The Sydney Mardi Gras Parade
April 23rd 2007 05:11
Category: Guides
My first Sydney Mardi Gras was this past one, in March 2006; I didnt exactly know what to expect, and I got mixed responses from Aussies about the event. Most of them expressed fond admiration for the festival, but several gave me sharp looks of contempt, as if I had brought up a dark and sinister family secret.
If thats the case, Im pleased to blow the lid off this particular secret. The Sydney Mardi Gras is a vibrant festival that shows a passionate enthusiasm for life, and the parade on March 4th is an all-out, shriek-your-face-off spectacle.
Living in the city has its drawbacks, naturally, with the crowded conditions, the high prices, and the depressive effect of living in a concrete jungle. The Sydney festivals, especially Mardi Gras, truly display the fiery passion of living in a densely packed urban environment theres comfort in living in a place where hundreds of thousands of unknown people go about their daily lives.
Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, is a Catholic day of feasting before the deprivation of Lent. Oddly enough, the Sydney Mardi Gras is not held on Fat Tuesday or any other Tuesday. Instead, the celebration originally grew out of protests commemorating the Stonewall Riots. The Stonewall Riots took place on June 27, 1969, as a backlash towards the police brutality against homosexuals in Sydney, with coloured gay men as the prime targets.
Out of horror comes hope; the Stonewall Riots are recognized around the world for the momentous impact they have had on gay rights, and are remembered by the Mardi Gras celebration, the first of which occurred in 1978.
Things have changed incredibly rapidly in the gay rights arena. In the 60s, homosexuals were beaten and unfairly arrested by the police; in the late 70s and early 80s, homosexuality was still a crime in New South Wales, and the Mardi Gras was broken up by police.
In this year, 2006, as I watched from the hot, humid street, packed with people of all ages and nationalities, the Police Band held their own float, playing stirring soul music, while other officers marched in the company of gays and lesbians. Its brilliant reversal thats been a long time in coming, and I think it says something incredible about tolerance in the big city.
Expecting to see some crazy stunts or random psychopaths, I was disappointed by the normalcy of the parade certainly there were plentiful costumes and unusual displays, but as gay culture becomes increasingly mainstream, we need to push the envelope further to be shocked.
I did see a group of angry women, whom I assumed were lesbians, getting drunk and looking around aggressively for trouble. I passed them without incident, but minutes later a fist-fight broke out between one of the bigger girls and an middle-aged man. The spectators turned from the parade to watch this explosion of violence, and for a second, it looked as if the fight would catch on like a terrible disease, but people intervened, and the action stopped.
Only for a second, though I turned back to the Dykes on Bikes, but was jolted by the girl smacking the inebriated man again in the face, the sound of her fist hitting his jaw was similar to a large hock of ham landing hard on a wooden counter.
With the exception of this eruption of hatred, the Mardi Gras is noteworthy for its message of love and tolerance. The crowd is packed with tourists and international students looking to see a part of the action people from more conservative places in the world are mystified as to how such a festival could be possible. As the parade passes by, you can almost smell the pride from the performers. Its such a vibrant and moving event that you can almost imagine the unfortunate heterosexuals in the crowd wondering Why couldnt I be born gay?
If thats the case, Im pleased to blow the lid off this particular secret. The Sydney Mardi Gras is a vibrant festival that shows a passionate enthusiasm for life, and the parade on March 4th is an all-out, shriek-your-face-off spectacle.
Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, is a Catholic day of feasting before the deprivation of Lent. Oddly enough, the Sydney Mardi Gras is not held on Fat Tuesday or any other Tuesday. Instead, the celebration originally grew out of protests commemorating the Stonewall Riots. The Stonewall Riots took place on June 27, 1969, as a backlash towards the police brutality against homosexuals in Sydney, with coloured gay men as the prime targets.
Things have changed incredibly rapidly in the gay rights arena. In the 60s, homosexuals were beaten and unfairly arrested by the police; in the late 70s and early 80s, homosexuality was still a crime in New South Wales, and the Mardi Gras was broken up by police.
In this year, 2006, as I watched from the hot, humid street, packed with people of all ages and nationalities, the Police Band held their own float, playing stirring soul music, while other officers marched in the company of gays and lesbians. Its brilliant reversal thats been a long time in coming, and I think it says something incredible about tolerance in the big city.
Expecting to see some crazy stunts or random psychopaths, I was disappointed by the normalcy of the parade certainly there were plentiful costumes and unusual displays, but as gay culture becomes increasingly mainstream, we need to push the envelope further to be shocked.
I did see a group of angry women, whom I assumed were lesbians, getting drunk and looking around aggressively for trouble. I passed them without incident, but minutes later a fist-fight broke out between one of the bigger girls and an middle-aged man. The spectators turned from the parade to watch this explosion of violence, and for a second, it looked as if the fight would catch on like a terrible disease, but people intervened, and the action stopped.
Only for a second, though I turned back to the Dykes on Bikes, but was jolted by the girl smacking the inebriated man again in the face, the sound of her fist hitting his jaw was similar to a large hock of ham landing hard on a wooden counter.
With the exception of this eruption of hatred, the Mardi Gras is noteworthy for its message of love and tolerance. The crowd is packed with tourists and international students looking to see a part of the action people from more conservative places in the world are mystified as to how such a festival could be possible. As the parade passes by, you can almost smell the pride from the performers. Its such a vibrant and moving event that you can almost imagine the unfortunate heterosexuals in the crowd wondering Why couldnt I be born gay?
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