After 40 years, Pride is still necessary: expert
Posted August 4, 2017 12:37 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Tens of thousands of people from across the Lower Mainland are getting set to celebrate Pride this weekend. While this is the 39th year of the parade in Vancouver, it is still necessary, argues one expert.
John Paul Catungal with the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social Justice at UBC acknowledges we’ve come a long way — with legislation on gay marriage for instance — but we still have a long way to go.
Catungal points out gay marriage is not the only issue that affects the queer community, adding there are still every day forms of homophobia, and discrimination. “There is a sense that we’ve achieved a lot, but really the achievements that we’ve had has not really equally affected everyone in the queer communities.”
He adds alt ride attitudes and ideologies we may hear about across the border bleed into our country. “[We’ve] seen a rise of hate crime. We’ve seen a flow of activism and discourse from the far right, hyper conservative forces creating networks all across North America.”
Catungal adds many people are still marginalized, and Pride is an opportunity to recognize there is room for improvement. This year’s parade gets underway at 11 a.m.
Pride Parade Road Closures
- 1000-1100 Robson Street between Burrard and Bute streets from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- 700-900 Thurlow Street between Georgia and Nelson streets from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- 1100-1600 Robson Street between Bute and Denman streets from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- 800-1200 Denman Street between Robson and Beach streets from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- 1300-1700 Beach Avenue between Denman and Jervis streets from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Both Robson and Denman streets will be re-opened after the parade when streets have been cleaned.
