Gay Pride and Kinks

Gay Pride Month is upon us. After a year of being cooped up indoors under Covid lockdowns and endless social distancing, the opportunity to venture outside to gather in celebration is something many are looking forward to.

With Pride Month comes Pride marches, and the conversation about them has shifted from the acceptance of same-sex love to the tolerance of kink at Pride marches. The display of kink, usually in the form of BDSM, has become a common sight at Pride marches in Europe and North America. However, with the overwhelming acceptance of gay and lesbian relationships among young people, many are now asking whether kink has any place at these public events.

The conversation became a hot topic on social media when prominent leftist “BreadTuber” personalities Vaush and Shoe0nHead spoke up on the matter, declaring the presence of kink as both unnecessary and that “sexuality is not the same thing as being sexual” - an argument commonly made by those who want to advance gay rights. However, kinksters take advantage of the conversation to promote BDSM by wearing gimp suits, dog collars, and all other manners of sexual paraphernalia at these public events, calling into question the actual purpose of Pride marches.

Pride marches, which are by and large a call to celebrate and accept gay and lesbian relationships, are becoming platforms for those who want to expose their sexual proclivities to the world regardless of whether anyone cares to see it - and they’re militant about it, declaring their kinks as a primary aspect of their identity.

As an adult, one has the responsibility to be an adult. This concept of growing up appears to be lost in an age where nothing is true, and everything is permitted. “If it’s legal, what’s the problem?” is the argument commonly used to defend irresponsible behavior that not only affects those behaving irresponsibly, but also those around them. It’s worth noting that some of this activity is borderline illegal.

In the case of Pride marches, children, who have every right to participate in the parades with their parents, are being exposed to overt displays of sexuality without their consent. As public events, it is on both the organizers and the participants to behave in a publicly responsible manner that takes everyone into account - not just those who wish to transgress the boundaries of socially acceptable behavior.

Several studies show that children and adolescents exposed to pornography or other sexually explicit media have a predilection to engage in risky sexual activity and have multiple partners - in contrast to those who are not exposed to sex early on. It is beyond the scope of this article to explain the negatives of having numerous sexual partners, but it goes without saying that exposure to sexually explicit behavior has a substantive relationship with how young people view sex.

Some might argue that kink is inextricably linked to the gay identity. The appearance of leather, leashes, and other BDSM gear is not out of place at a Pride parade. A writer at the webzine them. argued that Pride acts as a sort of resistance against heteronormative culture, acting as a sort of exhibition of “radical resistance on the part of many drag queens, dykes, trans people, sex workers, and gay men.”

While kinkdom may have hada place in the Pride marches as a means to resist social norms, the contemporary acceptance of queer identities, especially among young people who do not face the bigotry their predecessors faced, means that the movement has to change with the times.

Simply put, kink is for adults, not kids. And exposing kids to these aspects of sexuality is not only unnecessary but bad for their developing minds because it inextricably ties their sexual orientation to fetishes. People can love each other without the baggage of being sexual. 

Fetishes are not limited to gay people, as straight people can be just as kinky as they are. Obviously. Pride marches have a strong focus on the identities of gays and lesbians, and emphasizing kink takes away from that, especially when straight kinksters use it as an avenue to promote their sexual proclivities rather than to celebrate historically oppressed gay and lesbian minorities. No one is oppressed for their kinks.

Subjecting minors to kinks doesn’t simply do the gay rights movement a disservice - it’s indecent. Just because you have a rainbow wrapped up around it doesn’t make it any less obscene. Furthermore, it makes those less tolerant of same-sex relationships feel justified in their bigotry as they conflate sexual orientation with sexual deviancy. There’s nothing wrong with having kinks as long as you keep them in the bedroom.

You can follow Ian Miles Cheong on Twitter @stillgray