Sebastian Soto wishes there could be an LGBTQ+ Pride parade every day — in every city and every country in the world.
Alas, that’s not the case. But for Soto, who is gay, there was plenty of joy and laughter to be had Sunday at the Los Angeles Pride parade, one of the nation’s oldest and biggest LGBTQ+ Pride celebrations.
“We wanted to celebrate Pride and get together in this weird time we’re living in and bring some color and love and light and hope,” said Soto, of Hollywood, who wore a hot pink duster and pearl necklace.
Soto and a group of friends, all gay or bisexual men who attended WeHo Pride in West Hollywood last weekend, met early Sunday and paid homage to “the queen” Britney Spears’ star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, taking photos with it before finding a spot on the parade route next to Liberace’s star on Hollywood Boulevard.
“I’m happy to be here with my husband — happy, safe — because I know we couldn’t do this in so many places in the world and not every city in the U.S.,” said Soto’s friend Gabriel Lugo, a 28-year-old screenwriter from North Hollywood.
With all the anti-LGBTQ+ laws being considered right now, it’s important to show up, Lugo said, and to simply make the point: It’s OK to be queer.”
The L.A. Pride Parade, which drew thousands of people to Hollywood Boulevard, came at a time when LGBTQ+ issues — especially the rights and visibility of transgender and gender nonconforming people — are center stage in the U.S. culture wars.
Across the country, conservative lawmakers are attempting to ban drag shows, stop parents from seeking gender-affirming care for their children, and restrict transgender athletes from participating in youth sports.
In Southern California recently, protests erupted in North Hollywood and Glendale over the teaching of gender and sexuality in schools. The L.A. Dodgers invited, then booted, then re-invited the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of satirical nuns in drag, to its Pride Night.
Tony Valenzuela, executive director of the ONE Archives Foundation at USC, which focuses on LGBTQ+ history, said he was hardly surprised by the conservative backlash, which has happened many times before. Conservative lawmakers and power brokers, he said, put a lot of time, energy and money into the anti-abortion movement, and after the fall of Roe v. Wade last year, they needed “a new bogeyman” to “drum up fear” and get votes.
“It’s a moment where we are all on high alert,” Valenzuela said. “That this is happening during Pride — it’s a time to reflect and understand that the stakes continue to be high for so many of us, and this is a time to mobilize and make sure that our stories continue to be told. When people understand our humanity, we win.”