You can’t make this shit up. Some 26 years ago, LGBT activists took a step into a fantasy world. Donning red shirts and hands that actually hold together, they walked out of past cultural abuses and into the open arms of a new future. A castle worthy of a blonde named Cinderella awaited and there were plenty of small worlds to discover, some goofy moments, some animatronics to endure and even a haunted mansion. If it all sounds terribly obtuse and the wayback lens seems to be covered in Vaseline, well maybe it is. We like to dream here in Florida. And when we dream, we make things happen. We dream big.
This month, we welcome the onslaught of all of the many machinations that comprise Gay Days. Whether it’s an official GayDayS.com situation or one of the tentacles that has grown in its glow – One Magical Weekend, Girls in Wonderland, the grape-picking drag of your local watering hole, that guy on the side of the road with the body you always wanted – we are here to celebrate, and we’re not stopping until we fall on our faces, brush off our pants, put another layer of lip balm on and carry on up the charts. This time we know it’s for real!
I know, I know: Escapism is a tragedy waiting to happen. When I first went to the Magic Kingdom in my red best in 2000, I fell down a few flumes that didn’t even exist, later ending up in a traffic jam that lasted at least 400 years. That small world undulates into a big one without a moment’s notice; best to grab your turkey leg and run for the false hills! But I had friends – most of whom are still around today to prop me up with various toothpicks and road signs – so I did feel the magic, unfettered. The tacit appreciation (read: economic development) from Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and other attractions and attractive people about town makes for a special kind of melting pot, one that welcomes the outside ingredients, one that even cheers outsiders on.
Sure, there are manifold excuses to close your eyes to the grand display of global visitors pricking open their eyes to the strange and fantastic world of Central Florida, but why bother? From your Disney devotees to your circuit queens, your shirtless twinks to your leather daddies, your down-the-middles to your outside rails, you can still unite in your otherness and enjoy the company. Life’s too short to cast a side-eye. There is recreation to be ignited.
In this issue you’ll find numerous escapes and distractions surrounding our guide (AND ANOTHER GUIDE INSERT IF YOU’RE IN ORLANDO!) to all of the things that are going to make your extended weekend an LGBT extravaganza. It’s always nice to have a tour guide, so kick back and let Watermark do your eye-rolling.
Being gay in a park with plastic things surrounding you isn’t everything, of course, so we’re offering a veritable sample platter of all the things you need to know in the now. In Orlando, the Orlando Gay Chorus is ramping up its efforts to be a more accessible organization via some restructuring, while in Marion County, the heated bathroom debate over transgender individuals is being taken to its next logical level by the American Civil Liberties Union.
On the Gulf Coast, Equality Florida threw a gala at which EQFL CEO Nadine Smith mapped out new initiatives to address the bathroom issues in schools and bullying in general. Also, Sarasota has stepped up to the “now” plate with its first LGBT center, Our House. Things aren’t so bad when you have powerful people in your corner. As U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch so eloquently stated, “There is no room in our schools for discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against transgender students on the basis of their sex.”
Indeed.
But stick around for joy! We talk to comedian and performance artist Miss Coco Peru about hair-flips and living unreasonably in an over-reasoned world. We take a gander at a reworking of A Tale of Two Cities designed to reflect the dysfunction in our own times. We canoodle with people and we celebrate life, even when it is surrounded by fantasy. We celebrate life.
You can’t make this shit up. And we didn’t. Happy long weekend, people. Drink some water.
You must be logged in to post a comment.