Pride and Prejudice

Coming to San Francisco on Gay Pride weekend is a bit like showing up in Thailand on Songkhran; wonderful if you are expecting it, but disconcerting if not. While the weekend's partly a political exercise, it's really the Mardi Gras and Carnival of the non-heterosexual world. Lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals flock to the San Francisco Bay Area, turning it into what one magazine affectionately called the 'San Francisco Gay Area'.

Festivities go on throughout the weekend - from a performance by the B-52's to DJ-hosted raves - but the centerpiece was the parade down Market Street, San Francisco's main drag. The parade kicks off with the rumbling thunder of hundreds of motorbike-riding lesbians better known as Dykes on Bikes, followed by over a hundred different groups.

But it's not just penises on parade, the women of Vulva University - a group encouraging women to explore and indulge in their own private parts - did some of the same. They are, perhaps, matched by sex-toy store Good Vibration's float which features a three-meter inflatable vibrator. Some groups are relatively tame, but whether it's gay-friendly church groups, proud parents of homosexual children marching with their simple banners or gay Japanese drummers pounding their way down the street, the themes of utter pride and joy are constant.

The crowd contributes to the fun as well. When the Gold's Gym float cruises by with buffed male specimens dressed up and gyrating like the Solid Gold Dancers of the cheesy 1980s American TV music showcase, the gay men on my right comment loudly on "cute asses" and one announces that "I'd like to give that guy some solid gold." Meanwhile, the straight women on my left just sigh and wonder aloud why hot single men are always gay.

The parade of spectators cruising by is almost as spectacular as the parade of marchers: a man glides past wearing nothing but roller blades and a skimpy leather loincloth, and women holding hands walk down Market Street sporting Pussy Power stickers. Another popular sticker has the bearer sign his or her name and check off one of the following: Single, Taken, or Tempt Me.