Key West Florida Weekly

KEY WEST PRIDE





 

 

IN 2005, THE NEW YORK TIMES PUBLISHED an article by Robert Andrew Powell with the sensationalist title “Is Key West Going Straight?” Apparently, the island once deemed Gay Paradise was slipping from its coveted spot at the top of the best gay vacation destinations in the country — and then, literally, when a 2012 issue of The Advocate dropped Key West from the magazine’s list of America’s Top 25 Gayest Cities. According to the press, it was a combination of an increase in global gay vacation spots, coupled with the island’s meteoric real estate prices, that was to blame for Key West’s increasingly heterogeneous crowd — with a heavy emphasis on the hetero. One by one, the island’s longtime visitors and residents lamented the loss of historically gay hangouts; drag shows were replaced with Margaritavilles, all-male guest houses were converted to condos, and the streets that had for so many years been rumored to be paved with, not gold, but rainbows, saw a new surge of foot traffic from frat bro’s on Spring Break escapades with their lithe sorority girlfriends. It was the end, The Times posited, of Key West as the Gay Mecca; the Southern bookend to Massachusetts’s Provincetown was being replaced by Fort Lauderdale, Costa Rica, Palm Springs, and even — gasp! — Orlando.

Is Key West going straight? Pop your head into the Bourbon Street Pub, one of Key West’s most fabled gay bars, and over the view of the bouncing buttocks’ of Adonis-like dancers strutting up and down the bar, you might think otherwise. Or ask one out of every three locals that you pass in the grocery store (you can spot them if you look for the dreaded permanent flip flop tan) since one third of the island’s permanent residents are estimated to identify as homosexual. Or enjoy a leisurely half-clothed brunch at the male-only Island House, after which you can ditch the rest of your garb and join an all-male naked paddle boarding tour through the mangroves. For a place with literal rainbow-colored streets (yes, the city recently installed permanent rainbow crosswalks on Duval Street) it’s clear that, while what was once referred to as “Gay Mecca” of yesteryear may have changed a bit, over the course of the 10 years since The Times asked its scandalous question, Key West has its answer: No. Key West is still gayer than a tea dance at La Te Da, and we’re dedicated to keeping it that way.

Which is why, from June 8-12, Key West will host its annual Pride Week, a celebration of the past and present gay culture of Key West. And in the charged and ever-changing political climate of America’s LGBT-rights movement, celebrating Pride Week in the city that helped define gay pride serves as a reminder of just how important it is to celebrate such things, lest we forget how hard they were fought for, and how vital it is we continue to fight to ensure their future survival.

When celebrated American playwright Tennessee Williams arrived in Key West in the late 1940s with his longtime partner, Frank Merlo, he quickly established himself as what Out Traveler magazine would later call him “The Gay Grandfather of Florida’s Southern Isle,” throwing flamboyant soirees and attracting a cadre of likeminded friends and fans. Indeed, it is Williams who is often credited for establishing Key West as an official gay vacationland, thanks to his unabashedly open celebration of his sexuality. Williams, like many before him, had initially been drawn to the nonchalance of Key West, where — perhaps initially due to the size of the island more than anything else — there existed a widespread sense of mutual understanding to live and let live; thanks to the lack of extra land, everyone was neighbors with everyone else, and a feeling of general inclusivity ran across the island. Key West had always been a multicultural hub; without a railroad linking it to the mainland until the 1912 completion of the Overseas Railroad, the island’s early residents of New England, Bahamian and Cuban heritage were forced to co-habitate in the very limited square footage. Thus, Key West had established itself as a desirable destination for those looking for a tolerant (and warm) place to unwind long before the island became known as a gay hot spot. But it was Williams’ arrival and the playwright’s increasing fame while he lived there that turned the gay community’s attention to Key West with a focus like never before. For decades, the island remained the go-to destination for those in the gay community, and their allies, to seek sun and acceptance.

In the 1980s, the island was hit hard by the HIV/AIDS crisis, and became a kind of de facto final resting place for people suffering from the virus who, due to intolerance in their own communities back home, had nowhere else to go. While the rest of the country struggled to drum up a cohesive and significant plan to dealing with the ever-expanding epidemic, the small city of Key West responded with lightning speed, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to establish programs focused on outreach, treatment, hospice care, and support. The work done in those early days by an organization called AIDS Help was some of the most progressive and effective nation-wide, and the group continues that work today; the nonprofit is still the only community-based HIV/ AIDS service organization in the county. It was during the HIV/AIDS crisis that, as part of an island-wide movement to encourage prevention and education, Key West refined its renown as a community willing to speak frankly about sex and human sexuality. Free contraception was provided throughout the island, public and private programs were established to educate teachers, hospital staff and hospitality workers on how the virus was transmitted, and frequent seminars on safe sex were held for the public. The reputation of Key West as a place where sexuality was not taboo, but was treated with an open tolerance rarely seen elsewhere, was amplified across the nation. The Times published an article detailing how residents both gay and straight were united in their fight to help preserve the quality of life of their fellow men and women. The article, “Hard-Hit Key West Combats AIDS With Community Effort,” showed the world that for the residents of Key West, (whose voters had already elected a gay man to the office of mayor and many other high positions in government) sexual preferences should not preclude one from living and ending their life with dignity and support. The island would go on to emerge from the crisis stronger, more unified, and would go down in history as having responded to the epidemic with a rapid solidarity singular to Key West alone.

