Sydney Mardi Gras Mixes Pride and Politics

The Australian annual ‘Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade’ on Saturday witnessed tens and thousands of people dancing and carousing their way through the streets of Sydney – some attired in classy costumes; while others ‘clothed’ merely in body paint and barest-minimum leaves.

The parade – which began in 1978 essentially as a protest march by homosexual and transsexual men and women – is currently one of the world’s biggest and most glitzy gay pride events.

This year’s event featured the theme, “History of the World” - a peek at gay history; and boasted the involvement of as many as 9,400 participants. The nearly 135 floats, which rolled out from William Square, were led by the well-known transsexual Amanda Lepore, who was scantily-dressed in a diamante G-string, and seated in an open-top Mercedes.

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