“There was a time when you couldn’t walk down the street like this; you had to fight your way into the bar and you had to fight your way out of the bar,” she said. “We’ve gotten past that, but now we’ve gotten so far past that that it’s gotten more commercialized than anything else.”

As a 24-year performer in Tulsa and a participant in the parade for decades, Ray looks around and sees more of a “fair atmosphere” than something that focuses on diversity and a celebration of self.

Nicki Valentine felt the opposite. Originally from Henryetta, she relishes the fact that she can come to the Tulsa pride parade and dress in drag, or not, or do whatever she pleases.

Valentine was there with Hearts and friends Monica Darnell and Cameron Stewart, who all agreed they generally feel comfortable being who they are in Tulsa — but that wasn’t always the case.

Stewart said kids used to throw rocks at him in school. He was the first in a small high school class — 169 students — to come out as gay.

Whether transgender students can use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity is not the issue — it’s bullying, Stewart said.