Of all the images of the transgender community there are few that can compare with the absolutely fabulous, totally outrageous celebration of life that draws over a quarter of a million cheering onlookers to Lakeview every year at the end of June… the Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade.

If one didn't know better, one might think the parade was about gender… transgendering, cross-dressing, and just plain playing with gender. Drag kings, queens, princes and princesses, the whole royal family. By my informal estimate, it would seem that about a third of the groups in the parade had some sort of trans-something.

For most of the teeming masses of parade-goers, this is the only time in the year that they actually see, live and in the flesh, real transgender people. But what do they actually see and what do they think they see. What impression if any does the general public get of the transgender community from the parade? Before the parade I was running up and down Halsted Street asking parade participants that very question.

Here's what I found…

In everything but the name, the Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade is totally and sincerely inclusive of transgender.
"The transgendered are obviously as present as anyone else in the parade."
"There's a strong openness and warmness with everyone involved."
"Overall, it looks like we just fit right in… it really is GBLT."

So why doesn't the name of the parade reflect the participation of our transgendered brothers and sisters?
"I think the parade committee needs to be a little more inclusive," with the name of the parade.
"Everything gets so wordy. If only we could all agree on one acronym, that would be the way to go."
GLBT, LGBT, BLGT, TBLG???? How about the LesBiGayTr Parade? Phyllis Frye proposed that one. Hint: rhymes with alligator.

But does the parade portray an accurate image of the transgender community?
"No not at all, and I think that's true not only in the parade, but throughout the community."
"I think they portray the cross-dressing community pretty well… gay men who like to cross dress."
"It's not really about being trans, it's more about being flamboyant and a drag queen, and performing."

Everybody loves the drag queens!
"All the drag floats, I think they're a lot of fun… I really enjoy the camp!"
"I like the drag queens, they make me laugh!"
"Whether we're transgendered, gay, lesbian, or bisexual, they think that we're all drag queens."

I find that last comment very interesting because it is so true. To the public, today, we're all drag queens. For years I've been saying that to the public we are all gay. The public doesn't make a distinction, why should the laws exclude us?

Are there some aspects of transgender identity which are overlooked by the parade? Well, of course there are!
"I think that most of the time people don't think that it is serious… that it's not someone's life."
"There are a lot of gender variant people out here, and it's sure a shame that they're not afforded the same civil rights protections that other members of the community are."
"I just wish that everyone wasn't so drunk and crazy that they couldn't pay attention to the important political messages that are in the parade."

But we need at least one day a year to put aside that harsh reality, a day to just have fun.
"It's celebration of who we all are."
"We're celebrating our own, and that means we have room for everyone."
"We have to take care of our own, because no one else will. It's a lesson we could all learn."

Miranda Stevens-Miller, Chair of It's Time Illinois welcomes your comments at MirandaSt1@aol.com