As a result of this year’s Mummers Parade, performers involved in the New Year’s Day event have undergone training about the effects of cultural appropriation, the proper use of satire and issues that are sensitive to the LGBT community.
The 2016 parade was the subject of controversy after homophobic and transphobic displays by the Finnegan New Year Brigade. In one skit, a Finnegan member dressed as Bruce Jenner performed an Olympic victory routine before sitting in a wheelchair. Performers dressed as doctors and nurses pushed his chair into the crowd as the skit transitioned to Aerosmith’s “Dude (Looks Like a Lady).” As the song played, another performer dressed as Caitlyn Jenner emerged from the crowd to signify the transgender woman’s transition. Meanwhile, a sign compared Jenner’s Wheaties cereal box to a box of “Froot Loops” featuring a cutout of her June 2015 Vanity Fair cover.
Additionally, a man from Finnegan chanted “f*** the gays” while holding the cereal-box sign to mock Jenner. In a statement, the Mummers said they banned the performer from future performances.
“What we can expect this year is for the group of performers and the organization to be more informed about issues that might cause offense to different groups of people,” said Ajeenah Amir, the deputy communications director for the mayor’s office. “We are expecting a performance that will honor their traditions but also be done in the right way.”
Amir said the groups were required to submit their skit themes as well as ideas related to costumes and makeup at the start of the application process. The city then made recommendations on acts that may be considered offensive. If a group did not comply with the guidelines, the Mummers leadership would prevent them from marching.
Nellie Fitzpatrick, director of the Philadelphia Office of LGBT Affairs, attended a few trainings to discuss issues related to the LGBT community “in an effort to build awareness and empathy around LGBTQ people and issues and to educate them on why certain things that they have done in the past are offensive and dangerous.”
In these discussions, participants learned about gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation and the barriers LGBT people face in their day-to-day lives.
“In those talks, people had great questions and have said at the end of them that they are viewing everything very differently and are grateful for the information,” Fitzpatrick said. “I can only be hopeful at this point but this really is about the Mummers evaluating their behavior, policing their own behavior and making sure they’re taking the actions they need to put out a product that is not hurtful or offensive.”
Amir said, “The city believes that this parade can be done correctly” if the Mummers performers keep themselves in check.
“We want to celebrate Philadelphia and use satire in a right and respectable way,” Amir said. “If we have another year like last, there will be consequences. We are asking the Mummers to self-police and to be accountable for one another.”
The 2017 Mummers Parade will take place Jan. 1.