Hundreds of parents brought their children, as young as babies and toddlers, to wave rainbow flags, pose with a drag queen, and do LGBTQ-themed crafts at the “Kids’ Pride Parade and Street Fair” in Montgomery County, Maryland, on Sunday.
“Pride is for everyone. That’s the whole point of Pride is to be inclusive of everybody,” a local Takoma Park mom of a 2-and-a-half-year-old child in a stroller told The Daily Signal. “So I think it’s for kids, adults, everybody.”
Families marched in the Kids’ Pride Parade at 10 a.m., waving rainbow and transgender flags and signs with messages such as “Love is Love” and “Let Trans Kids Bloom” in honor of Pride Month. After the parade, families and their small children explored a number of pro-LGBTQ booths, purchased food from street vendors, and took photos with drag queen Tara Hoot.
Parents push their baby in a rainbow-covered stroller on Sunday. (Photo: Elizabeth Troutman/The Daily Signal)
“Talking to my kid about how love makes a family has been just a really important value,” a mom named Elyse told The Daily Signal as she waited in a line for popsicles with her 5-year-old daughter. “There’s a lot of diversity here in Takoma Park, and I want to make sure, even though she comes from a family with one mom and one dad, that she understands love and that love makes a family.”
Pride activities included a kids’ craft tent with rainbow bracelet making, coloring, and free pronoun pins; a rainbow-clad juggler surrounded by a crowd of preschoolers; and rainbow face painting.
A crowd of small children watch a juggler in rainbow clothes. (Photo: Elizabeth Troutman/The Daily Signal)
At noon, kids began taking pictures with Tara Hoot, the drag queen in a huge pink wig and pink plaid jumpsuit whose day job is teaching at a D.C. school. Hoot told The Daily Signal she performs at a lot of “family-friendly” events.
Drag queen Tara Hoot poses with a dad and two kids. (Photo: Elizabeth Troutman/The Daily Signal)
“My type of drag is like Mr. Rogers in a dress,” Hoot said. “I do story time. I do bubbles. I do all sorts of fun things. I’ve been a teacher for 26 years, so why wouldn’t I be here?”
A mom named Casey asked her young daughter to share with The Daily Signal “what the rainbow party is all about.” When the child said she didn’t know, the mom told The Daily Signal they were there to celebrate that “everyone’s different, and that’s awesome.”
Kids and adults hold Pride flags at the Sunday parade. (Photo: Elizabeth Troutman/The Daily Signal)
Families explored a street fair with various booths. Hosts ranged from the Temple Shalom in Chevy Chase—advertising its “Gender Expansive & Trans+ Chavurah” gathering for LGBTQ adults—to the office of “queer, non-binary psychotherapist” Mary Huber, who provides clients “gender affirming medical procedure letters.”
“Many medical procedures, a part of gender affirming healthcare for many folx, require a letter from a mental health care provider,” Huber’s website says. “I offer this service to clients who are transitioning. As different procedures require different types of letters, please contact me to discuss your needs. Most letters can be completed after 1 session.”
Her booth featured renderings of the “Gender Unicorn,” the “Gender Galaxy,” and the “Sexuality Galaxy.”
Mary Huber’s booth displayed an image of the “Gender Galaxy.” (Photo: Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights)
One printout at her booth explained the transgender activist view of the difference between sexual orientation, sex, gender expression, and gender identity. Another, titled “Pursuing Gender Congruence,” gives advice to gender-confused individuals about a path toward “gender affirmation,” starting with personal and social gender affirmation and escalating to medical and legal affirmation.
A packed LGBTQ book tent sold a graphic guide to chest binding called “Breath: Journeys to Healthy Binding,” co-written by Maia Kobabe, author of pornographic LGBTQ novel “Gender Queer,” and Sarah Peitzmeier.
Attendees could purchase a number of LGBTQ books. (Photo: Elizabeth Troutman/The Daily Signal)
Other books for sale included: “Who’s Afraid of Gender,” which “confronts the attacks on “gender” that have become central to right-wing movements today,” according to Google Books; “Page Boy,” an autobiography detailing actor Ellen Page’s transition to Elliot; “I am Ace,” a handbook on being asexual; “Queerly Beloved,” the story of a gay baker fired from a Christian bakery; and an array of LGBTQ teen romance novels.
Books for sale included “Rainbow Parenting,” “Love Makes a Family,” and “A Kids Book About Being Nonbinary.” (Photo: Elizabeth Troutman/The Daily Signal)
Estelle, a mom who said her 11-year-old child came out as LGBTQ at age 8 or 9, told The Daily Signal her family was at the event to make her kids feel supported.
“I think it’s really important for my queer kids to see like that the whole town rallies behind them and supports them,” she said.
The Kids’ Pride Parade brought a large crowd to downtown Takoma Park, Maryland. (Photo: Elizabeth Troutman/The Daily Signal)