Portraits of Pride: 7. A.J. and Irvin

A.J & Irvin

(21, gay, male) & (21, gay, artist)

A.J:
“I am against male chauvinism, and yes I would say I am a feminist.”
“I try to be the best supporter for my girlfriends.”

“It depends on the person I am interacting with, sometimes I feel very obligated to be a little more—I don’t want to say gentle, that sounds general…I try to be nicer. But depending on the woman/man I am interacting with I will be like ‘okay, fine that’s your thing’. It is subjective.”
“There is no stigma [to being a feminist].”
Favourite body part: “It’s kind of conceited, but my hair.”

Irvin:
“Equality for all people.”
“I don’t hold the doors for girls, they should hold the door for me too, we should equally hold the door for each other.”
Favourite body part: “My legs, cause they’re so long.”

Portraits of Pride: 3. Ginsu and Joseph

Ginsu & Joseph

(37, New Orleans transplant, concierge at Steamworks) & (36, Has lived here ten years, works at consignment shop that sells used leather and fetish gear)

Ginsu: “and we met when I went to said job and he jumped my bones.”
Joseph: “Actually, I did.”

On Feminism:
G: “Three of the four, that made this [points up and down to self] possible, were women.”
J: “I have always been surrounded by strong women, I don’t think it’s going to stop anytime soon.”

Courtney: What do you want to see in dance?
G: “… it can convey anything, as long as its conveyed well, it can cover any topic, and as long as you throw your whole heart into it you’re going to be amazing at whatever you do when you’re dancing.”
J: “If the performer can wink at the audience…the wink and the performance.”

Courtney: “We would really like to take a few pictures of you guys if…”
G: “—I don’t know if I dressed up enough for that”

Portraits of Pride: 2. Elizabeth

Elizabeth

(20, bisexual)

“I’m at pride supporting friends… it’s a tradition thing now”

On feminism:“I’m not really with it or against it, I’m really open to everything.”

“The way people try to portray it is women trying to take over everything. I don’t really see it like that… I mean everyone has their own opinion.”

Favourite body part: “I like my hands, they’re creative.”

Portraits of Pride: 1. Patty Cakes

Welcome to Portraits of Pride, our personal way of celebrating and connecting with our city. During the celebration of San Francisco Pride 2015 hers and hers decided to spotlight 14 individuals who inspired us. So, on the Sunday of Pride we made our way down to Civic Center to connect with, photograph and interview people celebrating at the Parade. We came armed with handmade “business” cards, a recorder, Melissa’s 35mm camera and questions we felt were important:

• Name, age, identities?
• What brings you to Pride?
• Do you identify as a feminist? If so, what does being a feminist mean to you? What does the word feminist imply?
• What is your favourite body part?

It was intimidating to approach and ask strangers these personal/political questions, but hers and hers found several couples, groups and individuals willing to share a moment.

We are forever grateful for the cooperation, excitement, patience and support from everyone we talked to that Sunday. Thank you again (we hope to see you soon). It was so rewarding to hear how our interests resonate with our SF Pride community.

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For now, enjoy the first of seven posts and say hello to Patty Cakes.

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Patty Cakes (Will Smith)

(West Hollywood Cheerleaders Captain, PCA (Pride Cheerleading Association), at Pride raising money for HIV/AIDs)

Patty: “I love doing [the Parade]. It gives me a chance to brush up on my make-up skills and help other people be aware and stamp out the stigma of HIV.”

Courtney: “Do you consider yourself a feminist? What does that mean to you?”
P: “I’m pretty much very open, I’m a free spirit, there [are] no doors closed in my book. For me, everyone should be equal. I don’t classify as anything, I am who I am.”