San Francisco Pride
By Aaron Levy-Wolins
As I walked through Civic Center on Saturday, a cacophony of rainbows filled the plaza, with people dressed to the nines — and some not at all. Sparkling jackets and Pride flags were typical accessories, and quite a few attendees carried massive rainbow-flushed butterfly wings, spreading their arms for photographers. Myself included.
2023 has been one of the most tumultuous in recent years for queer people and LGBTQ rights. State legislatures passed dozens of anti-queer and particularly anti-trans laws, restricting everything from drag performance to trans rights and healthcare.
Pride is both celebration and protest. It began as a riot against police raids at gay bars — most notably Stonewall — and has grown into a broader event promoting acceptance for all who don’t fall under typical gender binaries and a heteronormative society. But how can people celebrate Pride this year, knowing that so many queer people and the trans community in particular is under attack?
I asked on Saturday.
Hanna Mack, 20 (they/them)
“It means to me that I can finally be free to be who I am, and be around people who understand that because I feel that it can be very isolating, especially with what happened with COVID. I felt very alone but I was lucky to find my partner Lu and other people who understand.”
On their outfit: “I identify as non-binary, and my makeup look was very easy, just a non-binary flag and as I was picking out my wardrobe I decided to coordinate the colors so I got my purple shirt, my yellow pants, my black leather jacket and black turtleneck and then also the colors for the trans Pride flag on my collar.”
Kearve Williams, 21 (he/him)
“Pride for me it means freedom to express who you are. You are who you are, and you know who you are. It’s being free from all the negativity that people try to throw at us.”
On his outfit: “I already had this fishnet outfit like the shirt from Halloween, I cut out the sleeves and then I went to Party City and found these little tassels, these little thingies right here, and these wristbands from Walmart; the shorts I got from Pride last year. And the wig was given to me by my friend Jolanda who works at my store and the hat I got from Party City as well. I’m trying to have a little masquerade little mask where you put the makeup on it but then I saw the hat and I had to have it.”
Kevin Ruelas, 31 (he/him)
“It’s just being who you are and comfortable with who you are, and I just wish everyone would just mind their own business and just let everyone be who they want to be.”
On his outfit: “It was part of the Target Pride [collection], and I saw it and loved it and I had to get it.”
David Currie, 61 (he/him)
“It’s more important than ever. We are under siege in all corners and there’s a dark force growing in the country, and Pride is the kind of thing that’s the enemy of that.
This is the kind of thing that will keep the dark forces under control. It’s a big dark force; it’s not just [attacking] us, it’s intersectional, it’s racial, it’s about gay, LGBT, trans rights, etcetera and it’s well beyond just any particular group.”
On his outfit: “It’s like the only outfit that I have, can be easily accessed quickly and was like kind of a rush to get here as it always is; every Pride we’re like rushing to get out the door. We thought one of our friends was going to be performing but actually they’re performing tomorrow. So we’re coming back tomorrow; we’d be coming back tomorrow anyway, for the parade and celebration and that’s why we’re here today, and that’s why I chose my outfit the way I did.”
Natalie McDonough, 29 (she/her)
“In 2023, it’s human expression, it’s everything. Pride is so important because it’s how we can really just be ourselves. It’s sad for me to hear about that it’s been such a hard year, but I like to hope that we can still make changes moving forward and hopefully in a better direction.”
These are some other fabulous looks and scenes from Dolores Park and Civic Center on Pride weekend:
Aaron Levy-Wolins is a San Francisco-based writer and photographer.
The Bold Italic is a non-profit media organization that’s brought to you by GrowSF, and we publish first-person perspectives about San Francisco and the Bay Area. Donate to us today.
