Don’t bash Pride parades
Why Kwantlen professor Shinder Purewal is wrong to attack Vancouver Pride
Photo courtesy of cattle_class on Flickr.
When I heard about Kwantlen University Professor Shinder Purewal and his tweet saying that the Vancouver Pride Parade should be banned, I didn’t think much of it. Professors, like everyone else, have the right to be wrong.
But Purewal’s more detailed comments in the National Post were so outrageous that something has to be said by way of rebuttal.
In the interview, Purewal moderates his position to say that he doesn’t want the whole parade banned, but he does want to see an end to the “explicit sexuality” of the event. His main reasons are, first, that publicly sexual behaviour is inappropriate for children, and second, that gay men and women ought to celebrate their rights, but should do it behind closed doors, not “openly, in the streets.”
Children often provide convenient cover for those made uncomfortable by alternate sexualities. One can always say, “I don’t have a problem, but think of the children.” But why should gay sexuality be so harmful for children? What kind of pure wall does Purewal think kids have to be hidden behind? In any case, the kinds of things that go on at major Pride events are no secret. If you don’t think it’s appropriate for your kids, don’t take them.
But the really maddening part of Purewal’s argument is his suggestion that heterosexuals don’t behave so explicitly, so why should gay men and women at pride do so? Well, in fact, straight people display their sexual orientations in public all the time, and they do so without fear of being verbally abused or physically assaulted. The majority doesn’t have to make noise about being the majority because they are the majority. We don’t need a White History Month in Canada because the contributions of white Canadians haven’t been ignored. By the same token, many gay men and women make an issue of their sexuality in a way that heterosexuals don’t because straight people didn’t have to hide for centuries. Straight people didn’t have to worry about losing their friends or their jobs, or being declared mentally ill, or, in extreme cases, going to prison because of their sexuality. So if the sexuality on display in your local Pride parade bothers you, weigh that against the hundreds of years of oppression, oppression that is just now beginning to lift.
But what about the professor’s claim that other groups have fought for their rights and didn’t make a big deal of it? As Purewal said to the Post, “Women had to fight for the right to vote and the fight to be recognized as persons. They didn’t go out walking naked and saying ‘Look, we are women, see us.’” Actually, feminists have done exactly that, but the faulty parallel here is still stark. Gay men and women flaunt their sexuality during Pride because it was their sexuality that they once had have to conceal. The real parallel would be to say that women should vote but not “flaunt” their political involvement. After all, we wouldn’t want children seeing women voting, now, would we?
Purewal claims he is not homophobic, but if he is truly a champion of gay rights as he claims, he should reconsider his view. Canada has come a long way on gay rights in a relatively short period of time.
We should all be Proud.
I also think the parades are very rude All kinds of people running around in thier underware or LESS sorry but he is right.
Thank you for this story. FYI – http://OutMilitary.com is now featuring in-depth interviews with gay active duty servicemen and women… This week features “T.J.” a bi-sexual man serving in the U.S Air Force in Turkey.
I agree with this article. We heterosexuals make our sexuality explicit all the time in public. I fully support what happens in the pride parade. I think that the people who think the nudity that happens during the parade is offensive, there is little difference in that parade, and what I’ve seen being worn at the beach. There is little difference.
The difference, and it is a big one, is the location and the actions going along with the dress code. The city street is something that is difficult to avoid, whereas the beach is a place that you make a special trip to get to, and with the specific purpose of either swimming or sunbathing. Most people travel to the beach in regular city clothes, as they understand that it would be inappropriate to be scantily clad in the city. Also, there are very few thongs being worn on Canadian beaches, unless you count Wreck Beach, which is a well-known location for those that want to dress with less – and is easily avoided by others. I don’t see heterosexuals, or even homosexuals on any other given day, openly engaging in sexually explicit behaviour/clothing on the city streets.
The location is a street sure but it’s an organized event that is well publicized. I’m sure that you can avoid the parade route for the afternoon if you’re that opposed to the event.
First time going to the parade today and honestly it’s not that bad in terms of being offensively vulgar. More straight people there than gays too which was cool and surprising. Guess we’re starting to progress…
The parade is about a group of people celebrating the fact that they don’t have to hide their sexuality anymore. It’s not a group of people walking to the beach on a regular Sunday afternoon. Lighten up.
Why do they have to be so disgusting. I am ok with gay but to do what ever you want in a parade. If you complain you are homophobic or something. So if thats ok then lets have Santa’s elves dance in thier underware for the kiddies.
This just makes me sick. Gays you are not furthering your rights by doing this. You are turning people against you.
If heterosexuals had a parade and there were naked people gyrating in public during the parade and around the associated events, they would be stopped or arrested.
The pride parade is fine. The naked perverts in public are not.
