Naked males on bikes expose ‘all ages’ Seattle Pride Parade to criticism

This 12 months’s “all ages” Seattle Pride Parade included one thing you don’t typically see in public: grownup males on bicycles carrying helmets however no pants.

A dozen bare males, some carrying physique paint, rode slowly alongside the parade route Sunday earlier than stopping and waving to the cheering crowd, which included kids, as proven on video taken by the Post Millennial.

Some of the bikes had indicators connected that mentioned, “Challenge Body Shame/Build Self Esteem” and “Pride for Every Body.”

Elsewhere, just a few bare grownup males cooled off in a public water fountain as younger kids performed close by, as proven on video.

“Naked men are now playing in the fountain where children are present,” the Post Millennial, a conservative publication based mostly in Canada, tweeted together with the graphic video. “Their genitalia is fully-exposed as they cool themselves off and wash each other down with water.”

LGBTQ Pride Month parades are recognized for pushing the bounds on bawdiness and sexual content material, however the look of totally nude grownup males at a crowded public occasion crossed a line for some commenters.

“A group of naked men participated in the Seattle Gay Pride parade – exposing themselves to small children along the parade route,” mentioned conservative radio host Todd Starnes in a put up.

“The graphic video, which you can watch below, shows the men flaunting their genitals in front of kids,” he mentioned. “These are the same people who tell us they are ‘not’ coming for your children.”

Seattle Pride, the occasion’s organizer, mentioned on its web site that the “Parade is all about inclusiveness – so all ages gather along the route to watch the festivities.”

Those applauding Sunday’s forty ninth annual parade included Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell.

“It was great to feel the love, energy, and sunshine at today’s #Pride parade with @CityofSeattle employees!” Mr. Harrell tweeted. “Our diversity makes us stronger, which is why we must send a clear message to our LGBTQIA+ community today and every day: we see you, we support you, and you belong here.”

Podcast host Dennis Michael Lynch tweeted: “If you’re going to paint yourself, walk around naked, and play in a public fountain, I question your level of sanity. But when you do it in front of kids, without pause, I think you should be placed on a watch list.”

In Washington state, nonetheless, showing nude in public isn’t towards the regulation, so long as you don’t interact in lewd or obscene habits, in line with the Seattle Police Department.

Under the state’s indecent publicity regulation, it’s a misdemeanor to “make any open and obscene exposure of his or her person or the person of another knowing that such conduct is likely to cause reasonable affront or alarm.”

“Historically, it has been difficult in Seattle to prosecute cases of public nudity,” the division wrote in a 2008 put up.

The parade has included for the previous couple of years Boy Scouts in uniform holding rainbow flags.

There was at the very least one sight that went too far for the Seattle parade organizers — cop uniforms.

The Seattle Police Officers Guild mentioned final week that its uniformed members have been banned from marching within the occasion.

“They [officers] value inclusiveness and demand respect not only for proudly being LGBTQ but for serving our community as police officers,” mentioned Guild President Mike Solan in a June 16 assertion. “Anyone that believes in their banishment has no place in Seattle and does not believe in the inclusive LGBTQ message.”

He added that the division has misplaced 600 members and that the “bigoted decisions banning uniformed officers from Pride events do not aid in stopping this mass exodus of cops.”