NYC Pride Was the Year’s Best Party (as Usual), and Photographer Ryan McGinley Was on Hand to Capture It All

Given the swiftness with which the second Trump administration has targeted trans health care—and myriad other aspects of queer and trans life—in America this year, celebrating the state of all things LGBTQ+ can feel challenging this June.

But Pride has always carried with it an spirit of rebellion, and over the weekend, tens of thousands of New Yorkers took that idea to heart as they demanded true liberation, safety, and respect for all members of the community across a series of marches and demonstrations. Though Zohran Mamdani was among the allies flooding New York’s streets during Pride this year (as one sign at Dyke March memorably proclaimed, “I’m bisexual as in: ‘horny for Mayor Zohran and his hot wife’”), most of the crowd at the Drag March, Dyke March, Pride March, and the Queer Liberation March championed a joyfully self-created “for us, by us” attitude that didn’t require backing from any straight sponsors.

Although the weekend’s festivities took a tragic turn on Sunday, when a shooting left two people injured just steps from the famous Stonewall Inn, the overarching, defiant sense of celebration was powerful. Below, take a look at the final weekend of Pride in New York City through photographer Ryan McGinley’s lens.