Well, I hate to have to say it but Shinder Purewal is absolutely right! The reason I hate to say it is because I am Gay, I am not ashamed of it & I am not in the closet. Seeing these events does not make me proud at all but rather quite ashamed and angry. The negative stereotypes that mainstream society have about gay people ie, that we are all fairies & freaks and we do nothing but sleep around are only re-enforced by the people that attend and participate in the gay pride parade. Would Black people hold a Black Pride parade and all present themselves as slaves and servants?, NO. Then why do we have to have events like this that re-enforce our stereotypes. Most people are only exposed to gay culture when they see coverage of this on the nightly news, what the heck do you expect them to think? I live in the suburbs have been in relationships but have yet to find that guy that I want to spend my life with, but I am hopeful that he is out there. When I do find him I will shout from the rooftops the pride that I feel being with him, a pride I would like to show by being able to walk down any street and hold his hand without fear of being look at like an outcast or the possibility of violence. As long as these shameful events continue to cast my sexuality & that of many many others who may feel as I do, in a negative light, my dreams of Pride will never happen.
Well said!
We have tried to raise our kids to respect and accept differences. If the Pride Parade was not so sexually explicit, it would be a great event to go to, showing the kids that we support inclusion, and that being gay is nothing to be ashamed of, or afraid of. However, events like this would be very similar to using the Playboy channel for explaining sexual relationships…not a good teaching tool!
As it is, I feel the political correctness and fear of repercussions for not supporting the Pride Parade has excluded and singled out another minority group of Vancouver – the family. They may as well put up a huge billboard saying “No person under 18 years of age permitted to enter the city”. There is a reason that movies have age ratings, why kids can’t go into strip joints or bars, and why there are blocks and age limits for the Playboy channel. Why do we forget this when it comes to the Pride Parade?
This is really Sick, Our Country is really going to the Dogs!
It is a sometimes rare occurrence to fall in Love and to hold that person in your heart and be loved in return … it is something that should be celebrated! If it’s between two guys or two girls — all the better. It takes even more courage to defend that LOVE!
I am a professor, a proud mother of 2 teen girls, and a newly out bisexual woman. All 3 of us attended our first Pride parade this year.I find it odd that people are so focused on sexuality (which they have to try really hard to see as people in underwear are not necessarily overtly sexual) as opposed to the message I saw displayed over and over in the parade…peace and love folks!! All colours, all creeds,all people…the human family.
Where is the love??? It’s funny 100 years from now it’s going to seem so barbaric that we viewed homosexuality as an abnormality. Guess that’s just the slowly ticking clock of human cultural evolution at work.
jeeeeeesh I am sick of all the attention these people get, they make up less than 1 1/2 percent of the total population but they get more publicity than any other group I also hate watching all the politicians, t v personalities, etc wearing their feather boas and participating to show how much they embrace and accept the gay culture. Now we have the NDP complaining that no one from the Liberals was there, surely that must be homophobic behaviour?????? I think they just had more important things to do that day,like stay at home and clean the toilet.
I’m a female to male transgender teenager who has been attending pride parades for three years now. (from ages 15-17) I don’t live in Vancouver, rather I live on the island where I am often harassed and face a lot of hardships because of who I am. This is the one time of the year I feel comfortable being who I am. I think pride parades are great! This year I marched in it with a sign that declared by transsexuality. I don’t find them vulgar at all!
The point is this – homosexuals are a group that remains marginalised, if not by all then by some. They are also a group (like many others, including women, indigenous peoples, racial minorities, religious minorities, etc., etc.) that have made strides over the years. After being imprisoned, sent to mental institutions and killed for what they are, they have reason to celebrate where they are.
I see straight people making out in public places all the time. I also see straight people in skimpy clothing (barely more than underwear) any time I walk by a club, at the beach, on billboards in the city, etc. I don’t see how a La Senza ad outside the store is any worse than a man in the same outfit at the pride parade. Actually, I do – at least the man at the pride parade is clearly a person and not an airbrushed unattainable object.
You do not need to go to the gay pride parade if you do not want to. I have been to pride parades (as a straight person) and have survived without my morals being burnt up and, actually, had a great time. I would have no issue bringing a child to a pride parade, either. Children are not offended by skin or homosexuality unless they are taught to be. What are you teaching your children?
One point not mentioned in any of the comments is that the professor says it should be ‘banned’. He doesn’t say it should be regulated (for example, if a city wants to moderate nudity, then it could do so), and he doesn’t say “I don’t like it”. He says that other people shouldn’t have these communal rights.
The other point is that the whole idea of such parades is inclusion. Most of the gay people at such events are not dressed scandalously or make obscene gestures. However, those who organize the events are aware of the hypocrisy of having a ‘gay pride parade’ and making censorship of individual’s expression a part of it. How messed up is it when a gay pride parade forces people to moderate their behaviour?
That said, it IS a double standard in that IF I support a man’s right to be NUDE on a public street during one day of the year, then I should be able to walk down a street nude any day of the year. I”ve been to several parades, and while I’ve seen scantily clad people, I’ve never seen testicles or penises. If nudity is something we want to ‘parade’ on one day a year, then obviously is something ‘good’ and should be allowed anytime. But I’m pretty sure most towns have laws against nudity in public, and I can well imagine a complaint if I brought my six year old to the parade and some guy dangled his penis in front of my kids face. Nothing even CLOSE to that has ever happened, and I think a separate argument needs to be made about nudity.
Marcarc, I don’t think it follows that things that are good one day of the year are good all the time. I wouldn’t want kids banging on my door every night asking for candy, but it’s fun on Halloween.