Summary
World Pride 2025
A week of queer liberation events wrapped up Sunday, including the 50th anniversary of World Pride, in Washington, D.C.
AIDS/LifeCycle
Meanwhile, after three decades, participants in the AIDS/LifeCycle ride, which extends from San Francisco to Los Angeles, hung up their helmets one last time on Saturday.
Protecting queer rights
For many participants, this year was particularly important, as attendees see their very existence increasingly under threat by the Trump administration.
Full story
Queer and trans liberation was on full display from coast to coast this week, culminating in Washington, D.C.’s World Pride 2025 celebrations on Saturday, June 7, and Sunday, June 8, as well as the final AIDS/LifeCycle ride, which concluded Saturday in Los Angeles. For many participants, the events were not only a celebration of their identity but an act of resistance against what they see as mounting threats to their very existence.
“This is not just a party,” Ashley Smith, board president of Capital Pride Alliance, told a crowd gathered at the Lincoln Memorial. “This is a rally for our lives.”
Every year, different cities bid to host World Pride. Washington, D.C., won the honor prior to President Donald Trump’s reelection. This year also marked the international gathering’s 50th anniversary.
While the Trump administration was front and center of most demonstrations, the inaction of Democratic politicians did not go unnoticed. “We have to call out people who have abandoned our movement,” said Tyler Hack of the Christopher Street Project. “Being a Democrat is more than carrying the party affiliation. It’s about unapologetic support for the trans community.”
Trump policies reverberate across World Pride
According to The Associated Press, World Pride parades and festivities attracted tens of thousands of people on Saturday. However, Sunday’s rally and subsequent march numbered more than a thousand.
Smith of the Capital Pride Alliance said that attendance numbers, especially among international visitors, were noticeably down, largely due to fear of harassment and anger at Trump’s policies and rhetoric.
Alice Siregar, a data analyst living in Montreal, decided not to attend, telling the BBC that as a Canadian and trans woman, “It’s too dangerous to risk it.”
Similarly, a Canada-based LGBTQ+ charity, Egale Canada, told the BBC they would not be traveling to D.C. for the city’s Pride celebrations. “We are very concerned about the general tone and hostility towards domestic LGBTI people in the US, but also to those who may be visiting the US from other jurisdictions,” Executive Director Helen Kennedy said.
https://san.com/cc/queer-trans-liberation-takes-center-stage-from-coast-to-coast