I am pretty unsure about gay pride parades. What is the essential goal? With suffragettes they had definite requests on voting rights.

Personally I have no problem with homosexuals, I am pretty indifferent towards them. I just don't really get the concept of the gay pride parades. Is it supposed to make intolerant people more tolerant?

Also my opinion is: tolerant people will enjoy them, intolerant people get more furious. In this sense it seems counterproductive. On Wikipedia, I can read about historical background, opposition, etc... but the purpose or goals remain unknown.

So my questions are:
What are the purposes of the gay pride parades?
And if it is defined, what are they trying to produce?