Recently, Facebook announced its sponsorship of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and its float for the 2016 parade (no details, just that it will be fabulous and full of glitter).
While this is undoubtedly good news for Mardi Gras, which posted losses of over $300,000 last financial year, it points further to the commercialisation of identity, and the need for alternative events over the Mardi Gras season.
I’ve written before about the commercialisation of pride, but heading into Mardi Gras season, it’s something worth revisiting. The parade has been populated with corporate floats for some time now, and they often deliver. ANZ always has show-stealing costumes, and Bianca Del Rio headed Airbnb’s float last year. Facebook will no doubt put on a show for the masses with its float. Having a gay and lesbian (not LGBTI) organisation such as Mardi Gras taking corporate money is fine by me, especially if it means it can stay afloat for another year. The problem, though, is about then having to pander to corporate organisations’ needs in order to keep the money.
Of course, taking Facebook’s money doesn’t mean Mardi Gras supports its policy of compelling users (including trans people) to use their legal names on the site – forcing many to either out themselves, or use a name that is now ‘dead’ and irrelevant to their gender – but it does work to alienate those who have been affected by these policies, in the same way that having a float for the New South Wales Police can be alienating to those who have been mistreated by police (including the original marchers in Mardi Gras).
If Mardi Gras wants to be viable, it needs to continue to take sponsorship and appeal to a mainstream audience. I’d rather it existed in this format than not at all. Marching in the parade is special, and means a lot to a lot of people, myself included.
The commercialisation of Mardi Gras simply demonstrates that we need more alternatives to the official events. As it targets a bigger audience, there is more scope to create alternatives without cutting into the organisation’s funds. There have always been alternative parties after the parade, and the official party still attracted a 14,000-strong crowd last year, despite parties from Girlthing, Heaps Gay, Homosocial, House of Mince and heaps of others also selling out.
San Francisco Pride has a huge alternative following. As well as the main Pride march on the Sunday, on the Friday and Saturday evenings are the trans and dyke marches, respectively. These are run by alternative organisations, and draw massive crowds in a satisfyingly grassroots celebration of pride. When I attended the dyke march in 2013, we all sat around in Dolores Park, enjoying a Fair Day-esque party before a bell rang and the 10,000-plus people around me started to move into the streets, walking from the park to the Castro. Some people had banners, but there were no floats, no corporate flags (from where I was standing); just a mass of 10,000 people taking over the street.
As Sydney becomes more queer and queer-friendly, and Mardi Gras becomes more commercial, we have the scope to do more. I’d love to see alternative marches to the main parade, alternatives to Queer Thinking, and further additions to the already anxiety-inducing plethora of after-parade parties. What we need is a chance to choose an alternative way to celebrate pride, and options for those excluded by the corporations who claim to be LGBT-friendly.
Main photo courtesytopol6/Flickr
Speaking of Mardi Gras…
Options forSaturday March 5after the parade are plentiful, and tickets are selling now, so you need to decide promptly. The main afterparty at theHordern Pavilionis already onto its final release tickets ($160). It’s a big price, but there are also some big acts –Courtney Act,Conchita Wurst,Kitty Glitter [below],Dirty Pop,Radoand heaps more.
If the main event isn’t your thing, there are plenty of other options. For the first time since it shut down in late July, all of theImperial Hotelwill be open for a big Heaps Gay bash. First release tickets are $35, and the party will feature an all-star lineup of HG favourites:Salvador Darling,Jonny Seymour & Paul Mac,L’Oasis,Tennis Boys,Astrix Littleand heaps of other DJs, plus performances fromThe Lakemba Ladies,Amrita and The Beyoncés,The Bad Bitch Choirand more.
I often feel like Mardi Gras night is the one night of the year we can reclaim the city. If that’s your bag, try Girlthingat theMetro Theatre. Like HG, it’s a ‘best of’ (with extras) lineup, includingSveta,Cunningpants,NatNoiz,Mira Boru,Kate Monroeand evenJoyride, as well as a stack of others to fill up three rooms. Tickets for this are already onto final release as well ($61).
There’s heaps more parties, and likely more to be announced, but they’re my top three for now. I’ll feature a few others over the coming weeks (when these have sold out and you missed out on tickets).
