We have seen big prides held in 2014 as usual.

Many people has expressed their feelings on prides as it being a freak show, an open buffet for sexually thirsty men. Even more people strongly believes that pride further perpetuates the idea of LGBT people being complete weirdos and unfitting of society. Some people expressed their fears from seeing signs like 'No ass for meat lovers!', 'Vegan gays only eat weiner'' and I am sure those weren't the extreme ones either.

Pride was supposed to be a source of celebration on its own. It was supposed to make 'others' visible, not a target of hate. But it's used as a market now. Many companies realized the potential in pride business and now are using the community as a source of income.

Do you think pride fulfills any course, or what do you think on the matter? Please be respectful to every member, thanks.

This

I think very few straight changed an opinion about LGBT for better.

I think if you've just come out and don't have a lot of support, it can be a good outlet for feeling accepted by a large group of people. It's definitely not my thing, for all of the reasons you mentioned about over-sexualization, but at least some people enjoy it.

It shows that we have economic power though. And even though the media focuses on the outrageous and sexual stuff, there's always lots of interesting events that people would consider respectable, like lgbt fim festivals, benefit concerts, massive HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns, and minority lgbt events. People always cling to the scandalous first though.

Every community this or that way have economic power. Not to mention we are a community based on sexual discrimination. We did not come up with our sexuality. So our economic power shouldn't prove anything.

I completely agree on youth education through prides on HIV awareness.

Only white gays have economic power. Other gays are on average significantly below their straight partners in earnings, and married straight white men outearn white gays too.

Pride is disastrous to the cause. That MESS is not the way to fight for equal rights and acceptance. I'm apart of the community and even I'm disgusted by most of the parades

I don't want to make it off-topic. But can you explain why would someone earn more than the other if they have the same job. Or are we talking about the sum up of all straight white men, gay white men etc?

Pretty much.

There was a Pride 'Show' in my city today. I support our fight for equal rights but the whole Pride thing was a complete mess. It was such a freakshow and embarrassing There are many straight people (GP) out there that see us as freaks and such, so why do we have to exactly give them that? It would be nice if we would show a new site of us. But yeah, I hope that no one feels offended here. I do think that something like the Pride is important but not in this kind of way

The first time I went to Pride I was in the closet, technically, and I went with my brother and his friend, who was a homophobe and dragged us there so he could videotape lesbians We all ended up making friends and it was my first real gay experience and their first, too. I can vouch for two straight people who learned to appreciate gays that
day, despite the "weirdness." Y'all can tone it down with this self-hatred any time now.
Bitch, bye. A lot of these companies were involved in the LGBT community before you were born and a large amount of them have seen people protest their stores over the years for the support they've given. Heck, my gay community hasn't even given them a full financial recap ever and they still come back year after year.

im absolutely horrified from what ive seen of the gay pride parades. it is so embarassing, tacky, and degrading. it makes gay men look like repulsive sexual freaks with no limits or an ounce of class.

This is exactly why I put 'please be respectful' in OP. This mannerism has to stop both online and in real life. We are a minority, people. A minority! If we don't stand true no one will do it for us.

Furthermore, saying a company existed long before my birth doesn't convey anything. It's a business truth that now many major companies target gay community as a big slice of income pie.

Pride parades aren't meant for straight people. Stop worrying about what they think about our culture.

I definitely don't understand some of the displays that occur at gay pride parades, but ultimately the parades are about freedom to express who we are and how to make ourselves palatable to heteros should be the farthest thing from our minds.

Pride isn't meant to help us fight for equal rights and acceptance.

No, even if they get to the point of not being "needed", it can still be a celebration meant for people to enjoy themselves. There's tons of celebrations/parades that are for fun and for businesses of those groups or any place that supports or caters to them (ethnic food festivals for example.)

I will say that, in the US, it's getting to a point where everyone knows someone who is gay (there's numbers for this) and they can differentiate between them and the demonized jock strap man wearing wings that conservative media will try to scare people with. So i actually think it's getting to the point where people can stop worrying about what people are doing for fun and if it'll make them look a certain way.

Pride is like any other street celebration in the city - people taking advantage of the event and having fun to the point where it's too much. Tell me one parade or event that is "classy" and "toned down". All types of people are in and out of the LGBT community and they come to the parade to celebrate sexual oppression. Of course there will be the stupid bimbos who are just an empty shell of superficiality, but who cares?

The origin of pride goes back to '60s Stonewall riots. Where everyone was simply named as gay. And those marchings were all about soon to be gay rights. Pride was always about visibility and acceptance. It has later changed its image but the very question in the OP remains.

Agreed.

I assumed you were talking about modern pride parades, which, yes, are quite different from pride marches of old. Modern day pride parades generally are not about fighting for equal rights, they're about celebrating who we are. That's just as important for us as an oppressed minority.

So I guess it is safe to say, most of us see pride as a form of celebration and don't take it so serious. Also stating pride does not carry ambitions anymore?