and Oxford Street to Marble Arch for a "picnic" in Hyde Park. Unfortunately the scheduled 1pm start was delayed by an hour-and-a-half thanks to a competing anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine protest that was coming the other way and being dispersed across Westminster Bridge, so our legs were beginning to ache from standing around even before we actually started marching...
The usual mad assortment of participants were in evidence, as is the case with any such event - butch dykes, camp queens, families with kids, drag queens, veterans of Prides past as well as people who weren't even born when Section 28 was "a thing", the Socialist Workers' Party (of course), BLM supporters, Trans Rights campaigners, earnest student-types and eccentrics alike - but we amused ourselves, being in close proximity to possibly the dullest-voiced chant-caller in the history of protests, by changing the words a little, so "What do we want? Liberation! When do we want it? Now!" became "What do we want? Liberace! When do we want him? Now!" and so on...
We had a blast, even if we didn't do the whole distance. Bladders full after the long delays, we decided to exit the march just before it turned the corner into Oxford Street (around halfway, so not too shoddy an effort, methinks), and "took the Pride march on a new route" - to our mate Sally's pub off Carnaby Street!
The Shaston Arms has traditionally been the "headquarters" for our Pride Days, as it's where we gather on "Gay Xmas" for champagne-and-bacon-butties breakfast and change into our outfits ready to face our adoring public (and we will no doubt be doing so again on the rescheduled "official" Pride London day on 11th September), so it seemed appropriate. We were joined by "non-participants" in the march Hils and Crog, Steve and Sian, Russ and Joe and of course (once she'd finished her stock-take and paperwork) by Sal herself - and didn't leave till our taxi arrived at last orders!
A fabulous day, all round.
To conclude, a classic:
Just as Pride should be! You guys should feel proud me dears.
ReplyDeleteI feel immensely proud to have been there - as a veteran myself (my first Gay Pride, as you know, was in 1985!) it was so refreshing to feel we'd got "that certain something" back from the early days... Jx
DeleteI agree! I miss the rush and adrenaline of those early days of Pride, showing we weren't about to be trifled with.
DeleteAnd chanting! I missed chanting so much.
DeleteI remember some very creative ones from early Pride marches, such as "2-4-6-8, is that policeman really straight?!" and "We're here! We're queer! And we're not going shopping!"
Good times. Jx
Not to dull your shine, but I was there in '72.
ReplyDeleteAnd still, all these years later, I'm disappointed that there is still some way to go.
But you and your crew look happy.Yay!
Now we need to see photos, Dinah!
Delete1972? Heavens. I was nine years old that year...
Jx
PS It was indeed a happy day!
Glad you had a good time! And that you got to rest your feet!
ReplyDeleteSx
At least we all wore sensible flat shoes... Jx
DeleteP.S - Great top photo!
ReplyDeleteSx
It's quite flattering, isn't it? I must carry a placard over my belly more often :-)
DeleteJx
I love and support this movement. How refreshing. And smart. I think capitalism has a way of erasing history... it's nice to get back our roots. Thanks for sharing. And Tom Robinson... was he knighted? He should be. That album was an amazing strike for gay rights. And tasty, too.
ReplyDeleteWhat the corporates have done to Pride is effectively snatch it for themselves, and exclude the individual LGBT+ people who want to join in. It's a parade nowadays, and to get anywhere onto it you either have to apply as a group or organisation and be allocated a place, or apply for a wristband as an individual and join at the back. The whole parade takes five hours to traverse the route, so that's a lot of standing round with nothing to do - and without actually seeing any of the march anyway! We generally nab a place on the sidelines and watch a few hours of it - and if we possibly can, gatecrash our way onto it. That hasn't happened lately, however, as the "gate guards" are too determined to keep people out.
DeleteThat's why Saturday's march was so important. No restrictions. Meaningful messaging. A community thing, not run by banks and big corporations.
Jx
PS I had a real crush on Tom Robinson when I was a closeted teen. It turned out I chose wisely, when he released this anthem.
What do we want? Liberace!
ReplyDeleteSo glad we went
It was essential! Jx
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