PHOTOS: Toronto Pride

Toronto's 33rd Pride parade drew hundreds of thousands to the heart of the city in June to wave rainbows flags alongside Canada’s red maple leaf. Marchers walked down the street on stilts, in drag, on Rollerblades, or alongside children, friends, and family members who had come out to support the LGBT community.

A diverse range of groups were represented in the procession down Yonge Street, from red-plumed Trojan men to garlanded firefighters to members of the city’s police force. A large contingent of men, bearing the banner “Foreskin Is Fabulous,” even marched nude down the street, following on the heels of a leather-masked man wielding a whip, a bare-chested woman leading a man on a leash, cast members of MTV Canada’s 1 Girl 5 Gays, and a giant Pfizer balloon advertising Viagra.

Politics also played its part in the proceedings. Ontario’s first openly gay premier, Kathleen Wynne, became the first premier to march in the parade, eliciting cheers and applause from the crowd as she passed. Other political figures were the target of sartorial satire. One marcher wore a pink undergarment printed with the words “Rob Ford’s Pink Slip,” a tongue-in-cheek critique of Toronto’s mayor.

The tone was jubilant, however, as Canada also commemorated the 10th anniversary of its first same-sex marriage and celebrated the historic rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court, which had dominated the front pages of its newspapers only days earlier.