St. Pete Pride is always a celebration of diversity, but that diversity is often represented in the press (including CL) by outrageous dress (or undress) — assless chaps and feather headdresses and dykes on massive bykes. Not that there's anything wrong with any of that — it's part of what makes the whole event so exhilarating.
But walking the parade route and watching the photo shoots in CL's tent, I was impressed by how diverse the LGBT community really is: amazingly varied in shape and size and age and gender and race, in beauty and plainness, bravado and shyness. The photos taken by Chip Weiner and Bryan Leighty in our photo booth are a joyous, goofy, touching testament to that diversity; see them in the St. Pete Pride 2011 and MORE St. Pete Pride 2011 photo albums, now up and ready to be tagged on CL's Facebook fan page.
The photos are also a testament to the power of creative group-think. Who knew there were so many things you could do with a foamcore rainbow?
This article appears in Jun 23-29, 2011.