Last weekend, PASSOP participated in the Cape Town Gay Pride parade! Cape Town is the hub of the gay community all across Africa, as most African countries are extremely homophobic. It was so amazing to see such support and love on the streets of Green Point. Gays, lesbians, transgenders, bisexuals, straights - everything was represented and loved that day; the energy was infectious. However, coming from San Francisco, the festivities were bittersweet for me. I mean, the gay community in SF is not only the most vibrant part of the city, but it's a world wide symbol of unconditional, limitless love. And here I was, at this parade of maybe twenty cars in what is the largest show of gay pride in an entire continent. Streets weren't even blocked off, we rode through with the flow of traffic. And I'm not saying this to knock the parade or the event, it was beautiful and inspiring; I just think it's a little sad - for all of the diverse forms of love in Cape Town and Africa as a whole. Whenever I told someone I was a student in San Francisco, they gushed over the city and their dreams to someday move there and find true freedom and equality. But I just kept thinking that I hope that Africa some day becomes a place that will be just as loving so they don't have to leave.
Live gayly,
KG
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