Celebrating The Lesbian Parade
In some places, lesbian women also have their own parade. The events that led to the lesbian parade are the same as that which led to the gay parade.
In 1969, gay and lesbian members at a friendly inn, the Stonewall Bar in Greenwich Village in New York City, decided that they would no longer tolerate police action. When police attacked the friendly bar, lesbians and gays fought back. The patrons of the friendly bar threw bottles and rocks at the police chanting "Gay Power!" The word of the retaliation of gays and lesbians from the friendly bar spread around. The event became known as the Stonewall Rebellion or Stonewall Riots. Although there was a small gay rights movement prior to Stonewall, after 1969 the movement grew dramatically, becoming energized and organized. Since the fight at the friendly inn, gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people celebrate pride and call for basic civil rights by commemorating Stonewall. In New York City, gays and lesbian women march every June in commemoration of the Stonewall incident. However, some lesbian women in the 1990s felt the need for their own parade, separate from the gay parade. The Lesbian Avengers were founded in 1992 in New York City as a lesbian direct-action group. The Lesbian Avengers were known for their street theater and in-your-face activism. A lot of lesbian mature women participate in lesbian parades. Just as in gay parades, lesbian parades are conducted in several states as well as in several nations. The first lesbian parade, in which more than 20,000 lesbian women participated, was in April 24, 1993.
San Francisco, a bastion of the gay and lesbian community, was the place of the first lesbian parade. More than 10,000 lesbian women took part in the parade. Soon, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Montreal followed with their own parades. Apart from the United States, Amsterdam and Sydney have a very active gay and lesbian community. A lot of gays travel to these cities to visit friendly bars and enjoy the active gay and lesbian community. Both these cities have their own parades. The gay parade in Amsterdam is unique because it is held in boats as opposed to the streets. More than 20,000 gay women usually travel to the city to witness and take part in the parade. The gay and lesbian mardi gras in Sydney is also very popular. A lot of lesbian women from the United States travel to Sydney to participate in this program. The lesbian movement in Sydney has a lot in common with the movement in New York.
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