Day 1 of Pride

[mistressofmuses]

It was a nice day. :)

I got to spend it with Alex and Taylor, my two favorite people. (And I rarely get to spend time with both of them.)

The weather was unseasonably cool, and cloudy most of the day. That was actually quite nice for walking around. Last time, in 2019, it was in the upper 90s and was pretty brutal. Despite the cloudcover... I somehow wound up with a really bad sunburn. Ouch.

We got swag, and while there were certainly some big corporate booths, there were actually fewer of those than I remember from previous years - we mostly got stuff from public health groups and nonprofits. I bought some bracelets and pins, including a few pins from Atomic Pixies (the ones I shared the kickstarter info for for their Weirdeer pins.) Terra wasn't there - she's unfortunately in the hospital for at least a few more days. She finally got a long-awaited breast reduction surgery... and then got sepsis. But she's recovering well!
I also bought a pride shirt and some stickers from the Museum of Nature and Science's booth. Rainbows + dinosaurs + support the museum, so... pretty great, ha.

One other thing that I noticed was a LOT more inclusiveness with flags and stuff? I guess that's partially just kind of a more recent trend, but in 2019 I was trying DESPERATELY to find ANYTHING with the nonbinary flag on it to get for Taylor, and there was nothing. (I found ONE booth that was selling pins with pokeballs on them and they had an nb colored one. That was literally it.) This year there were nb flags as like... a standard swag option for little flags and bracelets and things. Same with other flags that I didn't used to see available.

Especially considering yesterday, the "Log Cabin Republicans" had some nerve still having their booth set up with their "Why you should vote for the GOP" board. It *was* however super gratifying to see how every other booth on that stretch was crowded with people, and the pathway was in its usual state of gridlock, and yet people were leaving this radius of empty space between everyone else and their booth, ha.
"I never thought leopards would eat MY face" says person who voted for the Leopards Eating Faces Party, indeed.

Not a lot of like... social opportunities, which I'd low-key hoped for. Lots of places looking for volunteers, but not a lot of places just offering like... meetups. The handful that I did see were almost all exclusively youth-focused, which is cool, but. Yeah. Or like... sports leagues, and one music group, but those don't apply to me either, ha.

I might try to check out secular hub - I usually grab a pamphlet and then forget about it, ha. But sounds like they have a new location that isn't too far away from us, and they're supposedly geared toward just being an enjoyable community space for non-religious folks. They sponsor interesting talks and do movie night type things. It could be fun, depending what the vibe is.

Alex wants to go again tomorrow. The weather is actually supposed to be a few degrees *cooler* tomorrow. We'd left Cy home today for fear of the heat... but he would have been fine. So Alex wants to go back and bring him with so he can visit all the pet tents, lol. Our usual local pet store always has a booth with pride-themed stuff, and there were a bunch of others too.

I'd... be fine not going again, lol. We had fun, but I'm still SO TIRED. I'm not as fatigued as I have been post-Covid, and I have enough energy to do things, but afterwards I am WIPED. Also, this sunburn hurts. (HOW did I burn THAT badly through clouds? I would have expected maybe a little bit, but it's worse than anticipated.) I feel like tomorrow will just be more same-same, so we'll see.

Comments

[olivermoss]

Glad it was an overall nice day.

"not a lot of places just offering like... meetups. The handful that I did see were almost all exclusively youth-focused, which is cool, but. Yeah." Yeah, I know that feel. Every trans booth/group/support at our pride turned out to be 'for kids'. They didn't put that on the sign, it was like it was taken for granted that anything would be for kids.

Log Cabin Republicans booth? Dear god... I have hated them intensely since I learned of their existence in high school. I have literally never in my life seen anyone self-ID as one. If I saw a booth like that, up until a few days ago... a day ago? ... my reaction would have been "Just to be clear, this is performance art, yes? No one would ever admit to being something so gross?" Today my brain might BSOD. For all the problems I have with the Portland queer / political scene I can promise you on the glory of Darcelle XV* they would not dare have a booth at our pride.

(* local pioneering drag queen. Often written up as an important historical figure despite the fact that she is still alive and performing. I actually commented to a few posts on social media posts last week talking about her in past tense like 'uh... y'all she's performing this weekend?' Sorry for tangent but, if I was going to swear on anything....)

