From Freak Flag to P-FLAG

I did it! And I couldn't be happier. The 2006 Fremont Solstice Celebration and Parade were absolutely fantastic, and I had a blast being a part of it all. I, as you can see, opted to use paint as my attire for the day. My good friends Anna (Calamity Jane meets Daisy Duke meets Rosie the Riveter meets...), Jason (performing a birthing ritual featuring one of my cocoons and his naked self) and Amanda (the fairest of summer maidens) were willing participants at my side as we accompanied a zydeco band the full length of the parade running from West Fremont to Gas Works Park. Anna put her brilliance to work once again with a gold base layer under a beautifully rendered floral motif in peachy red. We were in the most pleasant of company including giant papier mache heads, George Bush in a flight suit, fertility gods and goddesses, hundreds of nude bicyclists, and my very favorite...a troupe of 30 or so little kids riding uni-cycles! The weather was lovely, the streets were beyond full, smiles were on every face, and I met a personal goal that I'm quite proud of.

The best thing about these types of events is that no one cares, and at the very same time everyone cares. Regardless of your age, race, sexuality, body type, gender, preference, diet, language, etc, you're given a chance to celebrate, decorate yourself, and take the streets with a neighborhood in full support of what you're doing. Of course I realize this review is a bit candy coated and that not everything in life is so consistantly pleasant or wonderful...but for the 2 hours that parade took place, it sure did feel like it.

Sadly, I have no interest or impulse to do it all over again next weekend for Seattle's gay pride celebrations. But why would I? Banding together with the folks in Fremont was a pleasure and a blessing. Their open minds made it all really wonderful. What good would it do me to repeat the gesture for one of the most superficial crowds around? While I adore the notion of taking the streets with my homo brothers and sisters, the thought of a repeat performance in body paint makes me cringe as I forecast the steady gaze of judgemental eyes, and the objectification that is likely at an event like that. I think instead I'll opt for sleeves and pantlegs...maybe hang out with the moms and dads of P-FLAG. Am I foolish to think of the situation in this light? Is what's good for one crowd good for another?


PS: If you're considering body paint in the hot summer sun, please opt for an under-layer of sun screen. Unless, of course, you're fond of the subsequent sunburn pattern you're likely to get. I'm delighted to be able to keep wearing Anna's hand painted flowers for a few more days!