On June 28th, 2025, thousands gathered in Midtown Manhattan for the annual NYC Dyke March — a grassroots, unapologetic show of lesbian and queer power that has defiantly reclaimed the streets since 1993. Marchers assembled at Bryant Park and made their way down Fifth Avenue toward Washington Square Park, carrying signs, chanting, drumming, and dancing in a wave of fierce resistance and radical love.
This year’s march was as electric as ever. Homemade banners and hand-painted slogans cut through the city’s summer haze: “Dykes Against Deportation,” “Protect Trans Kids,” “God Is a Lesbian!” and countless more statements took over the avenue. Marchers danced in rainbow tutus, marched shirtless in chest binders, or flaunted punk leather harnesses and sequined drag — a celebration of queer bodies, protest, and survival.
When the march poured into Washington Square Park, the famous fountain transformed into a makeshift dance floor and cooling pool. Hundreds splashed in the water, waving lesbian and trans pride flags high above the spraying jets. At the fountain’s center, signs bobbed alongside people: “Annual NYC Dyke March,” “Fuck Trump,” “Radical Militant Lesbian.” Everywhere, friends embraced, lovers kissed, and strangers laughed under clouds of water droplets and the beat of communal chants.
The Dyke March is not a parade — there are no corporate sponsors, no barricades, no permits. It remains defiantly political and proudly unpermitted, held together by community stewards and a belief in direct action. This year’s chants connected local struggles with global ones: solidarity with Palestine, abortion rights, trans liberation, migrant justice — the spirit of intersectionality was alive on every sign and in every voice that echoed off the city buildings.
Couples swayed arm in arm, elders cheered from benches, and people young and old turned the fountain into a queer sanctuary of wet clothes, defiant smiles, and unbridled pride.
This year’s Dyke March reminded us what queer community looks like when it’s unfiltered: loud, messy, political, and brimming with unstoppable joy.
