Went to my first Pride festival (as an ally, for life) and to say it was awesome would be an understatement. There were all kinds of people there. Gay, straight, trans, and everything in between. They had food trucks, vendors, and fun for the whole family. Even kids and toddlers rocking rainbow flag or similar outfits. Oh, and they had drag queens dancing in the streets. Having never been, it was a bit overwhelming at times, but in a good way.
I think I'd say Bad Romance is my favourite Lady Gaga song, but having heard this one blared loudly on loudspeakers, I get the appeal. If I'd waited until after the Pride festival yesterday to post, I would have posted then, but I was also pretty close to heat exhaustion as it got over 40ºC/104ºF. I was drinking ice water and dropping ice cubes in my shirt and up under the legs of my shorts. But those drag queens? Covered head to toe. You know. The big hair. The makeup. The big elaborate dresses. And they never broke character. True queens. Never been to a drag show, never even seen one before in person (on TV/the Internet, sure). Not attracted to them, but I absolutely get the appeal now. It's like strippers, only you don't have the illusion they're there for you or that they like you at all. They also work for tips, but I think their show is a bit more honest. It's a dance, a performance; they work for tips but I don't think they're selling a lie. Sure, the person behind the queen persona might very well be a guy who identifies as a guy (or they/them non-binary or something else) but in costume and makeup, she's a queen. I see it no differently than men playing women in Shakespearean times. At least that's my take on it after one event. If I've got it wrong, feel free to correct me. In any case, I thought they put on a good show and I enjoyed being there.
I asked a week or two about the Pride playlist. Here, and on a couple other music comms on other instances. I got some good advice, but after playing music for about half an hour, the deejay set up right across from us, so I turned off my speaker and let them play theirs (I wasn't going to compete anyway, with a speaker about the size of two fists vs two speakers each the size of two rolling suitcases). What I did do was Shazam the songs I liked, and added them to my own Pride playlist. One thing that threw me for a loop though, was not once did they play Elton John, but they played Dude (Looks Like a Lady) by Aerosmith twice. I thought that song would be read as anti-trans, but the crowd loved it. It's basically about a guy who goes to a bar and meets a lady who turns out to be a dude. I love the song — Permanent Vacation might even be my favourite Aerosmith album. Based on yesterday's song of the day, I'll give you one guess what year it came out. Yep, 1987. Get a Grip gave us those three awesome videos Alicia Silverstone was in (if you were a kid/teenager in the 90s, you know what I'm talking about), and it was a good album, but I liked Permanent Vacation just a bit better. Anyway, I always liked Dude (Looks Like a Lady), but as I became aware of what trans people are, I thought it wasn't a very politically correct song. I can't change my childhood of being raised on awesome music, but I can choose who I play what songs around. That's why I make playlists. That's part of knowing music, beyond enjoying it, what to play for whom. So, I might be wrong about Dude (Looks Like a Lady), but I'm not putting it on the playlist just yet. Besides, I got about 10 new songs.