Pride Parade

Pride Parade, or Gay pride is an event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) social and self-acceptance, achievements, legal rights, and pride.


 * Those who take issue with Gay Pride, a single day a year of conspicuous celebration in various cities, have actually found the least racist way to express their rejection of homosexuals : perhaps he is a little ashamed of it, and therefore limits himself to expressing his dissent for what’s defined as a carnival. Furthermore, it may be that he doesn't like the idea that homosexuals don't live in shame and suffering, secluded and marginalized, but are sometimes very happy. My problem remains: that of never having understood why the existence of homosexuals still creates problems today. I don't think for sexual reasons, given that hetero couples who are not extremely pious and exclusively reproductive in bed do more or less the same things and with the same enthusiasm, when there is one. (Natalia Aspesi)
 * Gay Pride events make me infinitely sad, like the Viareggio Carnival. (Paolo Poli)
 * Gay Pride as a party is like the Carnival of Rio, but the aim has always been, in my opinion, to declare: "I'm not afraid". Today I believe there is no longer any need to be eccentric to declare oneself gay. The civilization and revolution of a country can also be seen when it becomes "normal" to be homosexual. (Paola Turci)
 * The father... that is... the son goes to the father and says "Dad, I'm gay" and the father replies "As long as you're not a faggot". Second thing: go back to your father and tell him... and he says "Dad, I'm gay" and he replies "As long as you're not pride", that is, for Gay pride, do you understand? That is, "I'm gay", "as long as you're not pride". But these marriages between men and men... (Richard Benson)
 * Pride is not just a summer event. It is a celebration, but it is also a manifestation of human rights. He is serious and joyful. It's a reminder of the progress we've made, but also of all that still remains to be done. This is a responsibility we all share. Both me and you. We must not remain silent. We must speak on behalf of those who do not have the courage to speak, for those who are not allowed to and for those who cannot. Here in Sweden and the Nordic countries, we have come a long way when it comes to LGBTQI rights. But what we take for granted is unthinkable in other parts of the world. In many countries, same-sex relationships are illegal. Young people are forced to hide and deny their love and identity. LGBTQI people are persecuted, harassed and even imprisoned. For me this is absolutely inconceivable. (Princess Victoria of Sweden)
 * Pride is a breath of citizenship. It's like a mosaic made up of a series of pieces of different colors: the glue must be equality. (Leoluca Orlando)
 * It seems like a carnival thing to me, I find these gays and trans people in swimsuits confusing. Let them go to Cuba, where there is a different gear without all this fuss. You also need to have a bit of modesty. (Cristiano Malgioglio)
 * I can't stand the fact that, to defend their rights, homosexuals take to the streets looking like fagots. (Roberto Calderoli)
 * For a long time I was afraid of being who I am because my parents convinced me that there was something wrong with someone like that. Something offensive, something to avoid, perhaps even to pity, something not to be loved. My mother is a fan of St. Thomas Aquinas. She considers pride a bad vice and of all the vices a human being can have, for St. Thomas pride was the king of the seven deadly sins. She considered it the supreme vice that in the blink of a wing could transform anyone into a sinner. But hate isn't on that list, and neither is shame. I was scared of this parade because I really wanted to be a part of it. So today I will march for that part of me that was too afraid to march and for those who can't, for the people who live as I have lived. Today I will march to remember that I am not just an "I", but that I am also an "us". And we march with pride! Go fuck St. Thomas! (Sense8)
 * For me this parade has the spiritual meaning of the fight for the freedom to love. It is not a political or religious thing: the freedom to love is a right of nature that has always existed. Whether they are men and women, men and men, women and women. ‎It's not a question of social class. (Asia Silver)

Roberto Calderoli:

 * The spectacularization and ostentation of one's homosexuality in Gay Pride style damages not only the natural family founded on marriage, but also homosexuals themselves who experience their sexuality not as a freak show. [...] Homosexuals are different, but those of the Gay Pride are sick, and not only of protagonism.
 * Those who live a natural sexuality don’t believe they need to demonstrate for their own pride, those who instead live an unnatural sexuality and believe they need to express their pride by doing so question the very thing itself. To all the gay pride protesters I make an appeal: repent and the good Lord will sacrifice the fatted calf.
 * I can't stand the fact that, to defend their rights, homosexuals go to the streets looking like fagots.

Related entries:

 * Stonewall Riots
 * Homoparentality
 * Homosexuality