Montreal Gazette
When Divers/Cité was founded 18 years ago to take the reins of Montreal’s gay pride parade, the times were distinctly different for the city’s gay community.
Just three years before the foundation of Divers/ Cité in 1993, the Montreal police roughed up and arrested nearly 400 gay and lesbian revellers outside the Sex Garage bar in Old Montreal, inciting mass protests and a Human Rights Commission investigation. The parade, which had been run by a variety of community groups since 1979, attracted about 5,000 people. At the time, members of the same sex could not get married or adopt children.
Jump forward nearly two decades. The Pride parade is an annual hit, bringing up to 200,000 viewers and participants of all orientations. (This year’s lead sponsor is Viagra. Others include Via Rail, TD Bank, the city of Montreal and the FTQ union group.) Quebec held its first legal gay marriage on April 1, 2004. The same year, Canada became the third country in the world to legalize the union of same-sex couples. Six states and the District of Columbia in the U.S. have followed suit, most recently New York, where hundreds of couples got married Sunday and Monday.
On the Divers/Cité website, the banner advertisement at the top sponsored by Tourism Quebec proclaims « Visit gay-friendly Quebec! »
Despite the advances and Quebec’s relatively tolerant attitude, the need is still present for events like the parade, which takes place on Aug. 14, and the cultural arts festival going on this week, Divers/Cité director Suzanne Girard said.
What was once a symbol of resistance and solidarity has in many ways become a celebration of rights won and laws won, but the evolution still has a ways to go.
« There is still a huge stigma attached to it in some communities, and especially in new-immigrant circles from places where there is still ostracism, and it can be very hard for young people, » said Girard.
The photography teacher at John Abbott College said she sometimes sees female students kissing in the hallways and thinks: « They’re courageous – kids can be mean. »
Divers/Cité gave up operating the parade and Community Day that precedes it in 2007 to focus on the cultural side of the party, now called the Festival Divers/Cité arts and music festival – « La fête gaie de Montéal. All Together Different. »
Cultural events, most of them free, take place throughout the week, culminating in a weekend of free dance parties at Place Émilie-Gamelin at Ste. Catherine and Berri Sts. Along with shows of modern dance Tuesday and opera Wednesday, the festival also features a free outdoor drag queen extravaganza called Mascara on Saturday night, now in its 14th year, and La Grande Danse on Sunday, billed as the largest free outdoor dance party in North America, heavy on house, techno and trance music.
It is a gay-themed event, but the emphasis is on diversity, mixing gays and straights, Girard said. Performers don’t have to be gay, and they’re not asked about their sexual orientation. Last year’s festivities drew 115,000 people.
« It’s a place where you can see people from every walk of life coming together and celebrating being, and dancing, and what’s on stage, » Girard said. « That is very Montreal. »
rbruemmer@ montrealgazette.com
Divers/Cite runs until Sunday. See diverscite.org for schedule details. Montreal’s Gay Pride parade is on Sunday, Aug. 14.