[mistressofmuses]

Me too. :)

Yeah... I know we've talked about that, but it was definitely the case with just about everything here, too. Even booths that were aimed at like... mental health support and things would have brochures titled things like "Learn about our programs" or "What we're doing in the community" and "If you're seeking services..." and every. single. one. was about supporting LGBT youth. And yeah, these weren't youth-focused groups, from anything on the signage or about the organizations themselves, or even on the covers of the pamphlets... it's just that the only programs they apparently have right now are for teens. All of them. For some reason.
I don't begrudge the fact that those exist! But... what do people who aren't kids anymore do?

The Log Cabin Republicans have unfortunately had a booth every year that I remember going to Pride here, but it's usually... pretty dead. I pretty much DID BSOD about it yesterday. I didn't even muster up a middle finger (#regret). I was glad that they were basically being rightfully shunned, but I'm honestly shocked they thought "Why Gays Should Vote GOP" was a good look the day after That Supreme Court ruling, which even if they give no shits about abortion access (because let's be real, they're almost exclusively cis gay white men), at least should maybe make them have a thought about the fact Lawrence and Obergefell were specifically identified as rulings that should be reconsidered.

I WISH they would realize they are absolutely not welcome. I desperately hope they lost money on the booth, and I hope someone less overcome with shock that they'd be there at ALL gave them a harsher reaction than a look of disgust in passing.

(I hate how often influential queer activists and pioneers get written off as "historical" while they're still alive and around! What the hell? By all means, appreciate what they did in previous decades, but like... don't treat them like they're dead when they're still around!)

[olivermoss]

I think our Pride doesn't allow any overtly political group, and I am in favor of that. But still, I have never seen anyone willing to actually claim that as their political position and I am glad I've never had to see one of their booths. I am definitely the sort to say something if I am calm enough. If I am stressed or depressed I wont because I know it wont hit right.

Yeah, and what are the kids to do once they grow up or if they don't get to grow up in Denver / San Fran / etc. We could really use some community building stuff, especially about now.

I wish people would appreciate people more when they are alive rather than making a big deal of them once they are dead. Right now people can still go to the longest running drag review with the original host. They can listen to jokes older than Darcelle herself in a run down bar. If we ever lose her, I am prepared to accept that she's immortal at this point, everyone's going to be all sad they didn't go and that bar wont seem run down it will seem all 'vibes' and 'authentic'.

[mistressofmuses]

I think I'd prefer that (not allowing overt political stuff), honestly. I appreciate some of the causes and voter registration stuff that our Pride often includes, but... yeah.
For real though, who the FUCK would advertise that they're such a tool? This is literally the ONLY place I've ever seen someone willingly self-identify as one.
In the past I've just ignored them with an eye-roll, but I regret not at least mustering a "fuck you", honestly.

Exactly! What about people who only get to come to a relatively queer-friendly city as adults? What about kids who've aged out of those youth groups? What about people who didn't come out until later, or didn't realize their queer identity until they were adults? It feels like community is more important than ever, and yet...

But seriously. I deeply want people to be appreciative of how many excellent activists and artists we have still with us! Not just idolizing them once they're gone. And yeah... you're right. Suddenly the "run down" turns to "authentic aesthetic". Weird how that switch from "ew, I wouldn't want to go there" turns to "aw, it's so charming" happens, ha.

[spikedluv]

I'm glad you had a nice day!

OMG, you get worse sunburn through the clouds! I don't know why. Something about refracting rays?

[mistressofmuses]

It was a nice day!

I am a connoisseur of varying types of sunburn, lol. My fair skin never quits lobster-ing. I have definitely burned through clouds before, but never this badly! I am certain it would have been worse in full sun (as I know how fast I burn in full sun) but I wasn't anticipating this kind of ouch!

[scarlipswolfwife]

SO GLAD YOU HAD A GOOD DAY AND THAT THE WEATHER WAS COOL! (Much better than our 102º with heat index of 104/105º.) SWAG is so important!

[mistressofmuses]

Thank you, me too! It was a great day to be out (OOF the 105° heat index is BRUTAL.) It was actually surprisingly humid here, for us at least, but the cool air temp made up for it.

[umadoshi]

(HOW did I burn THAT badly through clouds? I would have expected maybe a little bit, but it's worse than anticipated.)

>.< The worst sunburn of my life was thanks to an overcast day. It seems so deeply unfair that that happens.

I hope today was a good day, whatever you wound up opting to do.

[mistressofmuses]

It's so unfair! I know I would have burned faster and worse in full sun... but would have known it was happening. I didn't realize this burn was even happening until we were done for the day.

Today was also quite nice - Pride round 2. Yesterday was better, but today was still good.