Shantay You Stay: A Guide for Brands at Pride

LGBTQ+ people have many different views on who is welcome at Pride events. The last few years were awash with pushback against police at Pride and discussions about the role of brands at Pride. As a queer-founded company whose healthcare tools center LGBTQ+ patients, Ash Wellness is mindful of how we move in space at LGBTQ+ events like Pride and beyond. Here is a guide for other good-faith brands on how to participate in Pride month.?

History of Pride

Any brand that wants to participate in Pride should, at the very least, be familiar with its history. The first Pride marches were held in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago on the one year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, where LGBTQ+ protesters fought back against police outside the Stonewall Inn on Christopher street in New York City.?

Organizers of the Annual Reminder Day Picket, a yearly gay and lesbian civil rights protest in Philadelphia, and others came together to support an annual demonstration in remembrance of the Stonewall riot. In decades since, the first commemorative march down Christopher street has expanded to cities around the country and the world.??

Rainbow capitalism?

“Pink dollars” and “rainbow capitalism” are terms that refer to the purchasing power of LGBTQ+ people and the involvement of capitalism and consumerism in the LGBTQ+ movement. Some economists estimate that certain groups of LGBTQ+ people, such as cisgender gay men, spend 15% more than heterosexuals on luxury goods. This greater purchasing power may be the result of dual income and fewer or no children.?

While the LGBTQ+ community holds an estimated purchasing power of $917 billion dollars, many of the most at-risk LGBTQ+ individuals are low income. Almost three in ten transgender adults live below the poverty line. Four in ten Black transgender adults live in poverty. Brands that market to queer people without contributing to the LGBTQ+ community at large (or in some cases, donating to candidates who oppose LGBTQ+ rights) may be rightfully accused of rainbow capitalism.?

Brands that want to participate in Pride should review their practices year round. Where do you donate money? Whom does your UX/UI design center? How does your brand support queer people in the eleven months before June??

Political climate?

The trans community in particular is under attack from extremist legislators passing restrictive healthcare laws, and states like Flordia have set their sights on other anti-gay bills. When brands like Target bow to the absurd demands of right-wing anti-gay bigots, it sends a clear message to LGBTQ+ people — you are not as important as our bottom line. Who wants to see that brand at Pride?

Many companies that carried supportive messages in the past, such as The North Face and Lego, refrained from doing so this year. LGBTQ+ individuals are unlikely to embrace those brands again as the political climate shifts. Brands who only support the LGBTQ+ community when it is politically expedient should consider that they may be unwelcome at future Pride events.?

Volunteering?

Ash Wellness volunteers at Pride every year. This is a great option for brands whose employees live or work in a city with Pride events, but there are other types of community service that can show LGBTQ+ individuals support. Brands can sponsor employees to volunteer for local community initiatives. Our employees participate in the annual AIDS WALK to support Gay Men’s Health Crisis and other tri-state AIDS services, social justice, and/or public health organizations.?

Partnering and sponsoring???

Partnerships are another popular way to support LGBTQ+ efforts during Pride month and beyond. Absolut Vodka signed a multi-year partnership with GLAAD while IKEA, one of the first retailers to show a gay couple in an ad, launched a rainbow bag with one hundred percent of proceeds benefiting the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Ash recently partnered with Inclusion Tennessee in Nashville to raise money for transgender children and their families to travel out of state for gender-affirming care in the wake of the Tennessee healthcare ban.??

Some LGBTQ+ people may never embrace brands at Pride, but it is our hope at Ash Wellness that we earn the goodwill of our queer brothers and sisters at Pride through our year-round work. We encourage other brands who want to participate in Pride to consider critically whether or not their company has displayed value to the queer community, perhaps through volunteering, sponsorship, education, or some combination. In an era where members of the LGBTQ+ community are increasingly under attack, rainbow banners and Pride merch are not enough.?