"It's the march of the gay parade!"

The outfits were flamboyant. The crowd was huge. Everyone was in a good mood. After an afternoon spent at the NSW State Library doing research, Nick, Kara, and I had headed to Hyde Park, where the participants of the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade were gathering. We walked around, simply seeing the outrageous costumes and feeling the celebratory atmosphere. The parade wasn't to begin for nearly 2 more hours, but the crowd was already huge. We saw a large group of people painted and clothed in all orange. We saw a man wearing no shirt, a cape, a bikini bottom, and intense high heel shoes--they made him stand about 7 feet tall. We saw a guy in tight gold shorts with long balloons spreading from his back like some kind of cartoonish wings. We saw people wearing glittery silver. Some people simply wore shirts with exclamations about gay pride. Drag outfits were everywhere.

We didn't stay for the actual parade due to a handful of factors: the crowd lined up to watch was as tight as a mosh pit--which made it extremely hard to see anything, we didn't want to have to try and deal with public transportation once everyone started to leave, and there's also that tidbit where I was with a couple of conservative Christians, who are great people and would've stayed if I'd pushed the matter but they didn't really want to be there.

Thus, we turned away from Oxford Street, found our way to Woolworth's, where we ate fish and chips, and then headed out of the city. The organized chaos of the people gathering for the parade was a fascinating kind of human self-expression, and I imagine the parade itself was even moreso. The festivities were joyous and friendly, welcoming. Was it awkward to see so much gay and lesbian expression? No, not really. Everyone there was aware of how insane their costumes were. It was simply a party where everyone dressed extravagantly and ridiculously so as to make a statement of open-mindedness, pride, and, most importantly, to simply have fun. And in my opinion, there's nothing wrong with that whatsoever.