Sydney Mardi Gras is just around the corner and I am pumped! There’s such an awesome line-up throughout the season and my bank account is going to get one hell of a workout (so will my liver).
But besides all the parties and events, the most exciting part of Sydney Mardi Gras for me is deciding what I’m going to wear to the party, or at least what I’m not.
I wore sequined short shorts with knee-high boots and a face full of makeup last year, and this year I’m not sure if I should spice it up further or tone it down.
To look like a slut, or to not look like a slut? That is the question.
I’m pretty comfortable in my body. It isn’t perfect but it definitely isn’t horrible, although my days of dancing around ARQ without a shirt are long behind me.
I’m also a proud believer in there being nothing wrong with looking like and being a slut, so long as said slut knows their way around a condom.
And isn’t that what Sydney Mardi Gras is all about — celebrating diversity and sexuality by showing off some skin, making a little love, and possibly getting down at some point?
Straights and mainstream media call it the spectacle. I say it’s empowering to be able to march up that street half-naked and besides, we are just wearing what we wish we could wear every day!
So if you’re just a tad self-conscious or worried about losing your dignity at Sydney Mardi Gras by revealing too much, don’t be, because everyone looks gorgeous covered in glitter.
As for your dignity, if you’re anything like me, you lost it a long time ago.
Screw it, where’s my jockstrap?
Re: the dignity thing- You’re so right lol!!
I surrendered my dignity when I kept reading after Mardi Gras was reduced to being a costume parade and orgy.
So in summation the article says something like this:
So I like glitter and I like having sex but I’m a bit fat now in my old age of 19 but I make up for it by being a super amazing journalist so like OMG why won’t anyone like me? I am amazing. WE WERE BORN THIS WAY! AWESOME! Gaga. Paws up! Fart.
I don’t know who’s the bigger idiot – you for writing that, the editor at SSO for publishing it, or me for wasting a minute of my life reading that trite.
Sadly,this “Look” is the only Look-in what the mainstream Hetrosexual Community sees and remembers about the Gay Community,hence fourth tarring us all with the same brush as camp queens marching with a feather in our arse on Mardi Gra night.
If this was to change it would make things easier and less dramatic for young gay men & women about to tell their mostly already nervous parents that their Gay as the parents only insight on the gay community is what they see on T.V.
Whinge all you want about my comment,but Mardi Gra and it’s shock value ruined my “Coming Out” to my parents and ultimately my relationship with them,and many others have had to go through that pain as well.
Thankyou
as long as you enjoy yourself who cares what you look like cheers
I am with you, Mark. Margi Gras has run its natural course and should be let die – We no longer need mardi gras as it has existed in the past – let it morph into something straight – like New Orleans or Rio. We do not need to be publicly portrayed by the fringe element anymore – it is detrimental to our cause.
Let’s all move to the suburbs,in a house with a white picket fence & have 2 kids & then maybe we will all get accepted as humans by “Society”
Being gay was FUN, not anymore.
Is this a narcissistic blog or a news website? Time to decide starobserver. This is an abomination.
Best quote (as in worst): “my days of dancing around ARQ without a shirt are long behind me.”
It’s funny because he’s clearly a child.
@ Mark of Sydney – Forest? Trees? If you or your parents had ever seen a MG parade you would know there is an eclectic – some might say boring – range of participants. Church groups, charities, professional organisations, indigenous and multicultural groups. But a retiree in jeans and tee shirt holding a placard that says ‘Equality’ is not going to look as good on TV as bare tits and arse. Think about it.
Please tell me this article isn’t serious? Wow. So Mardi Gras and the gay community are about sex and appearance? Thanks for confirming every single thing the heterosexual community ever accuse us of.
I am ever so joyful at reading these comments. This is a piece of tripe. I couldn’t do better if I was trying to send it up.
Spot on too John – that’s been my joke of the week!
SPEECHLESS! This made me so mad to read. Yeah sleep around – that’s what Mardi Gras is ALL about. Ugh, shut this guy up immediately.
