Queer Carnival Has Been in NOLA for Over 60 Years
New Orleans' Mardi Gras celebrations have been helping the city stand out on the world stage since the 1700s. While most people know about the many different Mardi Gras krewes, the parades, and the costume balls, one relatively unknown side of NOLA Carnival, one specifically catered to the city's LGBTQ community, has been around since at least the mid-20th century.
Today, New Orleans has a number of different Carnival krewes that are specifically formed to include membership from the city's local gay community. While NOLA is considered one of the most gay-friendly locations in America according to Metrosource and Hotels.com, that wasn't always the case almost 65 years ago.
Early History & Challenges
The story of New Orleans' gay Mardi Gras was born during a time when people who did not openly identify as heterosexual faced legal discrimination and restrictions not only in the city, but throughout the United States. According to Edward McDaniel, who is the current ball captain and the 60th queen of the world's oldest gay Mardi Gras krewe, the Krewe of Petronius, there were laws still on the books about homosexuality in the 1960s.
"Back then, being gay, you could be arrested; you could lose your apartment, your job," McDaniel said.
It was in this climate that the Krewe of Yuga, which is considered to be the world's very first gay Mardi Gras krewe, came into being. According to the Krewe of Petronius' website, Yuga was formed in 1958 and held its first and only Carnival ball in 1961 in Jefferson Parish. The ball was ultimately raided by police and resulted in the arrests of nearly 100 individuals.
While the raid dismantled the city's first gay krewe, it did not keep gay Carnival celebrations down for long. One week before the fateful ball, several of Yuga's members formed Petronius and held their first costume ball in Metairie in 1962. According to Petronius' website, the krewe's members were actually successful in getting a state charter and incorporated themselves as a legitimate Mardi Gras krewe in 1966, thus becoming Louisiana's first officially recognized gay krewe.
More Krewes: Historic & Recent
After Petronius' official recognition, more krewes began following suit like The Mystic Krewe of Amon-Ra in 1965 and the Krewe of Armeinius in 1968, opening the door for more LGBTQ locals to participate in Carnival like they never really could before.
"You have to remember that all of these groups are splinters of, originally, Petronius and Yuga," McDaniel said. "So yeah, we've had to endure our trials and tribulations, but I think the success of a krewe is overcoming them and just enduring with time as society changes."
Into the 21st century, more and more inclusive krewes have continued to appear and organize within New Orleans such as the Lords of Leather, the Mystic Krewe of Satyricon, and the Krewe of Mwindo. McDaniel says the krewes are always willing to support each other in times of need.
"I've always known them to be really supportive of each other," McDaniel said. "Each krewe is uniquely different. We work pretty much the same on who chooses the theme, who chooses the royalty. So I've never come across, personally, any animosity. If you need help, we're more than willing to step in and help each other."
Larger Than Life Costume Balls
One of the main defining attributes of a lot of the gay Mardi Gras krewes, much like many of the other krewes in New Orleans, are the annual balls that they put on. However, the gay krewes put their own unique stamps onto their bal masqués through the use of truly creative costuming.
"Gay Mardi Gras balls were a parody of straight balls," McDaniel said. "So it's just kinda poking fun and being larger than life."
Like most balls, gay Carnival balls tend to have a different theme each year. For Petronius' ball, which is usually held two or three weeks before Mardi Gras at the Frederick Sigur Civic Center in St. Bernard, McDaniel explains the krewe is looking to go back to its roots for 2023.
"The theme is 'Lest We Forget' because we're looking at our history," McDaniel said. "So what I did was I selected themes that the members could choose from and their interpretations of those themes. Not to copy what someone had done, but their interpretation. And it's just our way of looking back at our history and paying respect to those who came before us. So we did away with the big backpacks, or big back pieces as we like to call them, and we're doing more Medicis and more headpieces and costumes."
In addition to the costuming, McDaniel explains that Petronius' ball captain selects a charity to donate to every year, which happens to be Covenant House for this year.
"It was important for me this year that I picked a charity that benefits the community as a whole and not just the LGBTQ community," McDaniel said. "So that's why I picked Covenant House."
NOLA's Queer Krewes Continue Moving Forward
While the gay side of Mardi Gras might not be the most well-known aspect of NOLA's world-famous Carnival celebrations, it is definitely there for those in the community that find it important.
"It's really unique because we don't care what other people think," McDaniel said. "It's basically, 'It's our krewe. It's our family.' So as long as we put on a ball that we feel is to our standards, we're good with it."
Despite facing many hardships like the AIDS crisis, Hurricane Katrina, the COVID-19 pandemic, and so much more, New Orleans' gay Carnival krewes are still working hard to keep their traditions going every year. Hopefully they continue to do so for many more years to come.
"We move forward. That's all we can do," McDaniel said.
