Pride and Pre-juices

08 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by OutTales in Pride Tags: ,

I have attended some gay pride events over the years – Atlanta, Amsterdam, Brighton, London, Tel Aviv and Miami. In all of them I saw people of different shapes and sizes, in different colourful costumes. There were some fashion “do’s” and “don’t’s”, some cover girls and some “Please cover-up girls” but it’s all about perception.  One thing I found in common at these events, was that the people were happy!! And they brought smiles to the faces of thousands of onlookers.

It is very difficult to imagine that just over two decades ago, Gay pride events were near sombre occasions. Now it’s a carnival and I thank and respect the pioneering gay activists who made the sacrifice and paved the way for the present situation. Like the moderator said, Pride means a lot of things to different people and to me it means F-U-N. More

Pride – an affirmation of same gender love and sexual identity

04 Jul 2011 1 Comment

by OutTales in Pride Tags: , ,

I believe that Gay Pride Celebrations are still relevant today and will not be an out-dated concept until there is true equality and one’s sexual preference and identity does not matter; and one’s sexual identity becomes irrelevant to how people with their various lenses view one another. In my opinion, this will not occur sometime soon.

Gay Pride Celebrations mean different things to different people. Perhaps for those out of the closet (openly gay), it is an affirmation of same gender love and sexual identity; and a time to hold one’s head up high and with pride. A time to openly tell the world, this is who I am and I proud to be exactly the way I am – same gender loving – GAY. I am using the word ‘GAY’ to also mean lesbian, bisexual, and transsexual. Gay Pride Celebrations obviously plays an important on-going highlight and affirmation in some people’s lives and enables them to truly express who they are – a carnival of open festivities for the world to see, literally. More

Pride & Shame

02 Jul 2011 2 Comments

by OutTales in Pride Tags: ,

As the streets of central London celebrate Gay Pride, I find myself reflecting on the relationship between Pride and Shame. I have come to understand that both are different sides of the same coin. Pride, being the light and Shame, the shadow. We all know it’s impossible to have one without the other. To deny the existence of Shame is like denying night will not come after daytime departs; to pretend that winter will not come, because it was a glorious summer.

Our human experience means that we are caught up in a lifetime of duality – the presence of ‘good’ means that there is ‘bad’. Something being ‘wrong’ means that somewhere, something is ‘right’. I am gradually learning that in order to stand authentically with Pride, it is important for me to acknowledge, uncover and meet the Shame. More

The theme for July is ‘Pride’

01 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by OutTales in Pride Tags:

The theme for the stories to be shared in July is ‘Pride’.

The Pride season is truly upon us. Celebrations have taken place in Berlin, Tel Aviv, New York, Rome and San Francisco, to name but a few. Over the next month or so, other cities like Madrid, London, Hamburg and Amsterdam are due to follow suit.

Pride means different things to different people. There are some who feel Pride is no longer relevant and now a dated concept, there are some who feel it does not portray ‘gay life’ and is a misrepresentation of what being same gender loving is. On the other hand, there are some who feel it is just as relevant today as it was in the 80’s and 90’s. There is a lovely write-up in Wikipedia which encapsulates many of the intentions behind Pride, check it out. More

First Time on vacation with myself

30 Jun 2011 6 Comments

by OutTales in First Time Tags:

I’ve always loved the adventure of travel and could not wait to grow up, leave home and head out to see the world. By 2002, I had been to a number of places in the US, Latin America, Africa and Europe.  I had been to these places either with others or knew someone in those cities whom I could stay with during my visit. There were so many other places that I wanted to visit and for a long time I decided to put them on hold and wait for my Mr. Right to show-up and then we would travel the globe together, whilst having a series of adventures. But alas, that was not the case; not in 2002 anyway!

When yet another relationship ended in Spring 2002, I found myself wondering whether I would indeed get to meet that illusive Mr. Right. I started to consider all the things that I had been saving to do with a partner and wondered whether I would get to do them at all.  Up until the end of that relationship, the idea of going on vacation by myself, to a place where I knew no one was the furthest thing from my mind. I had heard of people who did such things and at the time I used to feel that it was something sad and did not wish to entertain the possibility. More

My First Time with another

23 Jun 2011 Leave a comment

by OutTales in First Time Tags: ,

The year was 1984. Buhari and Idiagbon were in power, they had just launched ‘War against Indiscipline’. The Naira was exchanging for ₦50.00 – $1.00 on the black market. A bag of 50kg rice was about ₦100.00 and the minimum wage was around ₦300.00 a month. It was in Owerri, eastern Nigeria. It was in boarding school.

I was studying for my ‘A’ Levels. It was within a few weeks of starting at the school. It was my first time away from home. I had lived at home while in secondary school in Lagos, but for my ‘A’ Levels, my parents decided I would get a better education in one of the best schools in the country, in the east. They were right, in more ways than one. More

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