Dix: Afternoon guys. I’m surprised to see you two walking through the door together. Are you in some dirty secret rendezvous I don’t know about?

Butch: What? Harry and me? As if! He’ll be lucky. I just ran into him out in the street, that’s all.

Harry: Yeah? Honestly, I’d rather get rogered by a group of randy gorillas. You know, Dix, Butch nearly scared the living daylights out of me. I was minding my own business listening to music on my way here, and suddenly I felt a tap on my shoulder. I paused to look around when this massive fur ball wrapped its body around me.

Butch: I was just giving you a friendly hug.

Harry: In the middle of a busy street? The passers-by probably think I’m having my life squeezed out of me by a big yeti.

Butch: Don’t complain! I can imagine worse ways to go. Anyway, nice to see you, Dix, have you been waiting long?

Dix: No, not really. The garden shop has been quiet all afternoon, so I finished everything I wanted to do and decided to knock off earlier, leaving the others to close up. What have you guys been up to apart from making a scene in public?

Harry: Same old, same old. I worked a few long shifts this week, and I swear I’ll lose it if I’ve to bandage up one more drunken idiot. Thank god, I’ve the next few days off. I’m looking forward to unwinding with my feet up at home with Ian.

Butch: Unwind? Surely, you haven’t forgotten we are in Pride week and the Pride parade on Saturday? So, there will be no rest for the wicked.

Harry: You don’t have to remind me. In fact, I’ll be marching with the paramedics in the parade again, like last year. There are about thirty of us going, and we all have matching whistles and rainbow hats ready. Are you guys coming to the parade this year?

Dix: Of course, won’t miss it for the world. Apparently, the weather is going to be beautiful this weekend, so I expect all the sexy guys will have their tops off.

Harry: That’s good to know. I bet all the bears will be exposing their big hairy bodies as well.

Butch: I’m counting on it. A couple of years ago, it was really wet and all I could see was a wall of rainbow umbrellas. Needless to say, not even a hint of flesh in sight.

Harry: Let’s hope there will be plenty of furry chests on display. We should definitely meet up after the parade for a beer. Talking about beer, what are you guys drinking?

Butch: Beer for me as usual. Thanks, Harry.

Dix: Same here, thanks. I’ll buy the next round.

Harry: No problem. Two beers, coming right up.

Butch: That reminds me, I better bring my shades. Got to look my best for the guys, also handy for checking out any potential preys.

Dix: You’re such a poser! You’ll need them since the weather forecast predicts wall-to-wall sunshine with a light breeze, so perfect weather for the parade. Who said god doesn’t like the gays?

Butch: Indeed. By the way, I went out this lunchtime and bought this T-shirt from the Gentlemen’s Closet especially for the weekend. What do you think?

Dix: That’s one sexy red T-shirt, but isn’t “Pride And Prejudice” more appropriate for a literary festival? I’ve no idea you're a Jane Austin fan.

Butch: I’m not. I think I spent more time wanking during my school days than reading classic literature. Go, take another look.

Dix: Oh, hang on, my mistake. “Pride Not Prejudice”, that’s really clever.

Butch: Yeah, I thought so too.

Dix: I bet it’ll attract a lot of attention – not if you need any more. Are you sure you’ve bought the right size? It looks a bit small for you.

Butch: That’s the largest one they have in stock, but it’ll stretch. Don’t you know, tight-fitting tops are all the rage these days?

Dix: It’s all right for muscular guys like you, even a dirty tea towel will look good stretched across that chest. I don’t wear anything tight because of this big, fat gut here.

Butch: Are you serious? I’ve eaten watermelon bigger than that sorry excuse for a belly. Frankly, who cares? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with your build. As you know, there are many guys who fancy chunkier men. I, for one, can’t get enough of the fuller figure, the fuller, the better.

Dix: I know. I’m just thankful for being part of the bear community, so I don’t need to diet constantly to fit in. I think I’ll be wearing one of my comfy check shirts and jeans to the parade as usual.

Butch: I doubt you’ll be the only one dressed that way, it’s practically the bear dress code if there’s one. Trust me, you’ll turn plenty of heads if you put on a nice tank top, or just a leather waistcoat, with a pair of well fitting jeans.

Dix: You think? I’d consider a tank top if I found one I like, but I’m not really the leather wearing type.

Butch: In that case, you should check out those adorable cartoon bear T-shirts. They come in tank tops too, and the Gents Closet has quite a big range. Do you know the ones?

