Pride, parades and politics

After earning a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, Gayle E. Pitman moved to Sacramento in 2001 to teach psychology and women’s studies courses at Sacramento City College, including Psychology of Sexual Orientation, a class she designed. She's also an author: Pitman wrote her first book, 2011’s Backdrop: The Politics and Personalities Behind Sexual Orientation Research, after a suggestion from one of her students. This spring, the American Psychological Association's Magination Press published This Day in June ($14.95), a children's book featuring a gay-pride parade as seen through a child's eyes. Pitman says the book offers a “fun, childlike description” of what might typically be found at such events. And, like her first book, this one was partially inspired by students, many of whom she says were unfamiliar with the history and culture of the LGBT community.

How has the book been received?

I’ve had conversations and phone calls with people, adults mostly, who’ve read the book and had really an emotional response to it. One person who called me, a director of an LGBT center, told me that she’d read the book and cried, and she thanked me for writing the book.

Is it a children’s book for adults?

It truly is a book for children. However, there is a reading guide with information about LGBT history and culture, and this is directed toward older children and adults. There is also a note to parents and caregivers about how to talk to kids about sexual orientation and gender identity. There isn’t much out there that gives clear-cut advice about how to talk to kids about this topic, whether you’re LGBT or straight.

Why is the reading guide is so important?

I’d written the reading guide, the section about LGBT history and culture, with my [college] students in mind. Every semester when I teach my sexual-orientation class and I talk about the Stonewall riots [the multiday series of protests that began in June 1969, after patrons of a gay bar fought back during a police raid], maybe one or two will recognize that reference, but many don’t. They don’t know what the pink triangle stands for. They don’t know that the rainbow flag has a history to it. They may know something about Harvey Milk because of the film. Increasingly, students of this generation aren’t aware of the magnitude of the AIDS crisis. They know what AIDS is, but they don’t know from a narrative, historical perspective the scope and the magnitude of the issue and the inaction, at least at the beginning, of the government. The reading guide isn’t comprehensive, but it gives people some context as to why these certain elements and symbols appear in pride celebrations.

Is it possible to move forward without understanding the past?

No, I don’t think so. I compare it to the third wave of feminism. The whole crux of that was that third wavers, like myself, were people who benefitted from the hard work and the heavy lifting of the second wavers. … I see that in the LGBT movement today.

How so?

We have a group of folks who have benefited enormously that, as of now, they are not in danger of being diagnosed with homosexuality and being thrown into an institution. … I think it’s so important to remember the past and to keep that in mind because it’s so easy to go back there. … You look at a group like ACT UP [AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, an activist group committed to ending the spread of AIDS which worked with the Food and Drug Administration and pharmaceutical companies to help get treatment drugs on the market] for example. They took guerrilla grassroots activism to a whole new level, and they were willing to give it their all. LGBT rights have advanced so far since then, which is a great thing. However, today we don’t see that kind of grassroots activism anymore, and that scares me.

How is activism different today?

Today we’re in a culture of technology. People, especially youth, are increasingly more likely to interact that way than face to face. That limits the type of activism that can happen. I think it’s so important to talk to each other in real time and face to face. That’s one of the things that I love about pride [parades]. … You need physical people to march in a contingent and hold up a banner, and physical people watching on the sidelines and cheering them on. It’s a form of activism that lives on.

Are the parades generally the same?

I think This Day in June pulls out some of the common elements, but every local community is different. Some parades have more political candidates. Some have more church or spiritual groups that march. Some have more of a transgender presence than others. … Increasingly, pride celebrations have spaces for children and families, although that's not universal.

What would you like most for people to take from the book?

That LGBT culture is rich, and it has a deep history to it, and it’s fun and exuberant. … That all of it is about an expression of love and creativity and individuality and integrity, and that none of it is bad. I just see such a need, especially in the children’s book genre focusing on LGBT, for positive, affirming images and reflections.