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Happy Vancouver Pride Everyone!
August 3, 2008 - 8:19am — Leah Beckingham
I remember my first Pride. At the time, I was living with two gorgeous model-esque gay men who picked out my outfit — they had better style, and my usual gym gear wouldn't suffice — and took me strolling down the gayborhood to watch the parade. I had never before seen so many beautiful (and half-dressed) men and women. The bright colors and elaborate outfits with music filling the city had me buzzing and filled with glee. I felt like a child going to their first fireworks and carnival all at once. There was an unbelievable connection to everyone else who was celebrating, no matter what gender or orientation. It was at that moment that I realized why we refer to the LGBT as a 'community.'
Photo. gothamist.com
Now, years later, as Vancouver Pride is underway, I think about how blessed I am to be living in such an amazing place where two people of any gender can fall in love and be proud of who they are.
Training the women from The L Word has been and continues to be a blessing. To be a part of something so radical which brings lesbians to the forefront has been a remarkable journey. Myself, like many of you, will miss it after this next season is over.
Being healthy and doing everything I can to educate and encourage others is the number one priority in my life. I think about 20 or 30 years ago when two dykes would be afraid to walk into a gym hand-in-hand. Now, I go to a neighborhood gym owned by the sweetest gay couple filled with lesbians and gay men getting fit. It is a great thing to see. To think back about how far this community has come in terms of visibility is amazing. The L Word, along with many others, have pushed that card, and it is our responsibility to continue on that avenue. Having a healthy mind and body helps us achieve all of these goals. We need to remember to take care of ourselves so that we can continue to take care of each other and work toward our next goals, such as equal rights and gay marriage.
I know a lot of the world has already celebrated Pride, but take a second to celebrate with me; and let's be thankful for all that has come and excited for what lies ahead. Have a happy and healthy Pride everyone!
Photo. gothamist.com
Now, years later, as Vancouver Pride is underway, I think about how blessed I am to be living in such an amazing place where two people of any gender can fall in love and be proud of who they are.
Training the women from The L Word has been and continues to be a blessing. To be a part of something so radical which brings lesbians to the forefront has been a remarkable journey. Myself, like many of you, will miss it after this next season is over.
Being healthy and doing everything I can to educate and encourage others is the number one priority in my life. I think about 20 or 30 years ago when two dykes would be afraid to walk into a gym hand-in-hand. Now, I go to a neighborhood gym owned by the sweetest gay couple filled with lesbians and gay men getting fit. It is a great thing to see. To think back about how far this community has come in terms of visibility is amazing. The L Word, along with many others, have pushed that card, and it is our responsibility to continue on that avenue. Having a healthy mind and body helps us achieve all of these goals. We need to remember to take care of ourselves so that we can continue to take care of each other and work toward our next goals, such as equal rights and gay marriage.
I know a lot of the world has already celebrated Pride, but take a second to celebrate with me; and let's be thankful for all that has come and excited for what lies ahead. Have a happy and healthy Pride everyone!
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23 Comments
Not the typical ourchart visitor
As a straight married mom I know I am in the minority on this site. I started coming here as an L Word fan and as a fitness fanatic and found Leah's blog. I visit often now and have found this site to be thought-provoking, entertaining and interesting. As a woman with 2 small girls I realize more and more how important it is to impress upon them their place in the world regardless of who they are and what they want to be. We are all in this together! I live in a town outside NYC that happens to host a Pride parade. Not realizing it was being held back in early June my 4 year old wanted to go to what looked like a carnival at our local park. I took her and it happened to be a huge party in the park after the Pride parade. We ran into one of her classmates from pre-school with her two moms. I had never met the moms because the little girl was always dropped off at school by her nanny. We decided to setup a playdate this summer for the kids to get together. Turns out they live nearby and my daughter and their daughter got along so well that we have had several playdates since. My kid is intrigued by the fact this little girl has two moms. She says it's cool! It would be great if we lived in a world where we all looked at life like a four year old sometimes. So, to all of you I wish you Happy Pride!
