Calls for a 'Straight Pride Parade' cause stir

A lively discussion has kicked off on Twitter over the merits of straight people having their own Pride events.

A plan by a group in Boston, US, to hold a '"straight pride" march in August has sparked more than 45,000 tweets in the last 24 hours.

The group - Super Happy Fun America - has applied to the city government to hold their march, and approval is currently pending.

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Three men behind the event include John Hugo, who was the Republican candidate for Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District in the 2018 mid-term election.

On the organiser's website, Hugo is quoted as saying: "Straight people are an oppressed majority. We will fight for the right of straights everywhere to express pride in themselves without fear of judgement and hate."

Another organiser, Mark Sahady, is a member of a group called Resist Marxism which in 2018 held a "free speech" rally that was outnumbered by counter-demonstrators.

In a statement to the BBC, the Mayor of Boston, Marty Walsh said: "Every year Boston hosts our annual Pride Week, where our city comes together to celebrate the diversity, strength and acceptance of our LGBTQ community.

"This is a special week that represents Boston's values of love and inclusion, which are unwavering. I encourage everyone to join us in celebration this Saturday for the Pride Parade and in the fight for progress and equality for all."

Although the straight pride event has not yet been confirmed, it has not stopped many people weighing in to criticise the idea.

"Every day is a straight pride parade," wrote author Craig Rozniecki, arguing that heterosexuals' privileged position over gay people renders the concept of their needing pride events redundant.

"You all want a straight pride parade but where's your straight stonewall?," asked another user, who added: "Where are the families throwing you out for being straight? Where are the police raiding your bars, invading your privacy, fining and locking you up for existing? You want the fun part, but can't handle the worst part."

This year is the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots which led to the birth of the US gay rights movement in June 1969.

Former Minnesota State Senate candidate, Shawn Olson, suggested that rather than be aggrieved by the lack of straight pride events, heterosexuals should "be grateful you don't need one".

Comedian Eva Victor's humorous video response to straight pride has been viewed more than two million times.

While most comments mocked a straight pride event, others have stepped in to defend the idea. "I'm gay and I'm ok with a straight pride parade," wrote one user on Twitter. "Don't be hypocrites. So much for being a tolerant and accepting community."

"If you are against the #StraightPrideParade you are just as bad as any homophobic person," wrote another.

The BBC has approached Super Happy Fun America for comment.