The word ‘Queer’ can be traced back to various languages including two words: a German word quer which means ‘diagonal’ or ‘across’ and the Latin verb torgueō, which means ‘to twist’ or ‘to distort’. 

In the UK in the 16th century, it was being used to describe something as strange or peculiar. By the late 19th century it was used in a derogatory way to describe same-sex attracted men. Despite this insult, it was simultaneously being reclaimed colloquially by the oppressed groups. Yay! 

Fast forward to the present day, ‘Queer’ has been fully reclaimed as a celebratory umbrella term used to describe people’s genders, sexualities and sexes which do not fall into the normative categories of straight or cisgender (aka ‘female’ or ‘male’). 

However, Queerness doesn’t just finish there… It can invite a whole perception shift with how we interact with the natural world and other humans, inviting us to question systems of belief and a radical reimagining of how we love, live and connect. 

Absolutely! Totnes Pride throws its arms wide open to anyone who stands with the LGBTQ+ family. Come dance, sing, learn, share and connect!

Queer Joy invites us to celebrate life and all its many colours! Just like there are a multitude of different animals and plant friends, we can see this diversity reflected in human gender, sexuality and sex.

Queer joy offers us a place to be our true authentic selves and is a vital form of resistance against harmful cultural narratives from one of tragedy to triumph!

It sure is!

Across the weekend of programming, there are many family friendly events as well as events specifically made for parents and little ones.

Keep an eye out for an all ages badge on our programme.

Our ticket policy at Totnes Pride is designed to keep ticketed events accessible while still paying our artists and preformers a fair rate.

Totnes Pride is a CIC and we do not make any profit- everything goes back into creating more queer joy!

No single ticket at Totnes Pride will cost more than £15 and many events will be free with an optional donation.

Tickets are tiered to allow for those with more to spare to pay a supporter ticket and those with less to claim a low income ticket.

Each event is ticketed and priced individually, please view the event on our TicketTailor to find out more.