Parties, Parades And Protests: 2011 In Photos Revealed!

In the past year, Queerty shutterbugs have taken their cameras to bars, clubs and beaches all around the world, capturing unique characters in our nightlife-photo feature, Party Haus. We also brought you stunning images taken at international Pride parades, recorded moments in gay-rights history (like the day when gays and lesbians could officially wed in New York State) and honored LGBTs taking part in political rallies and demonstrations.

Want to see your photos on Queerty in 2012? Send us your submissions!

Click through for a slideshow of photos seen on Queerty throughout 2011

Ascension photo by Jeffrey James Keyes

 

 

Mother Monster was the the recipient of the Hero Award at the Trevor Project Live gala on December 4 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Presented the award by the parents of Jamey Rodemeyer, a gay teen who committed suicide earlier this year, Gaga was noticeably moved. “I’m very blessed to have beautiful fans like I have in Jamey, like I will always have in Jamey,” she said. “This means more to me than any Grammy I could ever win.”

Photo Credit: The Trevor Project

 

San Francisco’s legion of freaks didn’t let a little rain put a damper on the Folsom Street Fair on September 25. The annual leather and kink fest drew some 400,000 people, including mayoral candidate Joanna Rees (not pictured, duh).

Photo Credit: Kevin Kauer

The whole Big Apple celebrated in July when marriage equality took effect in New York—including Broadway. (Big shock there.) Three gay couple were married on stage after a performance of Hair at the St. James Theatre, including Ryan Dietz and his partner husband, Josh Levine (above, kisssing).

Photo Credit: Jeffrey James Keyes

Trans visibility came into the spotlight in a big way in 2011. Amos Mac and our friends at the trans-man zine Original Plumbing brought the fun to Beantown on August 14 for the Back2Boston party at Midway Cafe.

Photo Credit: Amos Mac

When did getting soapy become so dirty? From August 19 to 22, hundreds of guys enjoyed three days and nights of nearly-naked games, dancing and weenie roasts at Camp 2011 in the Poconos.

Photo Credit: Don Oberholzer III

A young activist schools the nutjob haters at a Westboro Baptist Church counter-protest earlier this year.

Photo Credit: r/athiesm

The Pope had a conniption when Lady Gaga appeared as the guest of honor at Europride 2011, held in Rome over the weekend of June 10. But we found ourselves more besotted with this handsome fellow’s luscious profile. Bellissimo!

 Photo: Claudio Magnanini

 

We hope the weather outside wasn’t too frightful at The Third Annual Atlanta Santa Speedo Run, where barely-dressed guys raced through the street to raise money for a children’s nonprofit. (Not to be outdone, a similar event was held in San Francisco.)

Photo Credit: Project Q Atlanta

 

Filmmaker John Cameron Mitchell and pals PJ DeBoy and Paul Dawson took their West Village party, Mattachine, on tour this summer. Things got a little bizarre at the fourth and final stop, La Cita in Los Angeles.

Photo Credit: Dusti Cunningham

 

Proud papas Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka were honored on November 12 at the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s 40th anniversary party at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel. Introducing the couple, Jane Lynch gushed that they were  “gorgeous, easy on the eyes, handsome—and gorgeous.”

Lady’s got a point there.

Photo Credit: Beck Starr

Things got out of hand, as they so often do, at Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in March, where there was plenty of rejoicing and hanky-panky–and a few digs at Australian PM Julia Gillard’s campaign against marriage equality. It’ll be interesting to see how the event changes next year, when it’s being renamed and re-branded as simply “Sydney Mardi Gras.” Um, where’d the gays go?

 

Fed up with Big Business as usual, The Occupy movement took over major cities this summer. And the gays did their party to make the protests as fabulous as possible—Like this Oscar Wilde quoting dude from Occupy L.A.

Want more? Check out Queerty’s slideshow of cute boys at Occupy Wall Street. (What? We’re just making lemonade out of lemons.)

Photo Credit: Byron Motley

We new the city had a hefty gay presence from watching the original Queer as Folk, but the Manchester Pride Parade on August 27 clued us in to just how cheeky these lads are!

Photo Credit: Ste Calland


Those of us in the West can often feel like Pride is nothing more than an excuse to party. But in Taiwan, the more than 30,000 people who attended the Taipei LGBT Pride Parade on Ketagalan Boulevard were making a strong statement in a country still grappling with institutionalized homophobia.

Photo Credit: Zaylin14

 

On May 17, crowds of supporters lit candles and held vigils at a Brazilian LGBT photo display projected on the wall of the National Library in downtown Brasília. The gay-rights group All Out created the installation in support of the proposed Anti-Homophobia law (Brazil’s rate of LGBT murders is among the highest in the world.)

There was plenty of fun in the sun at Fire Island’s Ascension Party in the Pines over the weekend of August 19. We just hope everyone played safe—and by that we mean covered themselves adequately with insect repellant and suntan lotion, of course.

Photo Credit: Jeffrey James Keyes

 

We’ve all heard about the little Dutch boy, but this Swede is pretty sweet at Stockholm Pride on August 7. Marching from Zinkensdamm sports arena in Södermalm and wrapped up in at Sergels Torg in the city center, the parade is the culmination of a week of LGBT-related events and the largest LGBT gathering in Scandinavia.

 

You say you want a revolution? The gays take over Closet Sundays every week at the Revolution Lounge in Las Vegas, just outside where Cirque du Soliel’s Beatles-inspired show, Love, packs ’em in.

Photo Credit: The Light Group

 

 

Old New York got down and dirty at the annual HustlaBall on October 4, when escorts, go-gos, porn stars—and drag diva Sherry Vine—performed scandalous acts for enthusiastic fans.

Photo Credit: Jeffrey James Keyes

 

We thought Carnival was wild, but Rio de Janeiro Pride on October 9 drew more than 700,000 people to Copacabana beach, where revelers enjoyed springlike weather, live music, colorful barely-there costumes, trio eletricos (motorized floats) and a spirit of community.

Images via Gay Pride Brazil

 

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