NONFICTION   - 
       With the Theme of Choices

"The sponsors decided to have the parade start at Central Park,
then march its way down to Washington Square in the Village." 

​                     Photo by Weebly.com                                    

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1973 Gay Pride March
(New York City)
by  Richard Marino

In 1973 we were at our fourth Pride celebration. I believe we were getting comfortable with Gay Power and the fact that we really were coming out to family and friends. The sponsors decided to have the parade start at Central Park, then march its way down to Washington Square in the Village. People had gotten used to the parade from previous years marching up Seventh Avenue to the park, so there was grumbling. A friend of mine, Clay, and I were watching the parade go by on Seventh Avenue in the Village where he lived. We decided to join the march to Washington Square. There would be a lineup of speakers and performers. Sylvia Rivera was not scheduled to be a speaker but was able to commandeer the stage with help from Tom Kelly, a member of Gay Youth. Sylvia was a transwoman who pioneered the group S.T.A.R. (Street Transvestite Action Revolution) with Marsha P. Johnson, another of the gay movement’s icons. “Drag Queens,” as we knew them at that time, did not get respect in 1973.
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Sylvia was at the Stonewall riot and she played a big part in the growing Gay Liberation Movement. Many in the gay community did not want “drags” to participate in Pride. They were called “damn drag queens” by macho gays. Sylvia’s speech to the crowd was heartbreaking as she was concerned about gay people in prison. She passionately told us that she was in touch with many of them and she herself had experience in jail. Sylvia knew of the horrible treatment of gay people in prisons including beatings and rape. “You better all quiet down,” she demanded as they booed her. She wanted to be heard. Too often today, we still read about transpeople murdered or beaten. I believe we are appalled when we hear about it. Sylvia challenged us to treat the transgenders with equal time and respect. Using the term “trans community” or considering pronouns in a respectable manner was not the status quo in 1973.

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ost gay men at that time felt that drags and transpeople were a curse on the community and felt the gay movement would achieve acceptance with the straight community if there was no one around like Sylvia Rivera. Many lesbians felt that drag degraded women and wanted the drags out of the picture. Sylvia insisted that the drag community was extremely involved with the Stonewall riots and that they should not be sidetracked or ignored. She was not intimidated by all the jeering she received, but it was regrettable. Sylvia did implore us: “We are all in this for Gay Liberation. We need it,” she said. I felt she commanded attention. Even though I agreed with what Sylvia was saying, I had my own demons to deal with. I had gotten to know Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia through their activism in the community. I appreciated them. But that was mostly in 1970-71 when I first began my gay life. Now in 1973 I was making myself into a “gay man” and we did not want drags and sissies. We wanted “men” and we wanted to be “MANLY.” The gay women felt similarly.
 
Mama Jean, a butch lesbian and an early Gay Activist, took the mic from Sylvia, who was “asked” or “told” to leave the stage. Sylvia refused. She was sidelined from the stage. You can see her speech today on YouTube, but most people do not know that a fight ensued on the side. A gay man immediately took up for Sylvia. The gays had security guards and one of them took on the gay man defending the drag queen. The booing became louder. Then a fight ensued. It was awful to see two gay brothers fight each other. They were both gay men and they were pounding each other and crying too. Eventually gay men separated the two and Sylvia seemed to disappear. I think she left in disgust. There was much jeering done towards Sylvia’s friends who were mostly young gays of color. The white middle-class gays dominated the early gay movement. A pleasant day and a great pride fest had turned ugly. I was unhappy with what was happening and uncomfortable.

If that wasn’t enough, Bette Midler arrived and was ready to be escorted to the stage. I liked Bette Midler and was glad she came to the event. This was a time when big celebrities did not come to gay events. Anyway, her choice of song, “Friends,” was inappropriate for what had just happened. I got mad. It was becoming a sorry event and in frustration I left. I had a key to Clay’s place nearby, and I needed to use the bathroom. Poor excuse on my part, but I was unhappy with the event.

Clay had met someone and was headed to his place for some action. About an hour later, being somewhat curious as to how things were going and maybe feeling a little guilty, I returned to Washington Square. I was surprised that people seemed at ease and content with their picnic food and newly found comfort in celebrating gay pride. Many of them were straight and supportive of the gay movement. This was the gay pride I wanted from the start. I eventually met a handsome red-haired student at the event and we went back to Clay’s place for a hot, fun sexual encounter.

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Pride was feeling good again. I would go on to participate in many Pride parades in the coming years, especially in 1977 when we had Anita Bryant and the Briggs initiative to fight. I would continue my interest after I moved to San Francisco in 1983. Years later I took a class at The Queer Center that encouraged inclusiveness within the gay community. The issue of transpeople and questioning youth was the focus and I was enlightened by the class. A clip of Sylvia’s speech from 1973 was shown and afterwards I told the class that I had seen the events occur on that day. I also mentioned my bad feelings for Bette Midler’s song choice of “Friends.” There was a queer woman in the class and she told us that she too was there and was also appalled at what happened. She also said that had I stuck it out, I would have witnessed Bette Midler singing, “I Shall be Released.” She made everyone feel united and liberated. I am truly sorry I missed out on that because of my misguided anger. Bette Midler’s singing helped people, both gay and straight, to get comfortable with each other and cherish the moment that I witnessed when I later returned to the Pride event.
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Gay parades continue to this day and we all have some challenges that make us question how valuable they are. There is confusion about them and disagreements. We are still years away from total acceptance. Much like 1973, I can say the Pride march is necessary and comforting to many in the community to commemorate a historical event. It is a reminder that history can repeat itself. But many of us are still questioning about who should and should not speak at Pride. I suggest you go to “YouTube” and for 5 minutes you can see Sylvia’s passionate speech and anguish, and place yourself there.

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​​Richard Marino has lived in San Francisco since 1983. He moved to San Francisco from New York where he lived in the East Village. He has worked in the San Francisco Public Library (Main) for the past 28 years. He has been with the Gay Gray Writers since its inception in 2014. He joined the queer elders’ group four years ago which led to their having writings published in a one-time journal in November 2019. His pieces tend to be memoir, and he has written many of them. This opportunity with OLLI is an incredible blessing to him and he would like to participate in the future. 

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