Thank you for a wonderful
Thank you for a wonderful post and welcome! I really enjoyed reading your story. It's great to read things from a different perspective, especially from someone as supportive as you. I hope you feel free to join in more. :)
Thank you
Thank you for your warm welcome! I will make it a point to join in more.
Oh my gosh, Notjustamom
Thank you so much for your wonderful post! :) This is only the second "Mom" I've seen posting on here, the other being a really nice woman named Candy www.ourchart.com/profiles/lll-0 and her daughter is Cassie Pappas over there on the left side of the screen. I mentioned how cool I thought it was she was on here openly supporting her daughter:
http://www.ourchart.com/content/the-l-word-goes-international?page=1#com...
Peace & Love,
Jodie
:)
Thank you!
I appreciate your kind words and I do read Cassie's blog. I love it and find it very funny.
looks cooler!
looks cooler than the one in london that i went 2.
Enjoy...
"Enjoy and Thanks"
Sin é (That's it)
damn!
i bet it would be awesome if we have this kind of event in our city! come out! come out! (^,^)
I am happy to
read a post from you, Leah, that doesn't mandate push-ups at the end! Thanks for that :)
Cheers to Vancouver Pride!!
Leah! You have such a positive "out"look. Your blog is a breath of fresh air every post. Thank you for being such a great role model. Reminding us to take care of ourselves, mentally and physically, and to be PROUD of who we are!
Happy Pride!
perfect day for the parade.
Thank you Leah for your inspiring blog!
Fabulous
Vancouver's certainly having a Fabulous Pride Week!
it's wonderful to see the number of people celebrating at the parade this year, it gets bigger and bigger every year.
Happy PRIDE Leah and all Vancouver people
Enjoy! Love Vancouver......
Let's celebrate!
Happy Van Pride!!
Pride
AMEN!!!
Vancouver Pride
1997...Vancouver's celebration that year was similar to others I've been to in the states, but also different. You have a great LGBT community there. From the picture, it looks like it's going through a different neighborhood, or maybe that was on the way to the park where we were (was it Stanley Park?) By the picture, the parade looks much larger than it was then and obviously a day without rain. YAY!
It's great you've been able to serve the L Word folks in training. You also bring a lot to this on line community-- good healthy food ideas, challenging, but doable work-outs and an upbeat, positive outlook. Thanks for sharing that with us...just another thing to be proud about!
Lezbeth
Gotham city pic
Hey Lezbeth,
In case you were still wondering...being a former Vancouverite living in NY, I believe the picture is from NY's pride parade as I don't recall buildings that tall or streets that wide (nor skies that clear for that matter lol) in Vancouver...unless I've been away way too long. Pretty sure it's 5th avenue in Gotham city.
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"You can't stop the waves, but you can learn how to surf."
-My yoga teacher
Thx Cap Girl
It was messing with my reality too. Maybe the OC Editors thought they could put that over on us? I don't even remember a part of Vancouver that looked like that, but hey, if someone says that's what it is, ok.
Lezbeth
Hats off to you Leah!
As you so poignantly stated, "...let's be thankful for all that has come and excited for what lies ahead. I'm just sayin'...
P.S.
Need some tips that don't involve sit-ups or crunches; got a "pooch" from surgery that has remained over a 1,000 reps and won't disappear into the sunset?
I second that
Happy Van pride Leah! Makes me want to come home, especially after you described the gym there. :o)
I totally second what you said.
Prioritizing our health is essential to creating the clarity, action and positive change we're needing in the world today.
Keep up the great work.
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"You can't stop the waves, but you can learn how to surf."
-My yoga teacher
I actually just went to my
I actually just went to my first Pride this weekend. It was in Brighton and despite the weather starting off as its usual rainy self, it didn't cut down on anyones fun and excitement.
I was overwhelmed by the intensity of it all - I just couldn't get enough! I can't wait to head off to Manchester Pride in a few weeks.
Thanks for the post, it was great!
That was beautiful. Thank
That was beautiful. Thank you. :)