Gay Days at Walt Disney World
Encyclopedia
Gay Days at Walt Disney World is a loosely organized event where lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered individuals (LGBT
), their families, friends and supporters go to Disney World on a single day each year. Held on the first Saturday in June (with numerous other events in the area during the preceding week), it is now one of the largest gay pride
events in the world.
The popularity of the event is seen by some attendees as a way of "reclaiming" normal joys of childhood lost to homophobia
in their earlier years. Growth in attendance also reflects the growing number of LGBT families with children
.
-right groups accuse Disney of not doing anything to stop the event. The Southern Baptist Convention
boycotted Disney for eight years. Another organization flew banner planes one year "warning" families of gay events at Disney that weekend.
A local Doubletree
resort has dubbed itself the "official" hotel for the event, with convention space rented to various businesses (bathroom remodelers, gourmet cooking suppliers, sex toys, etc.) and organizations (free health tests, vaccinations, etc.) pitching to attendees.
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
), their families, friends and supporters go to Disney World on a single day each year. Held on the first Saturday in June (with numerous other events in the area during the preceding week), it is now one of the largest gay 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...
events in the world.
History
The first event, in 1991, had 3,000 lesbians and gays from central Florida going to area theme parks on one day wearing red shirts to make their presence more visible. By 1995, the event had grow to 10,000 gays and lesbians traveling for the gay day at Disney. As of 2010 approximately 150,000 LGBTs, their families, friends and supporters attended the six-day gathering (including various pool parties, conventions, festivals, a business expo, activities for kids, etc.) with 20,000 to 30,000 going to Disney on the final day.The popularity of the event is seen by some attendees as a way of "reclaiming" normal joys of childhood lost to homophobia
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
in their earlier years. Growth in attendance also reflects the growing number of LGBT families with children
LGBT parenting
LGBT parenting refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people parenting one or more children. This includes children raised by same-sex couples , children raised by single LGBT parents, and children raised by an opposite-sex couple where at least one partner is LGBT.LGBT people can...
.
Reactions
While Disney does not sanction Gay Days (and officially tells employees to treat it as any other summer day), conservative ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
-right groups accuse Disney of not doing anything to stop the event. The Southern Baptist Convention
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
boycotted Disney for eight years. Another organization flew banner planes one year "warning" families of gay events at Disney that weekend.
A local Doubletree
Doubletree
.Doubletree by Hilton is a worldwide brand of upscale, full-service hotels and resorts trademarked by Hilton Worldwide. There are currently more than 220 locations with 55,000 rooms worldwide in the United States, Canada, Costa Rica, Peru, China, United Kingdom, Italy, Slovakia, Tanzania, Norway...
resort has dubbed itself the "official" hotel for the event, with convention space rented to various businesses (bathroom remodelers, gourmet cooking suppliers, sex toys, etc.) and organizations (free health tests, vaccinations, etc.) pitching to attendees.