TORONTO — Toronto’s Gay Pride Parade might be the city’s biggest bash of the year, attracting millions of spectators who proudly come to wave rainbow flags and cheer.
But as the event gets set to celebrate a landmark 30 years, some activists said Friday the politics have become lost in the partying.
“I’m of a generation where I can’t remember a Pride that was more about politics than partying,” said activist Sydney Neuman, 23, of Toronto.
Over the years, the unified Pride Parade has fractured, dividing into groups frustrated with what it has become.
Many want the parade to be a forum for political discussion, for activism, but have watched as some people have taken the “party on” rather than “power on” attitude.
“I haven’t really seen them be terribly political,” Neuman said, referring to the parades and comparing them to stories of the politically charged movements of the ’80s.
Three decades ago, the march evolved out of police raids on Toronto bathhouses. Back then, the gay and lesbian community felt angry and politically excluded, and there was a growing sense of injustice.
Today, the parade features feathered boas, fanciful floats and lots of music.
There has also been criticism that corporate sponsorship has taken over parade interests as logos for beer companies are plentiful at the event.
Some say that’s a sign of progress. Being gay is more acceptable in society, and there’s not as much need to mark the event with serious political messages.
But others wish the Gay Pride movement had held firm to its original message.
“An elite developed within the pride community, a wealthy elite that started to feel more of a benefit of this branding and this flowing of money from corporations,” said Marusya Bociurkiw, a professor at Ryerson University.
But David Rayside, a professor of politics and sexual diversity studies at the University of Toronto, doesn’t agree that the parade has lost its power.
“For many people, it’s just a party, for some it’s an opportunity to be — more than ever — visible,” said Rayside.
“There are always some people for whom this Pride march is their first, and for whom it is a big, public step,” said Rayside, pausing, “and that’s as political as it ever has been.”