More than forty years have passed since members of the LGBTQ community took to the streets of New York City on the first anniversary of the Stonewall Riots for the world’s first march for gay rights. From its modest, though ambitious, beginnings, the annual event has grown into an all-encompassing celebration of queer culture, drawing more than a million people. It has also come to mean many things to many people. For some, Pride has become too commercial or irrelevant as queer culture has become mainstream. To others, the festivities should be less about the politics of the gay rights movement and more about a joyful celebration of what it means to be queer.
With an introduction by the nationally known satirist and activist Kate Clinton and published in the wake of the historic U.S. Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage, Pride and Joy is an ode to this New York institution. Energetic, colorful, and irreverent, these images are a playful confirmation of equality. Incorporating portraits of marchers and bystanders and leading figures in the LGTBQ community, these photographs revel in the rich diversity of the parade. Exquisitely presented, the book includes interviews with members of the queer community about their relationship to the march, offering a startling variety of responses to this integral part of New York life. Pride and Joy is an inspiration not only to the queer community but to all those still fighting for their basic human rights.