Dix: Of course, they are everywhere. In fact, a guy standing at the bar earlier on was wearing one. I won’t mind one for myself. Are they expensive?

Butch: I’m sure you can afford a different one for each day of the week, if you’re feeling rich.

Harry: Excuse me. Here are your beers, gentlemen.

Butch: Thank you very much, Harry.

Dix: Thanks. Guess what? Butch has been giving me fashion advice.

Harry: Oh really? I’ve no idea that’s one of his talents. He sure hides it well, judging from what he normally wears.

Dix: Show Harry your new T-shirt, Butch.

Butch: What do you think, Harry? I’m going to wear it to the parade.

Harry: Oh, yes. “Pride Not Prejudice”. How appropriate, but are you sure you can fit into it?

Butch: Yeah, yeah. I know it’s a bit tight, but it’ll be fine as long as I don’t flex my arms too much. The curse of having big bulging muscles, it’s impossible to find clothes off the rack to fit.

Harry: Don’t you start, most guys would pay good money for arms and pecs like yours.

Dix: I’m one of them. You won’t believe the fortune I pay my gym every year. Well, my beer is getting warm. Let’s drink to “Pride Not Prejudice” and a fun weekend!

Butch: Definitely, Pride Not Prejudice!

Harry: Pride Not Prejudice, everyone! Hopefully, slogans like this will be redundant one day, when nobody will be stigmatised for who they love and have sex with any more.

Butch: Hear, hear! I can’t wait.

Dix: Did I tell you, to celebrate Pride this year, I thought for the first time it would be fun to do something special at my shop?

Harry: Oh yeah? What did you do? Putting rainbows and pink unicorns everywhere?

Dix: Come on, give me more credits. It’s nothing outrageous, we planted hundreds of little brightly coloured pansies making up the word “Pride” by the shop entrance. It took us a couple of hours to arrange all of them in place, but the result speaks for itself. Here are a few pics of it.

Harry: Cool. I love the design, and it’s huge. I bet you can see it from space!

Dix: It’s not that big in real life, but we’re really proud of it. Unsurprisingly, many of our customers have been taking pics and some of them has even gone viral.

Butch: Nice one. Never say no to free advertisement.

Dix: That’s not the intension, but I wouldn’t argue if they want to tag my shop to the pics.

Butch: I know you didn’t, but have you noticed these days a lot of shops have jumped on the LGBT bandwagon and put rainbows all over their windows just because it’s Pride.

Harry: It is not a bad thing as long as they actually support the LGBT community and not just use it as a promotional stunt to make money. Don’t they call it “pinkwashing” nowadays?

Butch: That’s the key, isn’t it? I found the whole “rainbow capitalism” thing really offensive. It’s easy displaying a rainbow flag during Pride week, but do they actually care about their LGBT employees and wider LGBT issues all year around, instead of making money?

Dix: I agree. Lip service without action is pointless. Hopefully, things will quickly improve now more managers and other people in positions of power have come out of the closet.

Harry: Don’t you know, there are a number of openly gay big corporation CEOs these days; most of them are big supporters of the Pride movement, obviously.

Butch: True, but I read there are plenty of businesses use Pride as a marketing ploy while still heavily donate money to anti-LGBT politicians, organisations and religious groups. How double standard is that?

Harry: Is that right? They should be publicly named and shamed.

Dix: Yeah. Even though LGBT movement has come a long way in the last decades, there is still some distance to go.

Butch: By the way, I like your choice of flowers for your display. Pansy is a brilliant idea, but I wonder if anybody taking pics of your pride design has made the not so subtle connection?

Dix: Glad you noticed. Personally, I couldn’t care less if anyone else gets it or not. After all, calling gay men “pansy” is a bit dated. Regardless, pansy is a fantastic bedding plants, and we sell a truckload of them every year. Do you know those delicate flowers are edible too?

Butch: Really? I won’t mind eating a pansy or two for breakfast, especially if they are big and round.

Harry: Don’t be crass! I’ve tried them before, but it’s a bit of a disappointment since they don’t taste of much. That didn’t stop fancy chefs using them to add a bit of colour to their dishes.

Butch: Maybe I should ask for pansy with my beef burger instead of lettuce next time.

Harry: I’d love to see the expression of your waiter if you do. Come to think of it, have either of you heard of the Pansy Project?

Dix: No, what is that?

Harry: Some years ago, a gay artist suffered a horrific homophobic attack, and come up with the idea of planting pansy at sites where anti-LGBT attacks took place around the world. He photographs each flower to memorialise the abuse victim and raise awareness about homophobic hate crime. Gradually it turns into the Pansy Project.

Dix: I’ve never heard of it, but it’s genius. Wish I’ve thought of it.

Butch: That’s new to me too. It sounds like a really worthwhile project. Too often, homophobic attacks are ignored and forgotten. Thankfully, I haven’t experienced homophobic abuse much. Nothing physical anyway.

Harry: Count yourself lucky. I doubt anyone would be crazy enough to take on someone your size.

Butch: You’ll be surprised what some idiots would do after a few beers. Once I was leaving a gay club with a few mates, a random drunken bloke came up to us and shut something resembling “you fucking faggots” and “it’s unnatural”. Before any of us could raise our arms, he turned and ran away, tripping over himself a couple of times before disappearing into a side street. We looked at each other in disbelieve and burst out laughing.

Dix: What a sad loser! Personally, the name-calling has never bothered me, it just shows their ignorance and intolerance.

Butch: Yeah. Sticks and stones, and all that. Mind you, even repeated harmless name-calling could cumulate to serious harm for someone more sensitive, like a form of Chinese water torture.

Harry: I know the feeling. I’ve been on the receiving end of it and more during my school days. If I get a pound everything someone called me a pansy, fag, or queer, I’ll be a millionaire. I still hear “pansy” used these days, but mostly when I watch old comedies. I must confess I love some of them, even though they do have the worse gay stereotypes.

Butch: Tell me about it. I grew up watching them, too. Some are ridiculously funny, but I’ve never identified with any of those feminine “queer” men on TV. Just because I like sex with men doesn’t automatically mean I want to be a woman or act like one.

Dix: Definitely. I kind of wish those supposedly gay characters were shown in a better light rather than just being there for laughs and always ending up in a typically sad, tragic life.

Butch: Yeah, these days some extreme gay activists take real offence at them and want them banned. Do you think those TV programmes should never be shown again?

Harry: I don’t think so, people’s attitudes might have changed for the better nowadays, but we shouldn’t forget what it used to be like. We can’t just try to erase history and pretend it has never happened. On top of that, many of those comedies are absolute classics.

Dix: I understand, and I agree “cancelling” them is the wrong way to go about it. I think as long as people watch them these days with the hindsight of knowing that was how poorly gay men were perceived in those days, and stop perpetuating the negative stereotype.

Harry: These programmes all now have warnings like “the shows’ content reflects the standards, language, and attitudes of its times, some viewers may find this content offensive”.

Butch: They are just there to cover their legal arses.

Harry: Of course. Then again, there are still plenty of old queens around, acting like one of those characters has just walked off the screen.

Dix: And don’t forget all the young camp guys too, but I don’t judge as long as they are happy in their own skin. It’s funny to remember when I was growing up, I used to think only camp, feminine men are gay. Since I wasn’t camp at all, I can’t be gay! How naive was that?

Butch: So what’s changed? My young padawan. When I was first exploring the gay scene, my friends back then used to refer to me as “the butch guy” and eventually just Butch. It sort of stuck since, but I quite like it. Butch by name and butch by nature. Ha ha ha.

Harry: You don’t say. Someday, I’d love to see you get a drag makeover. You could do it for charity or something.

Butch: Are you serious? I’d make one ugly drag queen.

Dix: I can just picture you in a tiny sparkly red sequin dress, wobbling on high heels.

Butch: You would have to raise a lot of money before seeing me dressed like that. Just how do women balance themselves on those pointy stiletto heels? I’ve no idea. I’d fall on my face and break my ankles in a heartbeat.

Harry: They manage, then again, I’ve patched up enough of girls on drunken nights out during my night shifts. By the way, do you guys know Ian can really camp it up when he wants to? He normally puts it on when socialising with his fellow thespian.

Dix: Really? Ian doesn’t come across as camp to me ever. You guys are like a couple of… what’s butch? Rugby players, or lumberjacks?

Butch: Is that the best you can come up with? Surely, even you would know this: “I'm a lumberjack, and I'm OK. I sleep all night and I work all day. I cut down trees, I skip and jump. I like to press wild flowers. I put on women's clothing and hang around in bars.”

