Mission Local asks: What does Pride mean to you?

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This year’s theme of San Francisco’s 55th Pride is “Queer Joy is Resistance.” Celebrations will continue many long-held staples: three unique marches, main stage performances and a street fair at Civic Center, featuring over 300 artists and vendors. 

What does it all mean? Here are some reactions. 

Davida, 75

Davida, 75, is a drag queen — the 18th San Francisco Pride Grand Duchess, in fact. She’s attended Pride so many times that she’s had to come up with creative ways to spice things up. 

One year, she square danced through the entire parade down Market Street, stepping and turning through the roughly 1.3 miles of the parade route from Beale to 8th Street.

“I saw the look of the people that recognized me on the sidelines, saying, ‘Is that Davida square dancing?’ They just didn’t expect that of me. My feet were so sore towards the end, but I didn’t give up. I made it all the way through,” she said.

Another time, she and another friend were late for their float, so they had to run to catch up. After several attempts, “We got there, and they pulled us up onto the float. Then we had to look fresh and smile.”

Davida plans this year to stay home to watch the festivities on TV. Still, she said, Pride remains as important as ever.

“I tell a lot of people they don’t realize how lucky they are to live here, that we have a lot more freedom than other places — at least we do as of this moment,” she said.

Nick, 45

Nick, 45, has gone to Pride for the past nine years. They work for a queer nonprofit, which makes Pride this year feel conflicting. “It’s the hardest time we’ve ever faced as an organization funding wise [and] resource wise,” they said. 

But at the same time, they’re seeing defiance surging, “Yes there’s anger and fury, but I think that’s being directed in a very collaborative and coalition-building way. And I’m getting a lot from that,” they said.

“I’m looking forward to this Pride more than any I’ve participated in for a long time because it’s never been more needed, it’s never been more important, it’s never been truer to why [Pride] all was started and created. It is a protest,” Nick said.

The Pride they remember most fondly was their first, “I was on a float in my hometown, and I was dressed as an angel. I was coming out…in front of my community and my family.” Getting to share their authentic self with people who matter so much made that year both memorable and deeply impactful.

Then, three years ago, Nick came out again — this time as nonbinary. “I wouldn’t have come out as nonbinary had I not worked in the center and been to events like this. I didn’t feel permission, I didn’t want to take up space. I’ve lived the reason we do this, it’s enabled me to get to know who I am,” they said. 

Rafael, 44

Rafael, 44, has been living in San Francisco — and the United States — for 16 years. As an immigrant, he’s been feeling the “oppressive forces” particularly strongly this year and began taking the steps toward becoming a citizen, something he never needed before to feel comfortable, since he has always been here legally.

To Rafael, SF Pride is an opportunity to resist. “In a time where everything seems so terrifying, having joy and expressing that is maybe the best way to fight that,” he said. 

“Trump seems to have, also, a special hatred for anything queer, so hopefully it will be a beautiful party,” he said.

Sarah, 36

Sarah, 36, has lived in San Francisco for the past 13 years. Their first time attending Pride was an accident. It was their first week in the city, and while wandering the streets to explore their new home, they walked straight into the Pride Parade. “I was just like, ‘Oh, I guess this is going on today!”’ They were delighted to see so many people happy and freely expressing themselves and even more excited to call this welcoming community home.

“The joy of being in San Francisco is you’ve got this built-in community of cool queer folks. You don’t have to look that hard to find them — they’re loud and proud and happy to invite people in,” they said.

“[The parade] is just a day. Live your truth your whole life, every day,” said Sarah.

Joe, 76

Joe, 76, manager at the last gay bar in the Tenderloin, Aunt Charlie’s, will be working this weekend. Conveniently located as one of the closest gay bars to downtown, they receive an influx of new customers over Pride weekend. To Joe, this makes it all the more special, as tourists from other countries showcase the incredible draw SF Pride has across the globe. 

Joe will be at the bar from 9 a.m. to at least midnight this weekend, pulling long days to ensure everything runs smoothly and acting as a backup when he’s not on shift. Still, he said, “I look forward to it.”

Madison, 28

It’s Madison’s birthday today. The newly 28-year-old lounges out on the grass of Mission Dolores Park surrounded by three close friends who have traveled from North Carolina for their birthday weekend — and also for Pride. 

Madison moved to the city in December, and they said the community they’ve so easily forged here defined their past year. At the same time, “As much fucked up shit as people on the far-right say, they’re not wrong about the existence of a liberal bubble and an echo chamber,” they said. 

Coming from North Carolina, Madison felt that the freedom to be yourself in San Francisco is too often taken for granted.

“I push back against the idea that [Pride] is supposed to be 100% joyful, all the time. I think it is a point of celebration, but it’s also a remembrance of struggle,” they said.

Dane, 29

Dane, 29, is one of Madison’s friends visiting from North Carolina. They said that pride this year means, “fighting to be ignored… you want to use the bathroom and nobody say anything or bat an eye,” they said.

“It’s so nice to be here and to just be comfortable and celebrated. And, frankly, to see other gay people,” they said. The Pride parade in Durham, NC is much smaller and more corporate, they said. 

Fen, 23

Fen, 23, took the day off work to come to the Trans March. She’s a summer camp counselor and teaches at an arts-focused after-school program during the year. 

She’s looking forward to letting her guard down this weekend. “It’s nice to have the understanding that… I won’t be judged, and I know I won’t be judged, which are two different things.”

This year, she says Pride feels different. “It feels a little bit more of a rallying cry than just a party,” she said. 

Describing it as when penguins huddle for warmth against an ice storm, Fen said Pride is the one time a year when she feels protected by the community around her rather than constantly defending herself. 

Alex, 22

To Alex, 22, “When I’m scared, if I see a trans person, I feel better…There’s something remarkably powerful about the eye contact when two trans people on a bus [recognize each other],” they said.

Alex had just come from the Intergenerational Trans Brunch and nearly cried meeting trans people in their 70s. It was “reassurance that it takes a while to build community, that it’s okay that at 22 I haven’t figured it out yet. That’s a good reminder, that we do have time,” they said.

Aaron, 33

Aaron, 33, is someone else working during Pride this year. He said that he’s had the quintessential SF Pride experience many times, and it’s also been special to “be with everyone that is celebrating,” in the midst of the festivities in his own way. To him, it’s not disappointing, it’s just another way of celebrating. 

One of the first time he attended SF Pride was in 2015, the year that same-sex marriage was legalized just days before SF Pride celebrations kicked off. Now, he says, he’s feeling some of that same energy, the feeling that there’s something to fight for and that Pride has a directed purpose. 

“Whatever is the truest part of you, that is resistance,” he said.

For our latest reporting on Pride, follow along with Mission Local’s live updates.

Jessica Blough contributed reporting.