Gay Days prove that it’s empowering to surround yourself with other members of your tribe – iNews
If you were to draw up a list of inappropriate locations for an LGBTQ+-themed knees-up, the chances are that Walt Disney World might rank in your top five – along with, say, the Vatican or Tehran. After all, the Disney brand embodies traditional values and good, clean family fun, which don’t exactly sit cheek by jowl with an up-for-it, out-and-proud crowd.
But last month, thousands of LGBTQ+ revellers descended on Disney’s Florida theme parks to welcome Gay Days back after being cancelled in the pandemic.
Gay Days (held in the first week of June) began as a single Gay Day back in 1991, when members of an LGBTQ+ group arranged to wear red as a beacon of identity while spending the day at Disney’s Magic Kingdom. The gathering became an annual event, attracting ever-greater numbers and later adding an after-hours element in certain parks, plus pool parties at non-Disney hotels.
Predictably, there were protests: I remember going in the late 2000s and seeing a light aircraft flying above us, dragging a banner behind that read: ‘WARNING: GAY DAYS AT DISNEY’.
But while it’s neither endorsed nor organised by Disney itself, the event illustrates how the company straddles a line between progressive values and the often more conservative viewpoints held by swathes of its customer base.
More on Pride
You might wonder why such niche events would appeal to LGBT+ people given the mountains climbed in the march towards equality.
But while LGBTQ+ acceptance has steadily advanced since the 1960s, homophobia very much exists. Take the situation earlier this year, when Florida’s state government approved legislation – not unlike Britain’s now-scrapped Section 28 – banning the discussion in classrooms of gender identity and sexual orientation.
Coined by opponents as “Don’t Say Gay”, the move was a backward leap for liberal America – and that tremor got louder last week with the repealing of abortion rights.
As demeaning and regressive as this may be for the women of America, observers worry that the same rationale could overturn LGBTQ+ freedoms such as same-sex marriages or even pave the way to renewed discrimination.
Safe spaces
But the rolling back of rights also highlights how some long-favoured destinations remain valuable safe spaces where LGBTQ+ travellers can be themselves. Out-of-the-way outposts and islands from Key West to Ibiza and Mykonos have long drawn followers of alternative lifestyles keen to exchange the everyday for their own take on utopia, beyond mainstream society.
Perhaps the most vibrant resort of this type in the US is Provincetown. Tacked on the tip of Cape Cod, it’s about as far as you can get from the mainstream without casting off in the ocean. Consequently, this laid-back small town drew artists, writers and other bohemians, creating an open-minded community that appealed to followers of any counterculture. By the 1940s, P-town was a well-established LGBTQ+ destination – and it remains as lively and diverse as ever.
Revellers roll into town for a season of beach days, summer lovin’ and themed events, each one targeting a different LGBTQ+ subculture from party boys to “bears” or LGBTQ+ families. The joy of it all is that no matter how a person might identify, it’s always empowering to surround yourself with other members of your tribe.
There may yet be battles to fight on the road to full equality, but dancing at Disney, a Pride parade or a mooch along Miami Beach give LGBTQ+ travellers a chance to be part of the magic en route.
Bon Voyage can package flights to Boston, a two-night city break, ferry transfers and five nights in P-town from £1,795pp in September.
For more on Gay Days, see gaydays.com, onemagicalweekend.com or girlsinwonderland.com.