I second that the "Pride" part was a way of turning the traditional conception of being gay on its head -- it's not something to be ashamed of and to take abuse for, it's something normal and acceptable and ok.

That being said, I can be a stickler for phrasing myself...

But I never had a problem with Gay Pride.

I am, however, heartily sick of the term "empowerment." It's used a lot where I work and while it does have its place, I hate it when terms are used so much that they almost lose their meaning. Like when you read something so many times on a piece of paper it no longer looks "right"...it just looks like a weird collection of letters without purpose.