Toronto Pride 2005

[vaneramos]

Pride parade, Sunday afternoon


Toronto Pride 2005: gallery includes 26 photos from the dyke march, the pride parade, and miscellaneous.


I attended my first Pride parade in Toronto in 1996. This was my 10th, the third I watched with my daughters, the second with djjo. It seemed somewhat less commercial than the last few. The beer companies and supermarket chains were absent. The sponsors of some of the large, fabulous floats were not readily apparent. One expects, of course, to see IKEA and a few travel agencies (the latter lacking creativity and receiving little notice from the crowd).

Certain aspects of the parade put a lump in my sentimental throat, but not the ones you might think. The Toronto Police Service has had a growing presence recently, and I don't mean security. It's the individual officers walking the parade in uniform (mostly women, it seems), and a couple riding a cruiser with the rainbow flag across the hood. These came close on the heels of the mayor, also on foot, facing the inevitable gantlet of water guns with good-natured endurance.

It also hit me to see this placard: "Two gay moms, two straight dads, six wonderful children, love keeps us together." And I wasn't marching, but I was there in the crowd with my boyfriend and two daughters, being visible.

Comments

[leafshimmer.livejournal.com]

That's a wonderful gallery of shots. Thanks so much for sharing!

the one of you with the little flower over your ear is too precious...

[thewindrose.livejournal.com]

Fun shots - thanks for posting them! The Air Canada costume really cracked me up. My favorite picture was of the drummers in their red shirts. I really liked the arrangement of that one. I also love crowd shots - I think it is fun to look and see what all the people are doing - there always seems to be one person looking in a different direction than everyone else or doings something different than the rest.

[dakoopst.livejournal.com]

The last sentence is everything to me.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

I was photographing the guy with the water gun, but I just love the face of the middle-aged Asian woman in the foreground.

The handsome fellow in the Air Canada costume is my friend Darrell, balunbustingbea.

Glad you enjoyed the crowd scenes. I took lots of pictures of fabulous floats and outrageous costumes, but it was the natural faces that appealed to me the most, and which I tried to emphasize in the gallery.

[queenmomcat.livejournal.com]

Those pink triangle pasties are quite fetching but I do rather prefer the top photo. It's a nice mix of ages, races, sexes and genders.

[avad.livejournal.com]

thanks for sharing your album, sweets! enjoyed the pics!

[weebax.livejournal.com]

Imagine 25 yrs ago people were too afraid to hold each other hand in public or who would have phantom the idea of the government legalizing same sex marriage in the first place or for Queer parents to be treated as normal parents as oppose as out of the norm.....it shows how far we came..meeting your daughters were a real hoot !!!

Like I said hopefully next time we can meet and sit down and actually talk!!

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Haha, glad you liked. I think Cloey put it there.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

It's a big principle for me too.

It has given me conflict over my emotional reaction to the anxiety group the past couple of weeks. On one hand I've realized it isn't essential for me to "be visible" if doing so causes me too much distress. I need to look after myself. On the other hand, I believe very strongly that it's an important stand to take.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

I just love the expression on the face of the Asian woman in the foreground.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

You're very welcome!

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

That's one reason we ought to keep participating in Pride, regardless of commercialism and other negative aspects that turn up. It's important to remember how far we have come, and celebrate it.

[queenmomcat.livejournal.com]

That struck me too.