Need something to put a smile back on your face after a long holiday weekend of rich foods, cheap liquor, and family drama? Take a few minutes to appreciate how far the gay rights movement has come, relive some Pride weekend memories – and see some breathtaking Taiwanese drag queens – with a new project that seeks to capture the global Pride parade phenomena.

The “Walk With Pride” project seeks to capture the modern state of gay rights worldwide, and to illustrate the realities of day-to-day gay life beneath the Pride parties in a huge array of different cultures. The project’s founders, celebrated documentary photographer Chad Meacham and writer Sarah Baxter, explain:

Our aim is to promote pride, empathy, and understanding on an international level, while highlighting the similarities and differences in gay rights and gay culture around the world.

The project is unprecedented in its scope, encompassing…

…Fourteen months, over 30 high intensity parades, and one straight couple with the ambitious aim of using photography to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and all sorts of pride on an international level.  Through social media they aspire to highlight the similarities and differences in gay rights and gay culture around the world, while surrounded by the frequently “mardi-gras” like atmosphere of the celebrations.

The project has started with Pride celebrations in Taiwan and the Phillipines, but will come to the Western hemisphere in 2010. The project is mum as to whether the Rose City will be one of the featured destinations; however, this blogger will venture to say that once the project organizers get a gander at the 2009 JustOut Pride Photos, we’ll be a shoe-in.

Photo from Walk With Pride.