Nudity at the Pride parade isn’t about sex, it’s about naturism and the acceptance of the human body. The small group of nudist men that walk in the parade do so in protest (and they celebrate the diversity of the LGBT community). In addition, many people who come to Toronto Pride want and expected to see nudity. The courts also determined that it did not go against public decency or order because the LGBT community was thought not to have the same negative qualms about nudity as the rest of society. The case was essentially thrown out because they were all wearing shoes. The courts determined “naked” to be defined as entirely without clothing of any sort. Again, just like the raids of 1981 the police and government thought this is what the public really wanted because it was an offence against public decency – wrong again. Some people think naked individuals should be arrested since they believe nudity in Canada is a clear cut case. It seems like every year I have people asking me about the nudity in the parade. However, I want to talk more about the nudists at the event. The overt sexuality, breasts, transgender people and cross dressers are also highlighted in the news. There are more issues, but I only want to focus on one – nudity.Įvery year during Toronto Pride the part that draws the attention of the average folk (often publicized through the media) are the nudists. There are discrimination issues that have not been rectified in law such as the protection of transgender people, and bullying among youth is also a problem that was unfortunately highlighted last year by a number of teen suicides. However, the protest element is still an essential part of the parade especially since social equality for LGBT people is still a long way off. Nowadays, the parade isn’t quite as much a protest parade as it is a celebration of our past struggles. The general population did not support these crackdowns or the discrimination against the LGBT community. This of course was wrong, and it backfired on the government and police of the day. The parade is supposed to be about overt expression of homosexual sexuality in all its forms because you, the general citizen, through your government, wanted a crackdown against all things gay. A protest parade for the same reasons as those born out of Stonewall. Born out of these police raids was the Toronto Pride Parade.This is the reason the parade is like it is. Over 3,000 people gathered in protest.Ī second demonstration which took place on February 20, included over 4,000 people who gathered at Queen’s Park and marched to Metro Toronto Police’s 52 Division, the division responsible for the raid.
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The response from the gay and lesbian community was immediate and angry. Nicknamed Operation Soap, the raid resulted in the arrests of 268 men. Police denied the excessive force but reporters that visited the scene proved them wrong. One was so badly damaged in the raid that it never reopened. 150 police officers raided four gay bathhouses in Toronto. Gay men and women flaunted their sexuality for all to see because they had had enough – We’re here! We’re queer! Get used to it! The LGBT community took to the streets standing proud of who they were.
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They falsely thought the general population supported their crackdowns against the homosexual population. The riots were an in-your-face protest caused by the harassment from police and government. They are frequently cited as the first instance in history when the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender) community fought back against a government-sponsored system that persecuted sexual minorities, and they have become the defining event that marked the start of the gay rights movement in the United States and around the world.
#GAY PRIDE NYC NAKED PARTIES SERIES#
Back in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City, a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid took place.