The annual Charlottesville Pride Festival was held Saturday, featuring performances from a variety of artists, drag shows, food stalls, over 70 vendors and activities for children.
Cville Pride, formed in 2012, began hosting the Pride Festival at Lee Park the same year. Close to 4,000 people attended the 2014 festival, and even more were expected this year.
The Pride Festival helps to create a setting where people can come together as a community and continue to address stereotypes, Charlottesville Pride President Amy Marshall said.
“It’s so clearly important that we have a base and come together as a community and deal with the remaining stereotypes” she said. “Once you get to know someone, it’s harder to hate them. I think that’s where we are.”
These types of festivals have had a noticeably positive impact on the Charlottesville community in terms of acceptance, Marshall said.
“I’ve definitely noticed a change in Charlottesville’s treatment of LGBTQ members,” she said. “I’ll never forget seeing two boys holding hands after the first Pride Festival.”
The festival comes on the tailwind of the Supreme Court decision to grant equal marriage to gay and lesbian couples, as well as more local legal successes. In May 2013 the Charlottesville City Council established a human rights commission to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
However, while Pride festivals and legal progress have certainly helped the LGBTQ community, Marshall said lack of acceptance is still an issue.
“Even last week at our Youth Event that had kids from all over, nobody was walking around holding hands.”
Connor Roessler, vice president of education of the Queer Student Union at the University, said that while gay marriage is a victory for LGBTQ members, much has to be done about discrimination in other circumstances.
“Protecting gender identity would be a huge step,” the College fourth-year said. “Marriage helps, but only those who identify as either gay or lesbian.”
Anti-discrimination laws would help more than just the LGBTQ community, Roessler said.
College second-year Elijah Lewis, who maintains a blog giving survivors of abuse and poor treatment a platform for telling their story anonymously, said events like the Pride Festival can be very beneficial.
“If done right, it can help encourage people to come out,” Lewis said. “Just the simple act of organizing something and putting on something for these people — many of whom may have been oppressed by their family members and friends — can make them feel better and tell them that there are others in the same situation.”
Many of the people who post on his blog have been abused due to their differences in sexuality and gender identity, Lewis said, and many of them are afraid to come out as LGBTQ for fear of their loved ones’ reactions.
Though there remain issues with societal treatment of LGBTQ individuals, Marshall has noticed significant improvements in the way they are treated in Charlottesville.
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