Identity, Visibility, and Pride: The Importance of The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade

Identity, Visibility, and Pride:

The Importance of The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade

By Edwina Cooke

Affectionately dubbed “Gay Christmas”, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is a celebration of visibility, community, and pride. Beyond the loud music and bright lights there is also a deep history. The Sydney Mardi Gras parade started in 1978 as an act of solidarity with the Stonewall riots. In 1988 the Dykes on Bikes took their place at the start of the parade as a symbol of the protection they provided in the community. 

During an interview with the ABC at the 2025 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade Kendal Walton, the current Dykes on Bikes President, explains that ‘We’re known as the protectors of the community. We first started riding in the parade in 1988 and it was around the time where the bashings of the gay men in the community and Trans people were sort of at their height.’

Today the parade route has been flipped, but we still make the walk down Oxford street between Hyde Park and Taylor Square to commemorate the route taken by the original marchers. 

This is my second year marching in the parade and the difference that struck me the hardest was simply how impactful it is to be in a group that you identify with. My first time I was lucky to be amongst an amazing group of people, but I wasn’t as closely identified with their float as I was this year. 

This Sydney Mardi Gras Parade I marched with the Sydney Leather Float. The combination of the Sydney Leather Queers, Women, and Men community groups created a cohort who were proud to share their love of leather and leather identity. It was extremely special to be part of the parade while marching with this group due to the long history leather has had amongst the Queer community. 

The leather identity in the Queer community is thought to have originated from the motorcycle clubs that emerged in the 1940s before developing into its own subculture through the introduction of leather bars (think the Blue Oyster from Police Academy) and the Tom of Finland homoerotic art aesthetic. What it means to wear leather or “be leather” is deeply rooted in a history of Queer identity, which is why the visibility of Queer identities beyond the gay male leather aesthetic in an event as big as the Sydney Mardi Gras Parade felt like the next step in the evolution of this leather identity. The emergence of these community groups which celebrate women and Queer leather identities feels like an acknowledgement that we exist and deserve to be part of this identity and aesthetic. 

That’s why it felt so amazing to be marching in the Sydney Leather float. I got to march with amazing people who are challenging the leather identity and fighting for inclusion. For myself, I wanted to challenge the aesthetic of all black by wearing pink and white leather. I felt like a show girl and I felt proud of the fact that I had crafted my leather and challenged what that aesthetic can be. I felt pride to also be carrying the Leathergirl pride flag, a flag that I feel a close connection to and that represents part of my identity. 

The feeling of being able to show my identity, in the way I experience and feel it was where I found the meaning of pride. Our history of having to hide the way we express our identities in order to stay safe is what makes the visibility and celebration of our Queerness and our communities so important. This celebration is about showing that we are free to be ourselves and should continue to be free beyond this celebration. 

Ultimately, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade is about being proud of who you are and celebrating that. It is a show of acceptance and support from the community, and a reminder that we are free and proud to be Queer.