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It has been suggested that this article be merged with Gay pride. (Discuss) Proposed since March 2012.

Straight Pride (or Heterosexual Pride) is an anti-gay slogan that arose in the early 1990s and has been used primarily by social conservative groups as a political stance and slogan adopted by various LGBT groups in the early 1970s. The term is described as a response to the "Gay pride" manifestation.

"Straight Pride" backlash incidents have generated some controversy and media attention.

Background

The concept of gay pride originates as a movement which seeks to challenge the negative images of homosexuals to be openly identified with a culturally stigmatized group; as such, it creates a discomfort that leads others to criticize it and declare that heterosexuals "don't talk about straight pride" nor have "straight pride rallies", i.e. they do not generally celebrate "Straight Pride" for its own sake. "Heterosexual pride" is thus a tactic used in the backlash of LGBT visibility, which originated in campuses in the 1990's.

A number of incidents have occurred starting in 1990, where the slogan or concept of "Straight pride" has caused controversy. The first known reported events were in 1990, at the University of Massachusetts (organized by a group called "Young Americans for Freedom") and nearby Mount Holyoke College. The next year, in 1991, conservative organizations at University of Massachusetts organized a "Straight Pride" rally, attended by about 50 people, but a crowd about ten times larger protested the rally. Notably, student Theodore G. Maravelias, organizer of these early rallies, subsequently went on to a career of opposing rights for gays including gay marriage.

Events which draw media attention are "Straight pride parades" or "Straight Pride days", often organized in response to similar events organized by gay groups. Other events, typically occurring in United States high schools where First Amendment concerns arise, have revolved around people desiring to wear "Straight Pride" t-shirts. Other appearances of the slogan, such as appearance of Straight Pride t-shirts for sale at a Michigan Tea Party rally in 2010 have also drawn some attention. While often based on religious objections to homosexuality, some more radical groups such as the White Aryan Resistance and Ku Klux Klan have also tried to oppose "gay pride" by stressing straight pride.

Individual Events

• Yellowknife, Canada (2005): In May 2005, the northern Canadian city of Yellowknife announced that it would mark both a gay and straight pride day. After the mayor proclaimed June 10, 2005 as Gay Pride Day, Councillor Alan Woytuik proposed that there be a Heterosexual Day. The mayor agreed and set it for June 9. Woytuik defended the proposal for Heterosexual Day by stating that "recognizing the contributions of heterosexuals is just as legitimate as recognizing the contributions of gay and lesbian communities." The group seeking the Gay Pride Day designation was dismayed, asking if Black History Month would be partnered with White Heritage Month and whether days marking heart disease and strokes should be paired with days celebrating good health Woytuik's request for Heterosexual Day was widely reported on. Shocked by the attention, he withdrew his request for the proclamation and apologized. He referred to his request as a simple one seeking to treat everyone the same which was blown out of proportion. The city subsequently rescinded its proclamation of Heterosexual Day.

• Budapest, Hungary (2010): In 2010, a heterosexual pride march was held in Budapest. Following the route of an earlier gay pride parade, one hundred people participated including two radical nationalist politicians. The march's stated goal was to prevent future homosexual use of public spaces.

• Sao Paulo, Brazil (2011): In August, 2011, the city council of São Paulo, Brazil, the largest city in South America and site of the large annual São Paulo Gay Pride Parade, voted to designate the third Sunday in December as Heterosexual Pride Day (“Orgulho Hetero” in Portuguese). Debate in Brazil was intense over the controversy. Supporter Carlos Apolinário told reporters that his idea “not anti-gay, but a protest against the privileges the gay community enjoys.” The Brazilian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Association criticized this claim, arguing "it could provoke homophobic violence."

High School T-Shirt incidents

"All students benefit from the respectful and thoughtful exchange of ideas and sharing of beliefs and practices. Schools, in particular, are environments that can provide education of both the substance of diversity and the responsible manner with which such diversity is approached and expressed"

In 2001, Woodbury High School in St. Paul, Minnesota created homophobia-free areas called "safe zones" designated by an inverted pink triangle and intended for LGBT students. Student Elliot Chambers reacted by wearing a makeshift t-shirt with the slogan "Straight Pride" and the image of male and female stick figures holding hands. In light of previous anti-LGBT incidents, the school's principal ordered Chambers to remove the shirt, and a court case ensued. A court upheld Chambers' complaint that his First Amendment rights had been violated, and that the principal's decision was unjustified. Although praising the principal's intentions, the judge explained that views of both sides of the debate should be allowed and that such issues should be resolved within the school's community, not within the court system. Under the Tinker case, the court stated that the substantial disruptions claimed by the school must be shown to have some connection to Chambers' t-shirt message of "Straight Pride".

In 2010, in response to a local suicides amongst LGBT adolescents, an Ally Week was held at St. Charles North High School in St. Charles, Illinois. On the first day of this Ally Week, though, three students arrived wearing "Straight Pride" t-shirts. The back of these t-shirts displayed "Leviticus 20:13", the verse stating that those who perform homosexual acts should be put to death. While the school did not force the students to remove their t-shirts, it did persuade them to remove the bible quotation. The following day two different students arrived wearing "Straight Pride" t-shirts minus the bible quotations and were consequently asked to remove their shirts. Writing on the St. Charles incident, Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune asked "If it's OK for gay people to proclaim their 'gay pride,' why isn't it equally OK for straight people to proclaim their 'straight pride'?" He concluded that "the expression 'Straight Pride' can only be read as a gratuitous and contemptuous response to the suggestion that gay people not be marginalized."

