Dyke March is a mostly lesbian

Lesbian

Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...

-led and inclusive gathering and protest march much like the original gay pride parade

Gay pride parade

Pride parades for the LGBT community are events celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender culture. The events also at times serve as demonstrations for legal rights such as same-sex marriage...

s and marches. They usually occur the Friday or Saturday before LGBT pride parades and larger metropolitan areas have related events (parties, benefits, dances) both before and after the event to further develop community often targeting specific community segments (older women, bar events, arts, parenting groups, etc.) The purpose of a Dyke March is to increase lesbian visibility and activism

Activism

Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...

 and they have grown to be more inclusive of all women-loving-women regardless of labels as well as bisexuals, intersex

Intersex

Intersex, in humans and other animals, is the presence of intermediate or atypical combinations of physical features that usually distinguish female from male...

 and transgender

Transgender

Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....

 persons.

Beginnings

One of the first documented lesbian pride

Gay pride

LGBT pride or gay pride is the concept that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity...

 marches in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 took place in May, 1981, in downtown Vancouver, B.C. Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The march, which attracted approximately 200 lesbians, was part of the Bi-National Lesbian Conference

Bi-National Lesbian Conference

The first annual Bi-National Lesbian Conference happened in Toronto in May 1979.-Organizing:The conference was organized by members of the Lesbian Organization of Toronto in cooperation with members of the Toronto International Women’s Day Organizing Committee...

. In October, 1981, an organization called Lesbians Against the Right organized a second march in Toronto, Ontario.

The first U.S. nationwide Dyke March was held in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 on April 24, 1993. This event was also planned by the Lesbian Avengers. Over 20,000 women marched at this event. The large turnout can be attributed to the fact that the Dyke March coincided with a larger march on Washington

March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation

The March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation was a large political rally that took place in Washington, D.C. on April 25, 1993...

.

San Francisco

The first San Francisco Dyke March was held a few months later, in June 1993, and is still celebrated every year on the Saturday evening before the annual Pride Parade. The Dyke March is informal, with marchers creating their own signs and most people showing up to participate, rather than to just watch. The streets along the march route are lined with thousands of enthusiastic spectators, mostly gay men in support of the women. The march begins in Dolores Park

Dolores Park

Mission Dolores Park is a San Francisco, California, city park located in the neighborhood of Mission Dolores, at the western edge of the Mission District, which lies to the east of the park. To the west of the park is a hillside referred to as "Dolores Heights" or considered a part of the Castro...

 with speeches, performances and community networking and ends in the Castro District, at the Pink Saturday

Pink Saturday

Pink Saturday is a street party held the Saturday night before San Francisco Pride in San Francisco's Castro district. It coincides with the annual Dyke March.Attendees are asked to donate money at the gate...

 party where the Dyke March sound-truck becomes a stage for more performances, DJs and more speakers. The San Francisco Dyke March has high attendance numbers yet remains a peaceful and well-organized event. While some have stated that 200,000 attend, the more common estimate for 2010 is around 50,000, as found on the official website.

Since its inception, the San Francisco Dyke March Committee (a small group of volunteers) has never applied for nor received a permit from the city, exercising the First Amendment

First Amendment to the United States Constitution

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...

 right to gather without permits and without blatant corporate sponsorships.

New York

New York City's Dyke March is another beloved tradition. In the 1970s, separate Lesbian Pride marches were held, for several years, but they did not become a continuous tradition. The Dyke March was renewed by the NY Chapter of the Lesbian Avengers in June 1993 (after the success of the Dyke March in Washington).

On the Saturday before Pride, lesbians gather in Bryant Park

Bryant Park

Bryant Park is a 9.603 acre privately managed public park located in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located between Fifth and Sixth Avenues and between 40th and 42nd Streets in Midtown Manhattan...

 as they prepare to march down Fifth Avenue

Fifth Avenue (Manhattan)

Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the center of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. The section of Fifth Avenue that crosses Midtown Manhattan, especially that between 49th Street and 60th Street, is lined with prestigious shops and is consistently ranked among...

 towards Washington Square Park

Washington Square Park

Washington Square Park is one of the best-known of New York City's 1,900 public parks. At 9.75 acres , it is a landmark in the Manhattan neighborhood of Greenwich Village, as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity...

