From tiaras and pink hair to ball gowns, nothing was too flamboyant for the second annual Gay Pride march along the East London Esplanade at the weekend.
Organiser Sally Prince said the event was held as a means of making local gays and lesbians more visible within the community with the hope of acceptance.
Prince said the event also served as a platform to highlight issues affecting the gay and lesbian community.
Starting from popular beachfront eatery Bora Bora, event participants took the time to dress up for the occasion with accessories ranging from loud jewellery to face painting.
The parade, which ended down at the Eastern Beach, was led by a float.
While some participants marched, members of the public were invited to come inside the restaurant where a number of stalls offered free HIV/Aids testing and counselling, as well as live entertainment.
Attendees included representatives from S.H.E. (Social, Health and Empowerment Collective of Transgender and Intersex Women of Africa) and Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI or Gay Pride).
“We just want people to know that we’re not any different from them. We are humans too and we also deserve love and respect. We do feel like we are being marginalised in the world. We know things are definitely changing, but it’s happening way too slow,” Prince said.
“That’s why we decided to do this. The idea is to become more visible and not hide away from people. We held the same event last year and it was really successful. We hope it grows bigger and bigger every year with more people getting involved.”
A fun part of the afternoon was the unveiling of the 2015 Miss and Mr Gay, who strutted their stuff.
According to Prince, the march is just one of many events Gay Pride has been involved in this year.
“We are involved in so much throughout the year and our message is always the same. Just recently we had a 16 days of activism conference where we brought in the transgender group. We educated people about the unnecessary abuse of gays and lesbians, such as lesbian rapes.
“Mostly, we want people to know that we’re just ordinary people just like them.” — zisandan@dispatch.co.za
Gay Pride march highlights issues
Organiser Sally Prince said the event was held as a means of making local gays and lesbians more visible within the community with the hope of acceptance.
Prince said the event also served as a platform to highlight issues affecting the gay and lesbian community.
Starting from popular beachfront eatery Bora Bora, event participants took the time to dress up for the occasion with accessories ranging from loud jewellery to face painting.
The parade, which ended down at the Eastern Beach, was led by a float.
While some participants marched, members of the public were invited to come inside the restaurant where a number of stalls offered free HIV/Aids testing and counselling, as well as live entertainment.
Attendees included representatives from S.H.E. (Social, Health and Empowerment Collective of Transgender and Intersex Women of Africa) and Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI or Gay Pride).
“We just want people to know that we’re not any different from them. We are humans too and we also deserve love and respect. We do feel like we are being marginalised in the world. We know things are definitely changing, but it’s happening way too slow,” Prince said.
“That’s why we decided to do this. The idea is to become more visible and not hide away from people. We held the same event last year and it was really successful. We hope it grows bigger and bigger every year with more people getting involved.”
A fun part of the afternoon was the unveiling of the 2015 Miss and Mr Gay, who strutted their stuff.
According to Prince, the march is just one of many events Gay Pride has been involved in this year.
“We are involved in so much throughout the year and our message is always the same. Just recently we had a 16 days of activism conference where we brought in the transgender group. We educated people about the unnecessary abuse of gays and lesbians, such as lesbian rapes.
“Mostly, we want people to know that we’re just ordinary people just like them.” — zisandan@dispatch.co.za
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