Trany Pride '95

by Sharon

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Well after a month of preparation - many coffees and teas at the Spanish Deli in Oxford Street where our group met once a week, and all of the work at the mardi gras workshop three weeks before the big night - it has finally come together. Trany Pride had achieved what it set out to; claim our own space within the gay and lesbian community without being threatening to our own personal identities.

6:00pm at Hyde Park, Elizabeth Street and the float is under final preparation - the big sign to be erected on top blows off and lands on the sandstone wall of Hyde Park just missing a couple of guys standing nearby (shit, what will we do?), so we put it on the deck of the truck (nothing can stop a determined bunch of tranys). Next the lighting and sound, it's been heavily raining all day and safety is my main concern but we get it up okay - okay and safe. Kathy, Chris and a friend with a motor bike and side car are our flagship, leading our procession with the trany pride flag and banner. Aidy and Christy are walking behind the bike making ground contact with the adoring, cheering crowd and Ayesha is in the cabin being matriarch. The miracle has happened, the rain has stopped! It actually holds off for the rest of the night apart from a light drizzle of water, a "Godsend".

We were even joined by a group of angels who asked if they could be with us on the truck. With lights flashing and dance music pumping, me spotlighting and for a while joining Aidy and Christie on the ground, we just rolled on having the time of our lives. Oh no! the bike has stopped, the clutch is out! So we push the bike up Flinders Street into the Showground, and ten it's time to strip the truck.

Some of us party on at the Mardi Gras party while the rest of us went our own way - but with a sense of unity, hope, love and a sense of achievement in our hearts that will never leave us. We'll come together again, hopefully with more tranys and friends/lovers of tranys to march proud as trany pride in 1996.

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