Jade Esteban Estrada sees things changing for gays and lesbians in

America--for the better.

     Recent years have been politically problematic for the community, with the gay marriage issue used as an electoral wedge.

     Despite that, the comic, singer, dancer and actor NBC News has called "America's Prince of Pride" sees a positive change in public attitudes. And, he said, that change has allowed young gays to lead easier lives than those who lived alternative lifestyles in previous generations.

     Estrada, who headlines this week's Pride in the 'Burg festival in Fredericksburg, has appeared on Comedy Central's "The Graham Norton Effect" and on the PBS series "In the Life," and his music has been included on the soundtrack of the TV show "The Shield."

     Pride festivals are held annually in cities around the world--some on the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots spurred by a police raid of a Greenwich Village gay bar. The reaction to that raid is considered by many to have been the beginning of the gay liberation movement.

     This week's event features music, comedy, worship, food and more.

     Estrada told The Free Lance-Star in a telephone interview from San Antonio, Texas, where he's working on the film "The Bad Singer," that he believes fewer young gay people are forced to grow up with adversity and identity problems related to their sexuality.

     Because of that, he contended, Pride events such as the one in Fredericksburg this week have become more about celebrating diversity than making a political statement.

     Estrada described a "post-gay" phenomenon he said is similar to one in which young female professionals don't spend much time thinking about their mothers' and grandmothers' struggle for equal rights.

     This will be the 183rd Pride festival Estrada has appeared at across the country over the past five years. And he's spoken on many college campuses, he said.

     Based on those experiences, he believes young gays and lesbians are "approaching equality from the different angle of the 21st-century experience."

     Estrada credited what he called an "open dialogue about homosexuality over the past 50 years" with making life easier for this generation of gays and lesbians.

     He cited Mary Cheney, the daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, as an example of a "post-gay."

     He plays her in his solo series of musicals, "ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World." He also portrays Alexander the Great, Billie Jean King, Susan B. Anthony, Sept. 11 hero Mark Bingham, Oscar Wilde, Michelangelo, King James, Gertrude Stein and others.

     "People ask, 'Why Mary Cheney--what has she ever done for the gay community?'" Estrada said.

     Some gays and lesbians have criticized her for not speaking out.

     But, Estrada said, "Why should she be forced to join the march? Mary Cheney to me is a beautiful example of post-gay," he said, "although her reasons might be a little different from others."

     He said of post-gays: "They have loving and accepting friends and family. They don't have to spend all their time being gay--it's not something that identifies them."

     He acknowledged that attitudes can vary around the country.

     "Sometimes I go to a city or a campus and I think, 'Wow, have you guys been [paying attention]?' But it doesn't happen a lot. Obviously, there's going to be a huge difference in smaller cities."

     Estrada's early days in show business included acting as a choreographer for "cuchi-cuchi girl" Charo and as a scratch vocalist for the Backstreet Boys--meaning he recorded sample tracks so the band could decide what songs it wanted to perform.

     He'll do his "ICONS: The Lesbian and Gay History of the World, Vol. 1" at 9 p.m. Friday, at the Colonial Tavern, Home to the Irish Brigade. Tickets are $30.

     Then he'll headline Pride in the 'Burg at 3:15 p.m. Saturday, with a free performance on the festival's main stage at Sophia and Charlotte streets in downtown Fredericksburg.

©2006 Free Lance-Star