CIVIL RIGHTS

Rethinking Gay 'Pride'

Time to lose the thongs and theatrics?

Would gay pride parades be more effective if participants wore suits and street clothes, instead of leather thongs and ass-less pants? Cord Jefferson at The Root says yes. Just as African Americans took extra pains to dress conservatively—with crisp shirts tucked in to dress slacks and skirts—during the civil rights marches of the '50s and '60s, perhaps the LGBT community would inspire more empathy if they did the same. While some point out that pride parades are celebrations, whereas the civil rights marches of the 20th century were somber demonstrations meant to highlight blacks' suffering, dressing more like "regular people" might better convince racists and skeptics that gay community is not as deviant as parades might suggest.