Not the shock of it, but the relative tameness of the Pride Parade is what, well, shocked me. For example, following the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence was the Ikea float: a VW bug with two crates and a couch strapped to the top. The driver and sole occupant didn't bother to wave or honk for us.

There were several encouraging Pride moments, though. A young gal with one breast and a custom bikini top (one triangle, left-side) was gadding about at the edge of the parade, dissolved and enjoying herself. A couple of skinny girls, both of whom had a ring through each nipple, wore short pieces of black electrical tape, like litle TV-censor bands. They stood on top of a low brick wall for a better view and smoked over the top of us. Not sure how they managed to look neither snooty, nor embarrassed; they just stood there, watching.

Another couple of gals were wearing two big orange stickers on their breasts, as if they'd just discovered them. These two seemed more intent on defying convention than the first two. I saw them at the rally; they were dancing out in front of the crowd, even after everyone else sat down. Kudos for not being embarrassed—but they seemed intent on demonstrating to everyone that they had cast off the motherly gaze.

A third couple wore nothing at all above the waist, but inlaid themselves with signifiers by way of Sharpie.

An occasional fellow was attractive, too. A couple of sleek-bodied blondes dancing together on the prow of a motorboat made me think of Tom Ripley and Dickie Greenleaf—in a less complicated relationship, perhaps. Their voluptuousness, their willingness to be less-than-masterful—even silly—reminded me of something: women. Physically, they were very clearly men; they weren't even in drag. But in motion, they were female: they performed their dances for our gaze, to become the object of our attention. They exhibited themselves. For a moment I could put myself in one's shoes: We're going out to the cottage this weekend, my boyfriend is going to be there, he's going to be dancing like this on the pier; I'm going to put my arms around him and we shall be blissful. Then it dissolved, frog into the reflection.