Organisers of Rhondda Pride come under fire over dress code

Organisers of the first Rhondda Pride event have come under fire after asking attendees not to wear “sexualised costumes” and “bondage wear”.

The free event at the Treorchy Market site and the nearby Treorchy Boys and Girls Club is due to take place on Saturday, September 14.

A message posted on the event’s Facebook and Twitter accounts earlier this week asked attendees not to wear “sexualised costumes” because organisers are “trying to make this a safe space for under-18 LGBTQ+ attendees”.

The message said organisers intended to hold “a fun inclusive event without politics, religion and over sexualisation of the community”.

People have taken to Facebook and Twitter claiming the posts went against the spirit of Pride and excluded some groups from attending.

Rhondda MP Chris Bryant posted a statement on Facebook yesterday.

“To be honest, I don’t think the organisers, whoever they are, have really thought this though,” he wrote.

“It seems a bit self-defeating already and bizarre not to have involved the Rhondda MP who happens to be gay. I am deeply saddened that the #Rhondda may now be seen as an unwelcoming place, which couldn’t be further from the truth!”

Angus, 29, who did not want to give his second name, is the current Mr Leather Wales.

“Pride is innately political and should be entirely inclusive,” he said.

“Politics matters to us because it won us our rights. Religion has often helped us make sense of who we are.

“Fetish is often an intrinsic quality of LGBT+ folks’ identities. Asking people to avoid these things goes against the history and tradition of Pride.

“Had the event been presented differently, perhaps as a family day or Mardi Gras, I do not think the controversy would have been so fierce.”

Angus said Leathermen Cymru were told they were not allowed to attend the Rhondda event.

He said they received an email from organisers that claimed they “have stipulations by the police and certain groups of people who are not family friendly are not allowed to attend”.

A spokeswoman for Rhondda Pride said the event would be rebranded as Rhondda Family Pride, if it still goes ahead.

The organisers released a statement which read: “The organisers of Rhondda Pride would like to apologise to the LGBTQ+ community unreservedly for our treatment of certain parts of our community.

“We would like to point out that it was one of our organisers and not South Wales Police who stipulated that non family friendly factions would not be allowed to attend the event.

“The organiser in question has since apologised to the Leathermen Cymru for their ignorance.

“We have invited the Leathermen to attend the event in a family friendly way with our support.”