The Dyke March led a massive vagina past the White House. It’s still a safe space.

The first official Dyke March — now an annual fixture at Pride celebrations across the country — took place the evening before the March on Washington in April 1993, when thousands of lesbians organized and marched with a manifesto from DuPont Circle past the White House and to the National Mall, led by a massive vagina held aloft like a puppet through the streets of D.C. Imagine the look on both the Clintons’ faces as the organ headed down Pennsylvania Avenue.

A few months later, the New York Lesbian Avengers repeated the Dyke March on Fifth Avenue the night before the New York City Pride parade. Their “float” was a bed on wheels covered in kissing lesbians.

Almost 30 years later, Kris Hillen was in New York in 2022 for the annual dyke-themed opening act the night before the big event.

Kris Hillen The annual Dyke March in New York City, 2022 Never Miss a Beat

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“It always surprises me how many LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary folks don’t know about the NYC Dyke March,” Hillen tells LGBTQ Nation. “I went to my first one about 25 years ago. I think people don’t understand how well-attended it is. It’s massive and it’s such an incredibly safe feeling.”

“Dykes don’t have a lot of safe spaces,” Hillen explains, “and to — what looks like — spontaneously create one each year that has thousands of participants is an incredible feeling. In reality, it takes a lot of planning, but also, in its entire history, it has never had a permit. It is literally dykes taking over Fifth Avenue.”

“Also,” adds Hillen, “sex work is real work!”

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