Rodeos and Drag Queens

In my previous post, I mentioned that I had originally intended to write about something completely different than what I ended up writing about.  In the first sentence of that post, I mentioned Vancouver Pride.  I originally meant to talk about drag queens, which are a staple at pride parades (or so it seems), but ended up talking about Alberta's conservative politics.  Anyway, what I was originally going to say follows.

I will spare you my opinion of drag queens.  I will say, however, that I do not see what relevance they have to homosexuals.  I do not know very much about drag queens, or transvetitism, or transgenderism (which I talked about previously), nor do I want to.  I am homosexual, but, even in my youth, none of my mannerisms were very "girly."  Aside from my sexuality and agnosticism, I am a traditional kind of guy.  Here, I opined on gay pride.  Since I never plan on attending a gay pride parade (except maybe to join the anti-gay protesters, although my motivation for protesting would be much different from theirs), the large occurrence of drag queens does not particularly bother me, aside from their association with gays.  Although I believe I know why drag queens are associated with gays, I do not believe they should be.  To me, they seem to be better associated with transgenderism, which is not a sexual orientation.  For the same reason, I prefer the term LGB to LGBT (although I do not use either).

In my previous post, I mentioned the Calgary Stampede, which includes a rodeo.  The spirit of the event appeals to me and my inner redneck.  That brings me to gay rodeo, which is possibly the only gay-themed event I would ever be likely to attend.  I wonder if it is an event that draws more conservative-leaning homosexuals, similar to how regular rodeos appeal more to conservatives than to liberals.  To anyone who reads this that is familiar with gay rodeo, I have a question.  Is it an actual rodeo, or it is just some campy parody?  I have researched the event a bit, and, much to my chagrin, drag queens seem to be a staple of the event.  This fact leads me to believe the latter is true.

Canada's Paradise

The Vancouver Pride Festival is coming up soon (in case anyone was wondering why I am writing about Gay Pride now).  A much different event, the Calgary Stampede, ended almost two weeks ago.  Aside from the festive nature of both events, the contrast could not be more different.  The Calgary Stampede, the world's largest rodeo, is a celebration of Calgary's western heritage.  The Calgary Stampede started in 1886 as the Calgary and District Agricultural Society Exhibition.  The Stampede is closely tied with Calgary's identity.

Alberta is sometimes referred to "The Texas of Canada" (at least by me), and, indeed, Alberta is well known in Canada for its conservative politics.  Alberta gave the Conservatives the highest percentage of its popular vote (67%) in 2011.  The Conservative Party has won very seat in Alberta outside of Edmonton for the past four federal elections (every election since the foundation of the Conservative Party), as well as every seat in Edmonton in one of those.  Rural Alberta ridings gave anywhere between 84 and 75 percent of their votes to the Conservative Party in 2011.  Alberta's Progressive Conservative Association (definitely not progressive) has formed the provincial government since 1971.  Alberta is also Canada's wealthiest province, due to its oil sands (which I will defend to the death, metaphorically).  In addition, Calgary, Alberta's largest city, is arguably one of North America's most conservative cities (which I consider to be metropolitan areas with over one million people).

During the Stampede, western wear is visible around the city.  So tied to Calgary's identity is the Stampede and its western heritage, a cowboy hat appears on the city's flag (see below).

Originally, this post was going to be about something else entirely.  However, as I was writing it, it turned into a post about Alberta politics.  The introduction, which I decided not to change (for a sense of contemporary relevance), is indicative of such.  I could go on and on about how much I love Alberta and I can't wait to move there (I was raised and currently live in British Columbia); incidentally, I am really starting to embrace my inner redneck.  At the same time, Calgary is sadly evolving (or devolving, if you ask me) into a PC hell, seemingly just like every other place in the Western world, which I guess is inevitable for a rapidly growing major city.  Fortunately, this process seems to be quite slow.  The Calgary Stampede (an event that showcases toughness and masculinity, and one that p*sses off animal rights groups) and the pride in which Calgary's residents show during said event, leave me optimistic.