. The Dyke March is open to all self-identified women. Because of this, men have been asked to stand on the sidewalks and cheer on the marchers. As with the San Francisco Dyke March, the organizers do not seek out a permit, and put a high emphasis on the political. Even though there are many club nights and parties after the March, the event is not so much about entertainment as it is about highlighting the presence of self-identified women within the LGBTQI community. Each year approximately 15,000 women attend this monumental event.

The reason for the creation of the various Dyke Marches was to protest what many women saw as the control of Gay Pride events by white gay men at the expense of lesbians in general and women of color in particular. Many of the Lesbian Avengers

Lesbian Avengers

The Lesbian Avengers began in New York City in 1992 as "a direct action group focused on issues vital to lesbian survival and visibility." Dozens of other chapters quickly emerged worldwide, a few expanding their mission to include questions of gender, race, and class.Though some groups continue...

 were also concerned that New York's Gay Pride March

Gay Pride Parade (New York City)

The Gay Pride March is an annual march more commonly referred to as the Pride Parade in New York City, traversing southward down Fifth Avenue and ending at Greenwich Village...

 was losing its political edge as it became more accepted by the city and courted by corporations. They were also opposed to its associations with NAMBA.

Seattle

Seattle's Dyke March occurs the Saturday before Pride with a Rally with speakers and performers who are women identified and queer identified from 5 to 7pm. The Rally is held outside at Seattle Central Community College. The Rally is ASL interpreted. In addition to the speakers and performers, Northwest Network, an LGBTQ domestic violence organization, sets up a clothesline project, showcasing t-shirts made by survivors of domestic violence. The March goes through Seattle's LGBTQ neighborhood, going around a block starting and ending on Broadway, the center of the LGBTQ neighborhood.

For the better part of the last decade of Dyke March, organizers do seek a permit. Since about 2007, the march audience has been about 1,000 women, and the permit ensures the streets are clear for Marching. It also provides greater access an inclusion for the bus that is rented every year to allow differently-abled/disabled people to participate in the March.

Chicago

The Chicago Dyke March Collective occurs each year around the anniversary of the Stonewall riots

Stonewall riots

The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City...

, June 28, 1969. The Chicago Dyke March has been in operation since 1998 in the LGBQT-friendly neighborhood of Andersonville, however, in 2008 a decision was made to hold the Chicago Dyke March in a different neighborhood every summer. Organizers announced that the it will remain in each new location for two consecutive years. The March was held in Pilsen in 2009 and 2010. The March will take place in the neighborhood of South Shore

South Shore, Chicago

South Shore is one of 77 well-defined community areas of the City of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. A predominately black neighborhood located along Chicago's southern lakefront, it is a relatively stable and gentrifying neighborhood...

 in 2011. The March changes neighborhoods in an effort to bridge divides and combat stereotypes along race, class and geographic lines within the city’s lesbian and larger LGBTQ population.

The 2011 March route steps off near 71st and Jeffrey Boulevard and ends in Jackson Park and includes music, performances, and specified "safety zones" where volunteers and participants can gather. Local businesses and organizations cooperate with the March to provide participants with safety and support.

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Dyke Marches are now held in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

, Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, and Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 as well as Seattle, Philadelphia, Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, Washington, DC, Portland, ME, San Diego, Oakland,and other cities around the United States.

External links

• Boston Dyke March
• New York City Dyke March
• San Francisco Dyke March
• Santa Cruz Dyke March
• Seattle Dyke March; http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seattle-Dyke-March/120795094608668?v=app_2373072738&ref=ts#!/pages/Seattle-Dyke-March/120795094608668; http://www.myspace.com/dykemarchseattle
• Toronto Dyke March
• Utah Dyke March
• Vancouver Dyke March
• Washington, D.C. Dyke March
• Portland, Maine Dyke March
• San Diego Dyke March
• Calgary Dyke March