Photo: Ryan McGinley for New York Magazine
This past Sunday, New York City’s 57th annual Pride March drew roughly 750,000 participants and 2 million onlookers craning out windows and filling sidewalks. Governor Kathy Hochul made an appearance, as did a jacketless Mayor Mamdani waving a mini trans flag. As he has for the past 20 years, photographer Ryan McGinley brought his camera to the Drag March, Dyke March, the March, and Queer Liberation March. “In the beginning I would shoot a roll or two of film casually for myself,” says McGinley. But now, he says, it’s become important to share the pictures far and wide. The Trump administration has spent the year methodically targeting the queer community, and New York hasn’t been spared — NYU Langone shut down its youth-transgender-care program after federal pressure in February. (On Friday, the mayor responded with a $15 million investment in trans health care.)
Across every march, McGinley’s photos are intimate and jubilant. He often uses a long lens to capture people’s candid moments from afar and tends to find diverse angles, climbing up scaffolding or standing on garbage cans. “I’m looking to represent everybody,” says McGinley, “and make sure everybody is seen.”
Bowen Yang, a grand marshal for the March.
McGinley often thinks of his brother, whom he lost to AIDs in the mid-’90s, when photographing the Drag March. “He and his boyfriend were drag queens,” McGinley said. “I always say a little prayer to him.”
McGinley often thinks of his brother, whom he lost to AIDs in the mid-’90s, when photographing the Drag March. “He and his boyfriend were drag queens,… more
McGinley often thinks of his brother, whom he lost to AIDs in the mid-’90s, when photographing the Drag March. “He and his boyfriend were drag queens,” McGinley said. “I always say a little prayer to him.”
Dominique Jackson, left, a grand marshal for the March
Dominique Jackson, left, a grand marshal for the March
Qween Jean holds her 2026 Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Musical for her work on Cats: The Jellicle Ball. She is the first openly transgender person to win a Tony Award.
“I love that Pride ends at Washington Square Park and looks like a Renaissance painting in the fountain,” McGinley said. “Easily hundreds of people were singing Chappell Roan’s ‘Pink Pony Club.’”
Performance artist and activist Qween Amor.
During the Queer Liberation March, McGinley said he “went across the street to Burlington Coat Factory and pretended to shop for coats so I could photograph from the fourth floor.”
Stay in touch.
The latest in style, self, culture, and power in your inbox.
Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice