i avoid LGBT rallies and any gay pride stuff because half of them look like BDSM rallies
Really depends on the country.
Here, gay parade or the gay one day "festival" (there is no direct translation of the word for it), has been carefully crafted by the local LGBT chapter to cater to everyone, gay or not, having the constant push and slogan of including EVERYONE in the festivities, I've gone every year for the past 5 and it's always been great fun (the festival, not the parade), and this inclusiveness means that the majority of people you see there are not the BDSM stereotype, those are the exception, and it is also gladly funded by the local governing body, be it in the years it is controlled by the left wing or the right wing.
Then again, this is a city that never tried to have the "gay area", the gay bars, the gay clubs, the gay "spots" are in the exact same streets as all the other clubs, so it has been a very natural thing to mingle and party together.
The ad for this year was broadcast a bunch of times over the State ran tv and radio
The translation is "On the 22nd, Lisbon dresses in all colors to celebrate equality, 'Arraial Lisboa Pride 2019', from 4pm to 4am, there is a party at 'Terreiro do Paço'"
Which happens to be a really historically important location, for the country and not just LGBT movement, as well as the direct doorstep from a bunch of the Government's ministerial offices.
I have no doubt that the careful care to strive for REAL INCLUSION and just celebrating LIFE, is one of the main reasons this party hasn't had a single issue for the many years it has been done, never caused any troubles and has never been criticised by any political spectrum, from the communists to the conservative Christians, then again, the leader of the Conservative Christians for years in this country was a gay man, so it doesn't really surprise me that these issues I keep seeing elsewhere don't really happen here.
We might be poor and have a lot of issues, but at least we get along without having to namecall each other over disagreements and can all go to the same places and drink together, as an actual society, instead of trying to segregate each person into the gender-politic spectrum.