Discussions around the presence of kink at Pride have been emerging online over the past decade, with increasing intensity across the latter half of the 2010s.
Tumblr, in particular, has a reputation for being a breeding ground for queer discourse.
The controversy over whether kink should be allowed at Pride is merely the latest in a line of questions around who is considered part of the queer community and who gets to participate in ostensibly queer spaces.
Kink has been a part of Pride since its inception in 1969. While drag isn’t considered kink in 2021, it was considered sexually deviant in the 20th century. In 1969, New York City still had laws that prohibited “cross-dressing.”
Marriage has also become a flashpoint in debates around Pride.
Michael Bronski, a professor at Harvard University, told Insider that in the past, people viewed marriage equality as a step towards assimilation, rather than liberation.
There are also concerns as to whether Pride, in its current celebratory state, reckons with issues within the community like police brutality and the fact that 2020 was the deadliest year on record for transgender people in the United States.
A massive, viral party known as “Adrian’s kickback” precipitated nearly 150 arrests in Huntington Beach, California on Saturday night, officials said according to @NBCNews.
.@Dexerto reported that the original viral video, posted by adrian.lopez517 to TikTok, advertised a BYOE — bring your own everything — gathering at the Huntington Beach fire pits at 7:30 pm on May 22. insider.com/adrians-kickba…
YouTuber @jamescharles is facing another threat to his beauty empire.
Former producer and creative director, Kelly Rocklein, spoke to Insider about her lawsuit against him that alleges wrongful termination, disability discrimination, and more.👇 businessinsider.com/james-charles-…
Rocklein worked for James Charles for about six months in 2018.
During Rocklein’s tenure working for James Charles, she said she was given a raise of $6,000 a month — roughly a $72,000 salary, which Charles confirms in his May 10 video.