@Baz – why do we even need tits and arse on display? What does nudity have to do with anything?!
This is being passed around on Twitter now and everybody is laughing at it.
I feel so much pride reading the comments on this article. God bless you, SSO readers.
hilarious at the ripe old age of 19 his party days with his shirt off at arq are behind him now. FFS.
One more thing, Jesse. When you inevitably look back on this awful piece of typing in future ‘columns’, please don’t refer to it as ‘controversial’. Call the reader response what is: disgust at your narrow-minded, self-indulgent spiel. Not controversy.
Half of them are laughing at your ridiculous naivete and inability to structure a sentence. The other half, I’m sure, are despairing that someone like you with something like this to say is taking up valuable space in a valuable community publication.
And really, slut pride? Margaret Cho did that long before you and with much more charm and eloquence than you’ve demonstrated you can muster.
What would be really great, would be if Jesse could throw the word slut around without making it a denigrating term.
To those who have left comments, if you do not want to read the perspective of a very young homosexual youth on there view of Mardigras then don’t. Plain and simple. No where in this article does it express that there is not a higher more political meaning to the Mardigras and what it represents. But you would have to be both blind and ignorant to think that young same sex attracted people (and older ones too) don’t express there sexuality at events like this through the types of clothes they wear or how the represent themselves OR even who they sleep with. For our generation what you wear to Mardigras is kinda a big deal to us, as is body image and sex and safe sex. Different people look forward to different parts of events and different people take different meanings from the Mardigras, who are you to dictate how someone should feel when they go there? Or what it should mean to them? And how they should want to be represented? And whats right and whats wrong? Sure its not for everyone and some people go to show they are proud and not invisible and others go because of the sea of semi naked men. Don’t yuck someone elses yum. Id rather be a slut then a mean spirited, judgmental, condescending and quite frankly rude internet troll. If you cant express your disagreement with someone else’s view in a kind and considerate mature way then you should just keep your opinions to yourself. Some of the comments here I find are WAAAAY more offensive then the article will ever be. Don’t blow things out of proportion. So a 19 year old guy wrote about the sexual side of Mardigras? Wooptidy Dooo Basil its the end of the world grab your pitch forks. Bloomin Heck
@Robert Falconer – Your comment is almost as offensive as the article itself. And you have no idea what an internet “troll” is. A troll is someone who posts abusive responses that have very little to do with the article or person being discussed. Everybody who has commented here have given informed opinions on the article. So learn your lingo. And you don’t think these responses have been kind? Wow, toughen up and go and read comments on a Fairfax media website… then you’ll be scared.
@Marty – I’m not going to argue about the nudity. It’s always been there. My point is it’s the media that focuses on it rather than the diversity of parade. Which has always been there as well. If we’re laying blame then direct it in the right direction (and yes, even the gay media you’re reading now can be guilty of it).
Incidentally, what is it the Twits are laughing at, Jesse’s article, these comments or both?
Haha. Your so write! I’m going to slut it up BIGTIME at the Mardi Gras Orgy Party and bone as many dudes as I can. Irresponsible promiscuity is IN this season! Sluts R Kewl!!1!
I wonder why your articles only ever seem to get 1 or 2 stars. Weird. lol
Jesse, was this a ‘fun’ article to write? I find it hard to understand why anyone who aspires to being a serious columnist – or ‘journalist’ as your twitter bio states you are, would put something like this on a public forum.
You are, as always, entitled to dress however you wish. No one minds, or even, dare I say it, cares.
However, don’t make blanket statements about the meaning of Mardi Gras. If Mardi Gras is all about our appearance or who we f*%ked, then it doesn’t deserve the respect of the community as a whole. What a sad state of affairs that would be.
I was told that Mardi GRAS each Year had a new Political reason behind it,I personally think that this Political Push is drowned out by seeing women on the back of trucks dancing around semi-naked waving around Dildos to the crowd and whipping each other with lashes,or Grown men parading down the street,wearing back to front Leather chapps with a hairy arses hanging out while wearing Lipstick and carrying on their just one lotto or other men covered in fake tan and glitter but squeal when the speak,words that a dolphin only understands lol
These images soil ones eyes and could possibly turn a gay man straight.