Harry: “I'm a lumberjack, and I'm OK. I sleep all night and I work all day. I cut down trees, I wear high heels. Suspenders and a bra. I wish I'd been a girlie, just like my dear Papa.”

Dix: Ok, ok, very funny guys. It’s not the best example, but you know what I mean.

Harry: We’re just winding you up.

Butch: I love the lumberjack sketch, actually everything Monty Python did.

Harry: So do I. Back to what we were talking about just now, I bet some thought-police nowadays would probably take offence at the Python’s sense of humour and try to have it taken off the air.

Butch: What a bunch of killjoys. They need a lesson in the meaning of satire.

Harry: Well, it’s nothing new, The Life of Brian has been banned from public screening for years.

Dix: I’m sure there are many things we routinely think and do these days that would be unacceptable to future generations.

Butch: It’s like the old Chinese tradition of women binding their feet. It’s the fashionable thing to do a century ago, but we now think it’s barbaric and ridiculous.

Dix: Interesting comparison. I hadn’t thought of that before. Then again, women these days still torture their feet with ridiculously expensive designer shoes.

Harry: Well, we don’t need to go back that far, no doubt over the Pride weekend we’ll see lots of guys and girls covered in glitter, but the scientists now tell us glitter is actually very bad for the environment.

Butch: Banning glitter is fine with me, can’t stand the stuff.

Dix: Tell me about it, I’m still finding bits of glitter at home left over from Christmas cards.

Harry: That also reminds me, when Ian and I got married, we told everyone not to bother with confetti. Another seemingly done thing for decades now frowned upon.

Butch: I remember reading that in your invitation, which is fine by me, I’d rather spend the money on beer instead.

Harry: And not on our wedding gift? You are not getting anything more than a six-pack of beer when you get married.

Butch: Just as well, I’m not planning on getting hitched any time soon, and I love beer.

Dix: At least gay marriage is now legal, so you can when you find someone who is willing to put up with you. Back when I first realised I was gay, I never imagined I would ever marry the man I love.

Harry: Same here, but look at me, married to Ian for four years already.

Butch: Really? It doesn’t feel like it’s four years ago. I still remember the huge spread you guys ordered for the reception. It’s not very often I’ve eaten so much, I couldn’t physically stuff any more food in my mouth.

Dix: Sounded like I’ve really missed out. What was the wedding like? I’ve only seen photos.

Harry: It wasn’t grand or extravagant. Neither Ian nor I wanted to make a big deal out of it. After all, the main reason to get married is having protection in the eye of the law. We don’t need a piece of paper to tell how we feel about each other.

Butch: Also an excuse to have a party with all your friends.

Harry: That’s true, Ian never says no to throwing a party.

Dix: I bet he did a great job.

Harry: Of course he did. I sorted out most of the official stuff, and he was in charge of the fun things. Looking back, I don’t think there were any major hiccups. The formal wedding ceremony was pretty standard, and it was followed by a small reception. Ian must have ordered enough food for a starving battalion.

Butch: He sure did, and the food was very tasty too.

Harry: Ian has good taste and loves eating, which partly explains for our waistlines. Surprisingly, the final bill didn’t blow our budget, to our relief.

Butch: Apart from the food, I remember Ian’s speech was hilarious and literally left me in tears.

Dix: I’d expect nothing less. You both looked very smart and happy in your matching suits.

Harry: All the photos were taken by a professional photographer friend of ours. We were super impressed with the results, and he didn’t even charge us a penny, saying it was his gift to us.

Dix: Wow! It normally costs a fortune hiring a wedding photographer. Talking about wedding expenses, did you hire a band for the reception?

Harry: Seriously? We can’t stand the cheesy wedding music. We did ask one of the Man Cave DJs if he’d be interested in DJing, but he suggested why not just show up at the club instead. I’ve known the club owner for years and when we approached him, he offered to put the whole wedding party on the free entry list.

Dix: Great. That’s incredibly generous of him.

Butch: And makes good business sense, since probably half of the guys at the reception are regulars at the Man Cave anyway. He probably makes the money back from the alcohol sales alone.

Harry: Maybe, but it’s an offer we couldn’t resist. I thought everyone had fun at the club. Even some of our straight workmates came along, and it actually turned out pretty well.

Dix: That sounds like one hell of a party, much better than some of the weddings I’ve been to. Looks like all our glasses can do with a top-up, same again?

Butch: Yes, please.

Harry: Me too, thanks.

Dix: No problem. Be right back.