This special heritage of unity has continued to be built upon over time, and while some businesses dedicated to gay tourism have indeed succumbed to economic forces beyond their control, the spirit of Key West’s gay legacy remains strong today. Key West Pride, which will commence on Wednesday, June 8, with a kickoff celebration at the Island House, has become one of the most beloved and significant Pride Week celebrations in the United States. While certainly not the largest, it carries with it the momentous importance of celebrating the island’s gay ancestry, and does so with the kind of gaudy fun that Key West is famous for.

Classic events such as free tours of the Tennessee Williams exhibit, gay sailing and snorkeling tours, cocktail competitions, drag shows, and all manner of themed parties have been scheduled across four revelry-packed days, and new-to-this-year events such as a Queer Newlywed Game take advantage of the recent same-sex marriage ruling that has seen Key West become a hugely popular destination for gay weddings. As for the Pride Parade, the pièce de résistance of Pride Week, this year’s Grand Marshall has been announced as being Stuart Milk, global LGBT and human rights activist and nephew of Harvey Milk, the longtime civil rights activist and the first openly gay person ever elected to public office in U.S. history. After his uncle’s assassination,

Stuart Milk became vocal about his own homosexuality, and has since dedicated his life’s work to encouraging the adoption of LGBT-rights legislation by nations beyond the United States, to great effect; after a meeting with Milk in 2011, Italy’s Minister of Equal Opportunities was moved to announce her public support of a proposed anti-homophobia law after her initial disapproval, saying that Milk had helped her to understand that it was important Italy’s government protect its gay citizens. Milk has won countless awards for his service on behalf of the LGBT community, and his presence at the head of Key West Pride’s parade shows an understanding of the island’s critical role in helping advance LGBT rights here in the United States.

While some of the events scheduled for Pride Week are undoubtedly adults-only, this year’s celebration also promises the return of many kid-friendly events for gay families traveling with children who wish to celebrate Pride in a more PG-setting — the Rainbow Bike Parade and the Duval Street Fair being two of the most beloved and well-attended.

Matt Hon, executive director of the Key West Business Guild, the nation’s first LGBT-oriented chamber of commerce, has been organizing Key West Pride for six years. Hon says he has seen the event become more and more inclusive throughout his tenure with the organization, with participation from parts of the community not often associated with traditional gay culture. For instance, the event boasts an incredible history of military involvement; theirs was one of the first Pride celebrations to have a Joint Military Color Guard lead their parade, while 2014 saw openly gay Iraq War veteran Rob Smith elected as the parade’s official grand marshal. Along with participation from the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post, Key West’s reputation for boundary-breaking fraternity remains rock solid. But while this May, the U.S. Senate confirmed Eric Fanning to the position of Army secretary, making him the first openly gay leader of a U.S. military faction, Hon is realistic when discussing the work that remains for the gay community at large. “Pride events did start out of a necessity for the LGBT community to fight for equality, yet, while we have gained many rights and protections over the past years, we still have a long way to go,” Hon says. “Look at the ridiculous bathroom laws popping up across the country! But here in Key West, where the LGBT community has had equality and protections for years, it is important to celebrate those achievements, but also remind folks that while Key West is way ahead of the curve, we need to remember not everyone enjoys such paradise.” Hon has dedicated himself to ensuring that the hundreds of thousands of gay tourists who visit Key West each year continue to do so (even with nearby Orlando’s siren call). And Hon acknowledges that, for many of those visitors, Key West might be more than just a jaunt in the sun — to many, the island represents a stalwart representative of the LGBT dream, a community where people may live un-harassed, in harmony with one another regardless of their sexual orientation.

“We need to show our island visitors from places such as Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina and others that there is a place for them,” Hon urges. “A place that welcomes everyone as they are, no matter who you are … that embraces [and] celebrates diversity. A place that the rest of America should be like.” A lofty goal for one tiny little island, to be sure, and yet if there was ever a community capable of doing so, there’s no doubt that an island whose official motto is “One Human Family” is ready to take on the challenge. And while increasingly inaccessible prices for homes and hotel rooms might deter some gay travelers from choosing Key West for their next vacation, the Key West Business Guild is committed to reaching out to LGBT members and supporters on a global scale, doing everything it can to get the word out that Key West is still, in many ways, the Gay Mecca it has always been, but a Mecca that must evolve with the times to ensure its survival, like any other organization. And Key West Pride, Hon believes, is vital to ensuring that message be broadcast as loudly, and proudly, as possible — for the sake of not just the island, but for our nation.

“We need to continue the tradition of Key West Pride to brighten the rainbow over the entire country,” he says. One Human Family, one giant rainbow.

For a full schedule of this year’s Key West Pride Events, or to learn more about the organization, visit keywestpride.org. ¦


Parade Big Rainbow Flag

Parade Big Rainbow Flag

Mr. Pridefest Denis Thompson

Mr. Pridefest Denis Thompson

Servers and bartenders at Island House.

Servers and bartenders at Island House.

Tennessee Williams adopted Key West as his home in the 1940s and lived there off and on for more than 30 years.

Tennessee Williams adopted Key West as his home in the 1940s and lived there off and on for more than 30 years.

MILK

MILK

The Rainbow Crossing dedication.

The Rainbow Crossing dedication.

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