New York Pride is one of the largest and most flamboyant celebrations of the LGTBQ+ community in America. People travel from all over the country and the world to take part in these lively festivals dedicated to love in all its different forms. In fact, the city became home to the very first Gay Pride on one sunny day in 1970. After the 1969 Stonewall Inn riots, violent protests against a police raid at a popular gay bar, the gay community was committed to forwarding the gay liberation movement and familiarizing the American people with the struggles and beauty of their persecuted community. The impetus behind Gay Pride was to create an annual reminder to people of the ideals and hardships of the gay community, to commemorate the protests of 1969, and to propose that organizations and cities throughout the country could carry out parallel demonstrations to support their cause. Almost 50 years later, Gay Pride is held all over the world.
Ryan McGinley is an American photographer based in New York who is known for uncovering modern youth subcultures in the city. In 2003, at only 25, he became the youngest photographer to be displayed at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Inspired by artists like Nan Goldin, who also shot the hedonistic lifestyles of the underbelly of New Yorkers, McGinley is known for shedding light on neglected topics such as the AIDS/HIV crisis. Since the past 3 years, he has been the artistic eye behind Vogue’s images of Gay Pride in New York. This year, Pride in New York has taken on an added political dimension. Tensions rise in Trump’s America, existing LGTBQ+ rights are being chipped at, but in response, a wave of Democratic candidates are seeking to represent in local and national elections. Sex and the City’s, Cynthia Nixon, an out lesbian, and successful actress, who is running for governor of New York, is pictured here marching in support of Pride.