Thousands of lesbians from across the world marched in solidarity down Fifth Avenue on Saturday, as part of an annual protest march.

Sally Kopstein of Union Square said it felt incredible for her and her wife, Lynn, to once again meet up with friends and to cheer on the Sirens Women’s Motorcycle Club of New York as they led the march.

“Happy to be out here.” Kopstein said. “Happy that we can be out celebrating pride, no masks, out in the fresh air, enjoying each other, post pandemic, woo."

Kale Connor lives in France but was excited to be part of a march that organizers say is not a parade.

“I was just visiting and I was like I need to be around my community,” said Connor.

Instead, an organizer said the event was an annual march to fight for the rights, safety and visibility of all lesbians.

Cindy Levitz of Chelsea estimates she’s marched in at least 30 Pride parades.

She and her friend Lynn Rosen feel very proud to have paved a way for a younger generation of women to embrace their sexuality and their identity as lesbians.

“When we were younger, it was a different feeling,” Levitz said. “People didn’t accept us, our lifestyle, so it’s much different now, which we’re happy for.”

“Young women are out there, they’re proud,” Rosen said. “They’re liberated, they’re intelligent. They’re living their truths and that’s what really inspiring to us.”

Mai Chiaet, a student at Rutgers University, is certainly grateful for those before her who fought so hard, so that she can be herself.

“I grew up in a small suburban town in New Jersey, so not a lot of options people-wise,” Chiaet said. “It was hard to express sexuality, like high school, so it’s a really empowering time to be alive. I’ve come a long way, and it’s so great that I can share my experience with everyone else.”