The gays are asking: Is going to Pride worth it?

Pride season is just around the corner, and with it come Pride parades and festivals across the globe. Though the first Pride was a riot, it’s since become a party, too, and Prides can be notorious for showing the queer community’s most indulgent, risqué side. Still, Pride is a staple of queer culture — so is it worth it to attend at least once?

That was the question driving a user on Reddit who said he’d never been to a Pride festival.

“Every time I see a clip it’s just drunk gym bros and twinks all with the same haircut in jockstraps,” the poster wrote. “I really want to be able to go meet other gay people and stuff but I don’t want to feel like a fat weirdo walking around and have nobody even notice me.”

“Is there any reason to go to Pride if you don’t have a body worth showing off or friends to go with?” they asked. “I was considering going this year but I don’t wanna have a miserable experience feeling totally left out of the fun.”

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Clearly, the poster was concerned with the superficial aspects of queer community, something many of the comments said they’d have to let go of if they planned on enjoying themself.

“It’s a great place to meet other gays and make friends, but I don’t think you’re going to have a good time if you’re going with the mindset of needing to be noticed in order to have fun,” wrote one commenter.

That’s not to mention the stereotypes the original poster referenced, which are far from the reality of most Pride celebrations.

“In my experience it’s very inclusive. You’ll see all different types of people there. Gay, straight, fat, skinny, fem, masc, etc. Nothing to worry about,” replied one user.

“Pride is for everyone. You’ll find every body type there,” said another. “Just go. It’s amazing.”

Even the most cynical of replies encouraged attending at least once, just to see what the fuss is all about: “I think it’s more commercialized now more than ever,” reads one reply. “I think you should attend it once.”

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Interesting responses…

And as far as the original poster’s concern of feeling like a “fat weirdo,” one commenter left a long reply saying not to worry: “There will be fatter and weirder people there.”

“I say that with 100% positive honesty,” they continued. “The people watching at Pride is 10/10. After seeing your 10th self-conscious twink in a jock, you see the reality behind those Instagram pics. I also think it’s not representative at all of the overall crowd.”

“What really stood out to me was the confidence in people who were really ‘letting their freak flag fly’ for lack of a better phrase. And those people weren’t really the gym bros or the twinks, it was the ‘fat weirdo’ walking by ALSO in a jock, and a collar, and a ball gag. […] Those are the people having the most fun.”

Long story short, Pride is for everybody and every body. It’s a queer rite of passage to attend at least once — and if you hate, don’t worry. You never have to go again.