See also

• LGBT rights opposition

References

1. ^ "Making colleges and universities safe for gay and lesbian students: Report and recommendations of the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth" (PDF). Massachusetts. Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth., p.20. "A relatively recent tactic used in the backlash opposing les/bi/gay/trans campus visibility is the so-called "heterosexual pride" strategy".
2. ^ Eliason, Michael (2007). "Shifting Sands or Solid Foundation? Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Identity Formation". The Health of Sexual Minorities. 1: 3–26. doi:10.1007/97803873133441. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
3. ^ Eliason, Michele. Who cares?: institutional barriers to health care for lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons, p.55 (1996)
4. "Kameny, Frank". http://glbtq.com. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help) "Kameny coined the slogan 'Gay is Good'."
5. ^ Zorn, Eric (November 14, 2010.). "When pride turns shameful". Chicago Tribune. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
6. (6 May 1990). Rallies Opposing Gay Students Disrupt Campuses, The New York Times
7. ^ "Campus Life: Massachusetts; Angry Gay Groups Drown Out Rally By Conservatives". The New York Times. 10 March 1991. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
8. (15 February 2012). N.H. Lawmakers Consider Rolling Back Gay Marriage, NPR
9. (8 July 1999). London hosts straight and gay pride parades, Kitchener Record ("The city's gay pride parade on Sunday has a rival -- a straight pride parade organized at the same time and on practically the same route.")
10. (17 June 2002). Oakland Today - Marchers take part in straight pride parade, Detroit Free Press ("About 100 people marched through downtown Ferndale on Sunday morning in a Straight Pride Parade")
11. ^ MTI (2010-09-06). "Anti-gay parade held in Budapest". caboodle.hu. Retrieved 2012-03-28. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
12. ^ "Yellowknife to mark gay and straight pride". CBCnews Canada. May 25, 2005. Retrieved 2012-03-27.
13. ^ Ring, Trudy (August 4, 2011). "Brazilian City Seeks Heterosexual Pride Day". The Advocate. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
14. (17 October 1997). Straight Pride Day fails at ETSU campus, The Oak Ridger
15. (3 October 2004). They Dress To Express, Newsweek
16. Case Mary Anne. A Lot to Ask: Review Essay of Martha Nussbaum's from Disgust to Humanity: Sexual Orientation and Constitutional Law, 19 Colum. J. Gender & L. 89, 118 (2010) (discussing "T-shirt wars" that "condemn and denigrate other students on the basis of their sexual orientation)
17. ^ Fenton, Ben (18 January 2002). "Student wins right to show 'straight pride'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
18. (8 September 2003). Telling it (too much) like it is, Fort Morgan Times
19. (8 June 1998). Gay pride display removed, Lodi News Sentinel (Associated Press story)
20. Saunders, Kevin W. Degradation: What the History of Obscenity Tells Us About Hate Speech, p. 187-88 (2011)
21. Heywood, Todd (12 April 2010). "'Straight pride' shirts at Tea Party rally draw fire". Michigan Messenger. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
22. Lepore, Jill (2010). The whites of their eyes: the Tea Party's revolution and the battle over American history. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton Univ. Press. pp. 126–127. ISBN 978-0-691-15027-7.
23. (6 September 2009). What does one wear to a straight pride parade?, Duluth News Tribune
24. Blazak, Randy (2001). "White boys to terrorist men: Target recruitment of Nazi Skinheads" (PDF). American Behavioral Scientist. 44 (6): 993. doi:10.1177/00027640121956629. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
25. http://www.dailyutahchronicle.com/uncategorized/straight-pride-fliers-posted-anonymously/ Straight Pride’ Fliers Posted Anonymously Utah Daily Chronicle October 22, 2002 (Straight pride fliers posted, and removed, at the University of Utah in 2002)
26. "'Shocked' councillor withdraws Straight Pride motion". CBC News North. May 30, 2005. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
27. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/straight-pride-suggested-as-brazils-gay-pride-parade-kicks-off/2011/06/22/AGgy1JgH_blog.html "Straight Pride" as Brazil's gay pride parade kicks off By Elizabeth Flock Washington Post June 22, 2011
28. Ring, Trudy. "Brazilian City Seeks Heterosexual Pride Day | World News". The Advocate. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
29. Levesque, Brody (August 4, 2011). "Sao Paulo lawmaker calls for 'straight pride' to counter 'privileged' gay celebration". LGBTQ Nation.
30. Biegel, Stuart (2010). The right to be out: sexual orientation and gender identity in America's public schools. Minneapolis, Minn.: University of Minnesota Press. p. 203. ISBN 978-0-8166-7457-2.
31. ^ Ayres, Ian; Brown, Jennifer Gerarda (2005). Straightforward: how to mobilize heterosexual support for gay rights (Google eBook). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. pp. 41–43. ISBN 0-691-12134-6.
32. "Chambers v. Babbitt, 145 F. Supp. 2d 1068 (District of Minn. 2001)". First Amendment Schools: Speech. First Amendment Center. Retrieved 2012-03-27.
33. Fuller, James (11 November 2010). "'Straight Pride' shirts become free speech fight at St. Charles North". Daily Herald. Retrieved 23 March 2012.

• Articles to be merged from March 2012
• Identity politics
• Sexual orientation
• Sexual and gender prejudices
• Homophobia