Whinge and lose sleep over my comment for all I care,but at the end of the day I’m part of a new large gay movement who hate and can’t stand Mardi Gra and The scene.There’s heaps of us,not wanting to be associated with the gay lifestyle,thanks
Reading these articles is like watching a horrendous train wreck in slow motion, in HD. I just can’t look away. I marvel at the poorly constructed sentences. I gasp at every contradiction. Thankfully though, most of the comments reflect an intelligent, articulate and well-read gay community that make up for the lack of the above in your articles.
**NOTE: Apologies for any spelling / English errors in general bellow.
Dear Kath, I am unsure what it is about my comment that offended you but I apologize that you took it personally. I really appreciate your feed back though.
For me its not a matter of how tough I am, it shouldn’t matter. Just because some thing even worse is being done some where else does not make it okay here. Weather I’m as strong as a brick wall or a pain of glass it doesn’t change my view of whats right and wrong.
You can have that definition if you like but I’m pretty sure you knew what I was talking about and I am not interested in getting into a vicious circle of pedantic bickering that was not the purpose of my post nore is it pertinent to the subject matter of the article.
For me some of these comments are just plain bullying, if you prefer that word? They are intentionally nasty and impolite. As a ‘community’ this should be something we discourage above everything else no matter how much we disagree with each others opinions. Surely you must agree with that? Even if you think the polar opposite to someones opinion does not mean you get to be nasty and horrid about it. Like I said its not about me having a poor constitution I’ve dealt with rough language before and I’ve heard unkind words, still does not make it right.
So although you say all the comments here have been ‘informed opinions’ that doesn’t take out the fact that many are bitchy and inflammatory and oh wait hey often off topic. This negative, insulting and pessimistic attitude is definitely NOT how I want to be represented.
On a positive (and more on topic) note, I think many of the floats and organizations in the parade are to be commended. Not all of the floats are smut. Many youth and mental health organizations march and promote the work they do and this is FANTASTIC work! They achieve many great things! Its amazing work for the community. AMAAAAAZZZIIIIING.
I’m sorry to hear that for some of you your coming out experience was ruined by the parade but for me when I was in the closet seeing the parade was a huge inspiration and comfort to me and its where I learned off many resources and groups that benefited me greatly. And then later marching with other same sex attracted young people and being cheered on by my accepting friends is an experience I will treasure and never forget.
I respect all your views and I even agree with allot of them. What I don’t agree with is the nasty ways you go about expressing them.
At the very least we can see that there might be elements in Mardigras as a whole that can be enjoyed by everyone? From ‘deviants’ and ‘scene queens’ to non scene, family orientated or creative types there are film festivals fair days youth events parties, etc, etc and yes a parade. If you don’t enjoy some aspects of it well that’s totally cool there is no pleasing everyone. No ones saying you HAVE TO LIKE IT. I myself would not parade around exposing myself and being a ” slut ” because it conflicts with my morality. But I for sure wouldn’t put someone else down for it or be nasty to them or even dislike a whole parade or event dedicated to it. Each to there own as long as no one is hurt for me let them have there fun in there chaps?
I’m definitely not gonna condemn the whole of the parade including the hard working community groups who enter just because of some… shall we say… Risque floats.
Now I understand its often hard to detect tone through writing so I’m gonna apologize to Kath or anyone else who finds this comment or my previous comment offensive because that was the furthest possible thing from my intentions.
I love the passion and dedication that’s been expressed here. Its clear you are all passionate about queer issues. And I love you all for that. And I love that we all have different views and opinions. What I don’t like is when people are being mean spirited and condescending or when there is bullying involved.
*waits in fear for people to rip him to shreds* Haha dear denizens of the interwebs be kind haha. *gulp* :S
P.S Happy Valentines Day LOVE TO YOU AND ALL YOUR LOVED ONES :D
xox