The first gay pride parade took place in 1970 in New York on the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall riots, to commemorate the struggle of the first dissenters and to protest social and legislative discrimination against LGBT people. Since then, the gay pride parade has spread to the four corners of the globe, becoming the most extravagant, ostentatious, multihued event in the queer calendar, characterized by glitz, glamour, feathers, and gravity-defying heels. But no matter how wild the parades have become, the underlying message remains unchanged: We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it!
Two inspiring Out100 honorees, the nonbinary actor Theo Germaine and the trans activist Kayla Gore, talk about representation, role models, and what the community needs now.