After enduring the G20 events here in Toronto, this past weekend was the annual Toronto pride parade & street fair.  It was a great way to get out and enjoy an environment of friendliness and acceptance.  Quite the contrast from G20!

Pride for me, is not about my need to tell the world my sexual preferences, rather, it’s a time to be in a huge crowd that is truly free of pretense and prejudice.  It doesn’t matter what your gender, age, race, or sexual preference, pride is about being completely comfortable just being YOU.  Society has raised us to be self-conscious, and to feel abnormal if you don’t fit in with everyone else.  That’s pretty messed up, don’t you think?  It’s not always easy to rid yourself of that mind-frame, but when you do… oh boy! Life just keeps getting better and better, no matter what comes my way.

My pride makeup – I did it myself =)

Pride week, leading up to the parade on Sunday consists of different events that are scheduled, along with closing down a large portion of Church street on Friday night – Sunday night to transform it into the street fair.  Vendors come out and you can get everything from hamburgers to giant inflatable penises there.  The streets get flooded as people party late into the night as bar service hours are extended to 4am.  On Saturday afternoon is the ‘dyke march’ which is not a parade, but a political demonstration of critical mass.

The First Dyke March

On April 24, 1993, a group of San Francisco lesbians joined the Lesbian Avengers, Queer Nation, and the National ACT UP Women’s Committee in calling for a Dyke March the night before an NGLTF-sponsored National March on Washington for lesbian and gay rights. More than 20,000 lesbians marched! Soon women formed Dyke Marches in towns and cities across the country, in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Montreal. 10,000 dykes marched in the first San Francisco Dyke March in 1993. Eighteen years later, 50,000 people attended the San Francisco Dyke March rally and march, the world’s largest dyke march! Now the Dyke March has become an annual event in many cities, usually the night before the local LGTBQ Pride march.

You can read more about it here.

On Sunday, the Pride parade happens, which is a huge event.  At least a million people come out to enjoy the parade & the street fair, it’s quite a sight to see.  A portion of Yonge st., one of the major thoroughfares in Toronto, is closed down for the parade, and scads and scads of people line the sidewalks to watch.  In addition to the parade and the street fair, there are a few beer gardens, as well as an outdoor stage that has different artists performing over the weekend.  It’s a ton of fun, and the best thing of all – everyone is friendly and happy and accepting.  It’s a great vibe.

So I picked out a few skimpy outfits to wear.  Pride is also a time when you can get away with things that normally you couldn’t.  Walking around naked, for example.  I don’t think they like it, but I’ve yet to see the police react to a man who’s walking around the pride street fair buck-ass naked.  Here in Ontario, it’s legal for women to be topless, and many do at pride.  (unfortunately a lot of the women who *do* go topless don’t have the sort of breasts I enjoy – but if they’re comfortable with their bodies as they are, kudos to them!)

I had so much fun walking around with friends, meeting new friends and fooling around with pretty girls!  (Have I mentioned how much I like girls, too?!) During the daytime I wore something a little less risqué, but at night time….

I didn’t stay out for long that particular night, because those boots were definitely not made for walking! I love ‘em though, because they are soft velvet, I clip my garters to the boots themselves.  The skirt is really more of a belt than a skirt and I certainly got lots of attention when I was wearing this!  There were also some other really fun and creative outfits.  It was fun just to people-watch.  Of course I also like to people-touch!

Anyway, after all the festivities, I brought home my date for the night, and we finished Pride weekend off with a ‘bang’!  I had a fantastic weekend,though it’s taken me a couple of days to recover from the lack of sleep!

Happy Pride!

xoxo Violet

Tags: dyke march, pride, pride parade, semen facial, toronto

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