Naked gay pride parade

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"Washington Dems Silent on Nude Pride Cyclists Exposing Genitalia to Crowd Including Kids, Families." Fox News, 26 June 2023, https://www.foxnews.com/politics/washington-dems-silent-on-nude-pride-cyclists-exposing-genitalia-to-crowd-including-kids-families.

KIRO 7 News Staff. While those charges were eventually withdrawn, it’s clear some things are tolerated and others are not.

But some members of the gay community have told The Toronto Sun that nudity and sexual simulations on floats have nothing to do with advancing the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.

naked gay pride parade

Signs on the bikes included the words, "Challenge Body Shame," "Build Self Esteem," and "Pride for EVERY Body." Families and children were visible in the video, too, as the reporting said.

In late June 2023, we received mail from readers who asked about a story involving Seattle Pride's annual parade. "In Seattle, Naked Men Riding around on Bikes in Front of Children." Twitter, 27 June 2022, https://twitter.com/Lerpc75/status/1541532960905650176.

@MrAndyNgo.

Beautiful as we are, all shapes and sizes, shades and statures."

Additional photographs and videos published in 2014, 2020, and 2022, all appeared to show previous Body Pride Ride gatherings in Seattle, each captured in the month of June.

The Second Video

Hours after the first video appeared online, a second video was posted by the same source on Twitter that showed naked men, and again possibly some women, too, who appeared to be washing themselves in International Fountain.

The group also offers free memberships to children ages 14 to 18, with youth in that age group welcome without being accompanied by a parent or guardian. 

Pride Toronto did not respond to True North’s request for comment.

The Criminal Code of Canada states that “everyone who, without lawful excuse, is nude in a public place is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.”

The Toronto Police Service told True North that arresting people for public nudity would not be in the “best interest” of officers or the community.

“At large events such as the Pride Parade, which attracts as many as a million people, our number one priority is public safety and ensuring a peaceful event,” a Toronto police spokesperson told True North in an email.

"Attendees and Marchers on the Streets of Downtown Seattle for The..." Getty Images, 29 June 2014, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/attendees-and-marchers-on-the-streets-of-downtown-seattle-news-photo/451489718.

"Register for the 2023 Seattle Pride Parade!" Seattle Pride, https://seattlepride.org/news/register-for-the-2023-seattle-pride-parade.

Richardson, Valerie.

"Pride in Seattle!" Instagram, 25 June 2023, https://www.instagram.com/p/Ct8UVEHLTMA/.

@BodyPrideRide. As of the afternoon of the next day, we had not yet received any responses to our messages.

Additionally, on June 29, we reached out to the Body Pride Ride group by email but did not receive a response by press time.

Some families can also be seen having a picnic near the naked people.

Fox 11 News reported that the Seattle Police Department responded to reports of naked adults present in the Pride events, but they stated there hadn't been any official complaints or arrests.

In a statement to Snopes, the Seattle police said that their role on the day of the parade was to ensure "safety and security" rather than regulate the festivities.

"The ordinance in question is Ordinance 124301, which added to the Seattle Municipal Code a provision around indecent exposure, which predicates enforcement of the misdemeanor on a requirement that the exposure be both 'open and obscene' and while 'knowing that such conduct is likely to cause reasonable affront or alarm,'" the Seattle police said.

Seattle police added that apprehending the naked adults is "better left to parade organizers and the permit process."

Several Democratic politicians were seen attending the Seattle Pride event.

On Twitter, Washington Rep.

Pramila Jayapal posted pictures of herself at the parade, along with her supporters.

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell also marched in the event. It seems a small minority of Pride participants involved in these actions are above the rules that would apply to anybody else in any other public setting. He tweeted that it "was great to feel the love, energy, and sunshine" as he took part in the parade with the city employees.

"Our diversity makes us stronger, which is why we must send a clear message to our LGBTQIA+ community today and every day: we see you, we support you, and you belong here," Harrell said, according to Fox News.

Seattle Pride said on its website that the parade has been organized yearly since 1974, although the city didn't officially recognize the first parade.

The Seattle Pride festivities have attracted an estimated 300,000 members of the LGBTQIA+, friends, and allies in the past few years.

Did Videos Show Naked Men at 2023 Seattle Pride Parade, with Families and Children Present?

