For L.G.B.T.Q. people in New York City, the last Friday in June is usually a joyful day. The streets come alive with the telltale signs of a celebratory weekend: music, dancing, kissing, the occasional trail of glitter confetti.
But this year, on the cusp of the city’s biggest Pride events, the atmosphere had a different charge. The news on Friday morning of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v.
Wade immediately shifted the tenor of the weekend’s events. In many circles, group chats that had days before been focused on party planning switched to coordinating protest plans.
Further complicating people’s attitudes heading into the weekend are questions and concerns surrounding monkeypox, a virus that is disproportionately affecting gay men.