Copyright ZZ This event purports to be all-inclusive to everyone in the rainbow spectrum, but the weeklong festival is overwhelmingly a gay, male event. That's cool, and, sure, there are some events for lesbians, but not many. Trans-gendered people like me are welcome, but there are no specific events scheduled for us, nor very many fellow-sisters in attendance. But, I guess we are different: we are not characterized by our sexual preferences; rather, we are characterized by gender - how we feel inside and how we wish to present ourselves to the world. Does this make me bitter? Not at all. For me, Pride is only one of several festive events downtown in the calendar year.
The day began with brilliant sunshine and warm temperatures; a gorgeous summer day in Vancouver. Great, but not so great wearing makeup and wigs! Shannon and I got ready quickly at my place and dressed lightly and casually. We had been invited to be on one of the floats, but that would have meant several things. One, getting up way too early. Second, pretending to beat on cops a la Stonewall, which Shannon took issue with. This put me in an awkward position, as I had negotiated with the organizer to have her included too, after her telling me how much she would like to show off to the anticipated thousands. Granted, we had not learned of the aggressive tranny requirement before hand, but I felt uncomfortabe declining the invitation so late in the game. Nevertheless, I decided that I was going to enjoy myself that day. I suggested we walk in order to catch the front end of the parade near the finishing point, close to Sunset Beach. The first part of our walk took us through the yuppie part of the city. The outdoor patios were unoccupied, since it was only late morning. We commented on how cool it was to be doing this in broad daylight and passing well; hardly anyone took a double take of us. Shannon asked us to slow down several times, since the sandals I had lent her were not as agile as my sneakers. Then we proceeded along the Beatty Walk seaside promenade. Several affluent-looking older people were also taking their morning walks with children or pets. The sun was shining blindingly off the Pacific on our port side. Unfortunately, several unexpected construction detours lengthened our walk considerably. After just over half an hour, we heard the first carnival-like sounds of the parade. In a few minutes we were in the middle of the colourful West End crowd, six deep on either side of the road, with people hanging off every balcony and out of windows. Shannon was very excited to be at her first Pride, squeezing my hand tightly and thanking me for bringing her. Unfortunately, we missed the Dykes on Bikes, but saw everything else. The most memorable float was a huge head of the 41st U.S. president with anti-Bush slogans like "I'm an intolerant, anti-gay bigot" and so on written on the chest. I couldn't stop laughing for about 20 minutes. Sure, I'm not a huge Bush fan, but my mirth was triggered by the deliciously left coast mentality that prevails around here. The time and energy needed to create the effigy must have been considerable. We struck up a conversation with a sweet, portly, older gentleman with a beard, but more importantly a cockatoo. Shannon enjoyed handling it, and letting it sit on her shoulder while I snapped a few photos. At the conclusion of the parade we wandered around in the throng, occasionally bumping into people we know. We spent over half an hour with the BIO (vancouverdungeon.com) kids. I enjoyed connecting with people I hadn't seen in a long time, like Kaliya. She is a Domme who was recuperating after a serious illness. We also checked out the vendor booths, but nothing really jumped out. Sure, the octopus balls in the concession area sounded exotic, but we decided on more traditional fare: sloppy hot-dogs with all the condiments! Because the temperature was so hot, our makeup was often threatening to melt off, so we took frequent breaks in the shade. These were beautiful, romantic moments. We cuddled on a towel, necked, snacked, took in the gorgeous seascape, and people watched. Although this was pride, the vast majority of the distractions for us were hot, genetic girls. All-in-all, I don't think I've ever felt closer to Shannon. Nothing like a summer picnic with my "lesbian" lover!
We took a few photos to record our infrequent venture into the casual. We even doffed our shoes, and walked on the beach and in the surf. Again, we continued to revel in our ability to be girls in daylight as well. Shannon remarked how happy she was to once again hang out at the beach and reclaim that part of herself. I guess she meant that she hadn't been doing much of that in guy mode, because of her now hairless, shaved body. At some point we encountered Shawn and Mandy. He has long hair, model-good looks. She is Indo-Canadian very chic, and with a shaved head. This cool couple that I've known since I entered the fetish scene invited us to their apartment later on, so we accepted. A few hours later, the walk hand-in-hand to their place wasn't far, but I was feeling dehydrated despite frequent intakes of fluids. When we arrived, there were two guys from the movie business, a chick, and the couple who had invited us. We sat outside on the deck, and began drinking draft beer from the keg. Soon everyone was feeling buzzed and talkative. The others checked out this website briefly before returning to hardcore porn. The two movie dudes, who may as well have been named Bo and Luke, were trying to act cool and casual, but were decidedly out of their element around Shannon and I. They were a bit redneck, but tried to go with the flow. Then I got a call from my friends Victoria and Nina (gentic girl and t-girl) wanting to know what we were up to. Victoria is a diminutive dynamo with long, dark hair an incredibly buff little body, whereas Nina is a good-looking, new girl who has made great strides in her presentation of late. After checking with the host and hostess, I invited my friends over. They arrived in half an hour, a little hot, grateful for the beer that was proffered.
(Shannon, Victoria, Me) Shawn was ever vigilant, siphoning beer, and refilling our glasses. As we looked over the skyline of the city watching the sun sink lower, I couldn't help thinking how lucky we are to live in Vancouver. He gave me a couple of V.I.P. passes to Celebrities Night Club, since the two wouldn't be able to go; Mandy had to be on set early in the morning. Tonya, the girl who had already been there, was really wanting one of the movie dudes to go to the club, but he wasn't that into her. Shannon "borrowed" her cowboy hat for the evening, and enjoyed teasing her, refusing to return said headwear. We agreed to take her along, since she could smell a party if she stuck close to us. We just finished sorting all this out when the fire alarm went off. The first reaction of course was to do nothing. A false alarm no doubt. Shawn took a cursory check outside and told all of us not to worry. When the incessant clanging was soon punctuated by the wailing of firetrucks, we figured it was time to exit the building! Shannon wisely advised me to take everything I had brought, since it would likely be hours before we were allowed to return. Tonya did not heed these sage words, leaving her money and identification upstairs. This girl is forever losing things. We frequently see her in clubs, nearly as wasted as we, searching frantically for a missing purse, article of clothing, boyfriend or heaven knows what else! Shannon and I wiggled our hips and asses as we coyly walked by the beefy firefighters. Some of them turned right around and gave us a good look. I even winked at one of them! Once we were outside, the atmosphere was strange - a certain nervous excitement or anxiety that brought people together. We chatted with people from the party. We chatted with other people from the building. We even BS-ed with passersby. Things looked serious, but there was no obvious smoke or flames threatening to barbecue life or property. Some of us posed with a fire truck for a few, fun photos. Tiring of the wait, we decided to take our leave. Victoria and Nina walked home, mere blocks away. The two movie moguls took off on an extremely loud motorbike. I could never understand why these supposedly cool machines are not governed by the same noise laws that apply to any other vehicle. Tonya, wearing her recently reclaimed cowboy hat at a rakish tilt followed us. Celebrities was busy, and pumping out decent beats. We danced a little, had a few drinks, but didn't spot any close friends. By this point the three of us were considerably burned out from the beer and sun. It was becoming harder and harder to fake some conviviality. Alas, all parties must end. We dropped Tonya off in the West End. The two of us of course then returned to my place for some nocturnal nastiness .... Copyright ZZ January 16, 2006 |