Ruddy Roye’s Remarkably Unremarkable Pride Photo

If you’ve been following his Instagram feed, Ruddy Roye has been offering a wonderful series of portraits from the NYC pride parade. They are especially poignant this year in the aftermath of the massacre in Orlando. (You can read Ruddy’s comment below.)

Of course, the photo is a powerful snapshot of pride and identity.  Damion is that exquisite in this bodysuit bathed in a complimentary yellow glow. The outfit almost looks 3-D printed! Most noteworthy to me, however, is the woman in the foreground. If I had seen this same image a few years back, before America’s landmark social reforms, including open military service and then gay marriage, I might have read this more in terms of invisibility — or theatricality as an empowerment building block. Not so today. The fact that he can do his thing and she can do hers so independently in social (including, social media) space makes this photo more about the variety and normality of intimate expression here-and-now. In other words, the photo is remarkable for the extent to which Damion-being-Damion is actually unremarkable.

#Repost @ruddyroye

・・・

June 29, 2016

Change is gonna come.

I attend pride because I go every year. It is where I network with many different people and also reconnect with people. 

It is important to me because I can attend the event and know that I’m not being judged that I’m not alone. 

America  will move forward after the tragedy in orlando to try and help the people of the LGBT community.  We have a voice and we really belong to society . I hope that congress will create more laws to help protect our rights, and although it won’t happen overnight, I have no doubt in my mind that a change is going to come,” Damion told me.

(photo: Ruddy Roye/Instagram)