Dyke March

A Dyke March is a mostly lesbian-led and inclusive gathering and protest march much like the original gay pride parades and marches. Dyke marches usually occur the Friday or Saturday before LGBT pride parades and larger metropolitan areas have related events (parties, benefits, dances) both before and after the event to further develop community often targeting specific community segments (older women, bar events, arts, parenting groups, etc.) The purpose of a Dyke March is to increase lesbian visibility and activism and they have grown to be more inclusive of all women-loving-women regardless of labels, including bisexual, intersex and transgender women.

Dyke Marches are now held in Berlin, London in Europe and Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Ottawa, and Vancouver, Canada as well as Seattle, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Washington, DC, Portland, ME, San Diego, Oakland, Minneapolis and other cities around the United States.

Beginnings

One of the first documented lesbian pride marches in North America took place in May, 1981, in downtown Vancouver, B.C. Canada. The march, which attracted approximately 200 lesbians, was part of the Bi-National Lesbian Conference. In October, 1981, an organization called Lesbians Against the Right organized a second march in Toronto, Ontario.