DEAD AND GAY

2025 "Hearts and Hands" West Hollywood, 35mm Nikon inferred silver halide
Gay Pride, West Hollywood

Halloween is a holiday in the United States. For our reasons, we have celebrated this holiday without fully understanding its historical significance. It wasn't until the early 1970s that America redefined this carnival.

In New York, the Stonewall Riots of 1969 indirectly led to the Pride Parade in 1970, demonstrating that activism can create change. The Pride Parade is a form of activism to nurture the souls of LGBT, GLAAD, and the Gay, Lesbian, Straight, and Transgender communities. Takin cues from the Pride parade, the West LA carnival started in the 1980s. Halloween Carnival happens in New York. The halloween carnival in West Hollywood, led by the gay community, attracts families, people of all ages, ethnicities, and various religious groups. We are all involved with the dramatics of military men in high heels with plastic machine guns, a male bride in a white veiled gown walking the street with the groom, or Osama bin Laden walking Santa Monica blvd with a three-foot-long missile in his gut. We Ho Halloween gives all participants a role in questioning our culture while carrying forward the joyous and unashamed public display.'