COMMENT: POPCOX ON PRIDE

It’s Brighton Pride this weekend – so we asked drag diva DJ POPCOX to spew her thoughts on Pride…

For some, Pride is all about the march, others, a great excuse for a big pink party (like an excuse is needed) and finally, for some, Pride is a state of mind. I for one, have only been to Pride twice, many years ago. One Pride holds a special place in my heart for a very personal reason (no, not that sort of ‘personal’, getyer mind out the gutter please) – it’s where a friend of mine saved my life pulling me out of the path of a speeding bus that would have turned me into trannyjam without shadow of a doubt. Perhaps you could say I was born again at Pride? Perhaps I’m reading a little to far into it but, safe to say I had an awesome time dancing, drinking and doing all sorts of other things in excess that would no doubt make my mother gasp, not that she even knew I was there unless she spotted me topless podium dancing on the 10 o’clock news – if she did, she certainly hasn’t mentioned it to date.

For me, Pride is as much a state of mind and an attitude as it is a party, I’m sure of course many of you feel exactly the same. While this party is the flag in the pink party calendar, every time I go out these days, partying or not, I’m at ease with myself and others whoever they are – I treat others as I would have them treat me.

While Pride really is an unshakably good party, lest we forget the reason we celebrate. Now what exactly is that reason? Has it changed over the years? I’ve done the Stonewall March out in New York to raise money for Stonewall and gay rights a few years ago – immensely good fun and I met some friends for life – I strongly recommend it to anyone.

The original Stonewall riots were about LGBT people standing up for their rights and facing down an unjust social view. It might be fair to say this was the beginning of gay rights as we know it. That bit is all clear of course, or should be at least to any self respecting gay person.

Having said that, as one of the ‘T’ community and indeed the ‘B’ community of the whole LGBT (does anyone else think that sounds like a sandwich), we mustn’t forget to truly celebrate our own diversity as a community – bi-people are not “confused” thank you very much and being told “we’ll grow out of it” or “make our minds up eventually” isn’t what I call community, joking or otherwise.

Minor personal gripe over, the point is that Pride, for me at least, is as much about celebrating diversity (beyond the range of LGBT) as it is for gay rights nowadays. Any race, creed, colour, sexuality or gender deserves to be respected. Gay rights started as a minority lashing back against the majority who declared themselves to be righteous, now that gay people have so much more recognition, respect and power, let us not fall into the trap of prejudice within our own community or outside it and respect, admire and celebrate every corner of human diversity – even God himself did not mean for man to be judged until his end of days, so who are we to judge.

You live and then you die, if you can enjoy the middle bit, you’re doing alright. Have a bloody good, flamboyant, outrageous, flirtastic, danceyersocksoff down right brilliant Brighton Pride.

POPCOX PLAYS AT TONIGHT’S A NIGHT OF A THOUSAND CHICO’S @ THE STAR OF BETHNAL GREEN