"Washington Dems silent on nude Pride cyclists exposing genitalia to crowd including kids, families," Fox News reported.

A colorful scene from a past Seattle Pride parade that was photographed in 2019.

"Thousands Crowd into Downtown Seattle for Annual Pride Parade." MyNorthwest.com, 23 June 2018, https://www.kiro7.com/seattlepride.

KOMO News. The parade has historically drawn as many as 300,000 onlookers, according to a report from 2018.

In this story, we'll lay out all of the facts, including information about the two videos, reporting from Fox News about the attendance of Democratic politicians, and a statement from the Seattle Police Department.

The First Video

The first video showed around a dozen naked men who were riding bicycles and waving before moving along, all while following the Seattle Pride Parade route.

Images are all over social media, complete with areas that are blurred out to cater to online sensibilities that don’t seem to apply on the street.

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Toronto police say no charges were laid for public nudity at this weekend’s Pride parade as making arrests wouldn’t serve anyone’s interests.

Footage from the large gay rights gathering shows several naked adults, most of whom were men, marching in the streets of downtown Toronto.

Sec. 174 of the Criminal Code makes it very clear that public nudity — like displays at Toronto’s Pride Parade — is illegal.

“Nudity: 174 (1) Every one who, without lawful excuse,

  • (a) is nude in a public place, or
  • (b) is nude and exposed to public view while on private property, whether or not the property is his own,
  • is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.
  • Marginal note: Nude “(2) For the purposes of this section, a person is nude who is so clad as to offend against public decency or order.”

It’s clear-cut!

WARMINGTON: Are Torontonians proud of naked marchers in Pride parade?

Get the latest from Joe Warmington straight to your inbox

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The naked truth is — once again — men and women appeared in Toronto Pride events completely in the buff.

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Sometimes, right in front of children.

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“Bud Light sponsors Toronto Pride Parade attended by naked men: Videos from the event showed naked men riding bikes and waving to a crowd that included kids,” said the headline on FOX News.

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The page described the event as follows: "BPR welcomes the diversity of the rainbow from every cycling tribe to be a Bare-What-You-Dare cyclist! “It’s not in the best interest of officers or the community to have police wading into crowds to arrest people for public nudity, a charge which requires the consent of the Attorney General.”

The criminal code states that “no proceedings shall be commenced under this section without the consent of the Attorney General.”

Indecent acts and indecent exposure are also illegal under the Criminal Code, and these charges do not require the attorney general’s consent.

Indecent exposure involves exposing one’s genitals for a sexual purpose to a person who is under the age of 16 years old. 

When asked if Toronto police would not be able to arrest a naked man running through the streets of Toronto without the consent of the attorney general, the officer told True North that they didn’t “have anything further to add to this.”

Clayton DeMaine, True North Wire

Dozens Of Naked Men Expose Themselves In Front Of Kids At 'All Ages' Pride Parade

KEY POINTS

  • A group of naked adults rode bikes in front of children at the Seattle Pride Parade
  • Some naked adults washed themselves in a fountain while being watched by kids
  • Seattle Police said they did not receive any official complaints regarding nudity during the event

Two videos went viral online for showing dozens of nude men participating in this year's "all ages" Seattle Pride Parade.

Videos uploaded by The Post Millennials on its Twitter account showed that many children were brought by their families to witness the Seattle Pride event, even though some participants were naked.

In one video, a group of adults were fully naked while riding their bicycles.

"Leather Pride Parade Seattle 23'." Instagram, 26 June 2023, https://www.instagram.com/reel/Ct_rrBCAafh/.

Pratt, Suzi. Also, at least one child was seen riding alongside the men.

Early in our research, in order to confirm that the video did not come from a previous year or another city, we searched and found two helpful Instagramposts.

"LGBTQ Pride Seattle." The Associated Press, 28 June 2020, https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/LGBTQPrideSeattle/779986ca45d3412495460353f56844a1.

By Jordan Liles

Jordan Liles is a Senior Reporter who has been with Snopes since 2016.

The main question from our readers appeared to be if it was true that viral videos showed some naked men had participated both in and nearby the all-ages parade that had occurred on June 25, with families and children in attendance.

For example, one reader asked us, "Is this real?," and included a link to an article from The Washington Times.

Nudists had a booth inviting people – including minors – to join a naked swimming club.

GTA Skinny Dippers welcomes children to swim naked with them.