http://www.mardigras.org.au/
We took an hour and a half train ride from Fairy Meadow to Sydney at 10:30 in the morning. After arriving in Sydney, we went to a market place to eat and shop. Following this, we walked to Sydney Harbor and toured around the botanic gardens and the Sydney Opera House. I WILL be going to an opera or symphony at the opera house while I am in Australia! After exploring the harbor, my friends and I dressed in our Mardi Gras garb, which included all things glittery, shiny, and flashy. My camera broke recently so I'll be putting up pictures soon from the parade (from one of my friend's cameras)! We all colored our hair green and red and the girls had on butterfly wings. I wore silver fake eyelashes and a red lei. Surprisingly, we fit right in with the rest of the crowd. I'm guessing there were several thousand people at the parade. I saw people wearing everything from butt-less chaps to Halloween-looking costumes. For the first time in my life, I saw a male to female transvestite, who had obviously undergone surgery to look more female. Actually there was a whole group of them, probably 6 or 7 taking pictures with people on the streets. As for the parade, it was very interesting as well! There was floats for everything: LGBTQ support groups, sports clubs who support gay and lesbian rights, political parties who support their rights, and even religious groups who support gay and lesbian groups (Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, and Evangelical Christian). I think my favorite float in the parade was a support group called, "Parents, Families, and Friends of Gay and Lesbian." Several older people walking with that float had signs that read "I support my homosexual son/daughter." On the other hand, I was quite offended when I saw a sign that read "Pope Benedict XVI--The Worst Homophobic." Yes, the Catholic Church does not endorse homosexuality or same-sex marriage, but I thought it was disrespectful, nonetheless. Below are photos from the parade (they are from previous Mardi Gras parades... but perfectly represent what I saw yesterday).
I also saw several men kissing throughout the parade. Because I've never seen two men kissing before, at first I was surprised and didn't know what to make of the situation. But, men and women kiss in the streets all the time and no one says anything... so shouldn't it be okay for two men, or two women, to kiss in public? It may not be something most of us are used to, but I think society should be more accepting of it (regardless of your views on same-sex marriage or gay rights).
The video below is a shout out to all those who identify as LGBTQ, especially those closest to me who identify as such : ) Gotta love Lady Gaga.
No comments:
Post a Comment