How one writer found “the most inclusive queer festival” in the US and the confidence to strip down to a towel.
As one of the most culturally decided city in the US , New Orleans has always been a refuge for othered voice .
A bastion of creative thinking and self formula , it ’s a destination for misfits and transient , for artists and dreamers . It ’s a refuge for funny people , boldly foster its LGBTQ+ residential district and go under the precedent for what inclusivity should seem like .
“ I have dream of New Orleans since I was five . I had always mat a connection to the city , ” saysJimmy Gale , a San Francisco Bay Area expat who works in HIV / AIDS research for the City of New Orleans and was Grand Marshal atSouthern Decadencein 2023 . move here four years ago , Gale was blown away by how welcoming people were . “ citizenry are so open with themselves and their history here , ” he says .
Photo by Tim Turner/Shutterstock
For a queer bubble in thedeep South , that ’s crucial . “ As a transplant survive in the mystifying South and as an openly queer person living with HIV , it was very scary go to such a dissimilar place , ” Gale recalls . “ But it ’s always been a good haven for people that felt different or not connected . ”
I ’ve never lived in New Orleans , but Gale ’s Bible vibrate . I ’ve long felt a kindred connexion here . Prior to my most recent visit , for Southern Decadence last twelvemonth , I never really pinpointed where that kinship stemmed from . But returning to New Orleans with my hubby for the most inclusive nance festival I ’ve ever see wiretap into an overarching facet of the metropolis I ’ve always vibed with , but never put into parole until now .
As with any city , New Orleans undergo its own cultural evolution to get to where it is today . Frank Perez , former Southern Decadence Grand Marshal and psyche of the nonprofitLGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana , says it take setbacks before attain advancement . “ There was a time when it was not OK to be gay here , ” he recount , detailing 1950s - geological era law maraud and brave bashing . “ As tolerant and wonderful as we are now , it was n’t always that manner . ”
Afraid that queer visibility would deter tourer dollars , most selling was toward white cis - male conventioneer .
“ Queer residential area has its struggles , ” reverberate Gale , citing the arson fire on the French Quarter gay bar , the UpStairs Lounge , in 1973 which was the big LGBTQ+ massacre in our country ’s history prior to the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando in 2016 .
But , as Gale designate out , this is a metropolis that prosper in adversity . “ outlive my first hurricane here , I was terrified , but I pick up the best of people come together . Same with the pandemic . When everyone is scramble , everybody steps up and takes care of each other . ”
Southern Decadence|Photo by Tim Turner/Shutterstock
That sentiency of camaraderie is intrinsic , and it ’s been quantified : New Orleans is one of the only metropolis to achieve a near - gross score on the Human Rights Campaign’sMunicipal Equality Index . “ Being a port wine city , for more than 300 eld people have come from all over the world — it ’s in our DNA that we take in people , ” excuse Mark Romig , CMO ofNew Orleans & Companyand the leader of the “ Everyone ’s Welcome Here ” campaign .
Thanks to Southern Decadence , which set off in 1972 , and advocacy groups civilise politicians in the 1980s about pansy issues , the metropolis passed a nondiscrimination regulation in 1991 — way ahead of the breaking ball on a internal scale .
For many local anaesthetic , that yearly event signaled a sea change . “ [ Southern Decadence ] got bigger class after year , so much that they started advert Grand Marshals , and then a parade and a whole weekend of activities , ” explains Gale , one of three Grand Marshals last year , along with Nicole Dubois and Monica Synclaire Kennedy .
The author and his husband at Southern Decadence|Photo by Matt Kirouac
“ Labor Day rolls around , and 200 to 300,000 brave men show up and hotels are filled , cabs are busy , restaurants are slammed , and bartenders are making money , ” Perez explains . “ Money does n’t buy sufferance , but it ’ll buy a lot of tolerance . The urban center had an attitude modification . ”
Southern Decadence has become well-nigh as iconic as Mardi Gras , with close to half a million the great unwashed in attending for five days of events across the city . “ [ 2023 ] was record breaking , ” sound out Gale . “ It was the largest parade ever , with secretive to 70 march groups and over 3,000 people in the parade itself . ”
Parties and pageantry aside , never in my life had I seen such a grand video display of inclusivity . When we present up for the parade , an older man who looked like he was in his mid-80s , asked if he could take a photo of me in my atomic number 79 - sequined tankful . He was woozy to be there , and to palpate just as celebrate as everyone else . In the parade , there were lesbians , trans mass , elders , people in fetish gear , people in pup masks , and the great unwashed in sexyStar Warscostumes — Southern Decadence is a glitzy reminder that everyone is welcome .
And the parade is just the tip of the iceberg . The whole weekend is a spectacle of swan revel , with scantily clad events that do admiration for body positivity and expression — like a bathhouse- and Bette Midler - themed political party that made me confident enough to reave down to a towel . Southern Decadence encompasses all that I love about this city that put on its Pride on its sleeve ( and its towel ) .
Another major fete also play a role . “ Mardi Gras is one of our mystical sauce , ” Romig identify . “ It allows everyone to lionise themselves and their accuracy , and hoi polloi observe that . ” It ’s a spectacle that highlights the unity of humans , irrespective of race , background , size of it , historic period , or intimate predilection . Plus , there ’s nothing mingle quite like a undecomposed political party .
“ I always like to assure folks that in New Orleans , any self-justification to celebrate is all they need , ” suppose Romig . In a metropolis where there ’s always something to lionize , and there ’s elbow room for everyone , the queer biotic community prosper . “ The fears of visit the South as queer people are material , ” he adds . “ But once you come to New Orleans , you ’ll be welcomed with opened arms and you ’ll in all likelihood get coruscation on you without even render . ”
