On November 23, 2002, a group of deviants emerged from the space between the cables and motherboards to announce the formation of DApride. In only three days, the page had hit an astounding 1,000 page views, only to hit 2,000 the next day, and it’s still going strong. It was initially formed by DA members ~iacchus and ~kayne who have devoted much time and effort to making Dapride a functional and devoted community that, “has been created so all the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Transexual people of DeviantART and their friends and supporters can gather together to share their Queer themed artwork and support each other.”

When asked why he feels DApride is important, ~kayne responded, “We are bringing a wide variety of people together and helping them feel strong and proud of who they are and they can easily see there are others like them. People know that they don't have to hide away, they can hold their heads up high and say, This, is who I am.”

DApride is composed of two groups, Out Members, numbering 96, and Friends of DApride, numbering 11, for a total of 117. In its early days, Dapride received numerous requests from deviants to have a section for those who did not identify as GLBT, but still had interest in being a part of the newly formed group. DApride’s move to add the Friends of DApride section reinforced and strengthened their stance on the importance of allies and those that do not necessarily identify as GLBT, but still support or endorse the societal progression of gay rights and tolerance issues.

As deviants flocked to the page to get a piece of the action, comments flooded the right flank of the page expressing happiness towards the formation of the community within the larger DA community. ~joshbomb an early pride member noted, “Wow, I didn't know there were so many of us on DA. It's like a Kylie Minogue concert!” A deep commonality exists in DApride’s members that allows for the formation of bonds beyond those formed in the wide DA world.

So what does DApride forsee in it’s future? ~iacchus remarks, “We recently set up a chatroom channel on Deviantart's IRC server. And, it's growing more and more active (irc.deviantart.com).” Both ~kayne and ~iacchus are working hard to organize and improve the rapidly growing dapride. ~iacchus notes, “We've considered eventually trying to reach ArtGroup recognition. But we have yet to see if that is fitting for our little community. We are really just getting a feel for things right now.” So how important is this innercommunity and how do you as a DA member relate? Show your support for this community by commenting here or by visiting the page ~dapride. Comments? Suggestions? Concerns? Drop us a line!