L.A. PRIDE 2011

Cali & the WEHO Cheerleaders

I've been going to L.A. PRIDE for 25 years (since I was 16) but this was the first time I ever walked in the parade. A friend who works for NBCUniversal invited me and my doggy Cali to walk with the OUT@NBCUniveral group. It was very exhilarating and fun and the adrenaline pumped me up for the whole day! - Lydia Marcus

Here are my favorite photos from PRIDE:


Cali & Lucille Ball impersonator


Cali is full of PRIDE. Posing in front of an old MTA bus


Me & Cali


Me & Cali walking in the parade




With all the noise, people, moving vehicles, and general mania, Cali kept looking back and checking that I was still behind her.


Olympian Johnny Weir strikes a pose. He was the parade's Grand Marshal

Madame Tussaud's had a float with wax figures of Lady Gaga and Jane Lynch. From a distance I saw Jane and thought she was actually in the parade. The likeness is uncanny.






Heaven is missing two gay angels. :-)


Love these t-shirts! Take that Fred Phelps!

The WEHO Cheerleaders show their spirit!







The focus isn't perfect, but I like the moment - WEHO Sheriffs in front of the Pride festival entrance.



Tons of attendance at the Parade. A view of the crowd


The BRAVO TV contingent: Jenni Pulos, Andy Cohen, Zoila, and Jeff Lewis.





Madison Hildebrand from Million Dollar Listing



OUT@NBCU workers dancing on the route. It was so much fun walking alongside these guys and gals because they really got the crowd pumped up.



L.A. Pride
June 12, 2011, West Hollywood CA
© Lydia Marcus Photography
Nikon D5100 / Nikon 35mm f/1.8 G

I CAN'T BELIEVE WE STILL HAVE TO PROTEST THIS CRAP

I Can't Believe We Still Have To Protest This Crap, originally uploaded by fotonomous.

Last year I was contacted by a man who told me he left the Mormon church after seeing my photo of the No On Prop 8 protests. He wanted to know if he could have permission to use the photo in his book. Well today I received my copy of the book. Here's a scan of the book cover and the page with my photo. I'm very proud that my photo could change someone's mind about gay equal rights and the religious doctrine he'd been force fed in the Mormon Church. - Lydia Marcus

Here's an excerpt from the book that explains the importance of my photo.

"Thou Shalt Question" by M.J. Prometheus

"During the Proposition 8 furor I ran across a photo online of a protestor holding a sign in favor of gay rights. My very first thought was, "Silly gay person! It's not the same at all!" Then my brain, subversive little blob of gray matter that it is, quietly whispered, "How is it not the same?" I told my brain to keep it's ridiculous thoughts to itself, but it refused. My biases demanded I beat my inquisitive mind into submission and I spent months diligently seeking an answer to its question. I could find no satisfying solution. My gay friend Todd was still alive at the time. My younger brother had just recently come out to his family members and friends. I decided to take a challenge similar to the one I offered my readers near the end of the previous chapter: I asked myself what would it feel like to walk up to Todd or my brother and tell them to their face that I knew their homosexuality was an abomination and that they did not deserve the same rights I did. Just the thought of saying such a thing to the people I cared about left me feeling very cold indeed. After that little mental role-play I made my decision: I could no longer be a member of the church."