In the weeks leading up to June, Rose Montoya noticed something concerning. Pride is usually a busy time for the influencer, who has over 800,000 TikTok followers and posts videos about trans rights and issues. But this year, she says, fewer brands have reached out.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of my trans friends and colleagues, and we’ve all noticed less brands seeking partnerships and smaller budgets for Pride campaigns,” Montoya said. “It’s disappointing.”
After the legalization of marriage equality, Pride became a marketing opportunity for brands. Enticed by the spending power of the LGBTQ+ community – it reached over $1tn in 2021 – brands looked for ways to make their presence known at June events. But this year, some LGBTQ+ influencers say brands are showing less support than they have in the past.
Like cops, corporations are not always welcome at Pride, which honors the anniversary of the Stonewall riots, an LGBTQ+ uprising against police violence, in which Black trans women were prominent leaders. Many queer activists have remained skeptical about so-called “rainbow capitalism” and “pinkwashing”.
“Over the last decade and a half, we’ve seen a swell of companies suddenly become very accepting of LGBT people during June, when they know they can make some profit off of us,” said Yvie Oddly, a 29-year-old performer and RuPaul’s Drag Race winner.
LGBTQ+ rights are under assault across the US: 45 states have proposed anti-trans bills in 2023, from so-called bathroom bills to laws that restrict the rights of trans children. Drag show bans have swept through states, with conservative leaders peddling homophobic tropes about “grooming” children.
The culture war has crept into advertising, especially after Bud Light tapped Dylan Mulvaney, a trans TikTok star, for an ad. The backlash was immediate and lasting: sales of the beer have dropped by nearly 30%, and two ad executives were placed on leave. US politicians including Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley ruthlessly mocked Mulvaney.
Target scaled down its annual Pride collection after workers reported “confrontational behavior” from angry shoppers regarding certain items in the lineup.
The people behind the boycotts are in the minority: research from the LGBTQ+ advocacy organization Glaad shows that 75% of straight people feel comfortable seeing LGBTQ+ representation in media. That fact has not stopped Pride 2023 from turning into a marketing minefield. Experts have noted a quieter Pride on the corporate front, in no small part due to the Bud Light and Target case studies.
It wasn’t always this way. According to RILA Global Consulting, a company that studies consumers, brands, and trends, this time last year there were less than 400 social media posts calling for boycotts of Pride collections. In May 2023, that number jumped to 15,000.
I am torn between thinking the Target Pride collection "Live Laugh Lesbian" shirt is either the best or the worst shirt ever. I don't think there is a middle ground. pic.twitter.com/KTXahZueg8
— Chiffon Dior (@ChiffonDior) May 18, 2023
“Moments like this really showcase the depth of commitment brands have to inclusive marketing,” said Sonia Thompson, an inclusive brand coach and strategist. “The brands that are the most afraid of backlash are the ones that were going at Pride on a pretty superficial level.”
This year, Thompson coached a team of advertising agents who represent clients that have never done Pride campaigns. “They were wondering if this was the right time to dive in, considering the boycotts,” she said. “I told them that if this was a community they really wanted to stand behind, they should not let a vocal minority deter them from doing so.”
Some influencers have accused brands of flipping on their initial support for LGBTQ+ people, which they see as succumbing to pressure from anti-trans and homophobic groups.
“I’m disappointed to see brands caving to bullies,” Montoya said. “When it comes to Pride, I need to know if a company is doing good in the world and actually showing up for our community. I’m very selective of who I work with, and I need to know that a company is doing good in the world, not just profiting off of us.”
Corporate Pride collections can feel cringeworthy to the point of self-parody – Target’s “Live Laugh Lesbian” T-shirt both annoyed and delighted TikTokers when it debuted last month. (The top was not one of the items pulled after the backlash, and it has completely sold out online.)
“I love Pride merch, but there is a fine line,” said Ian Michael Crumm, a 30-year-old skincare influencer from New York. “There are times that you can just tell it feels like a money grab.”
June can be a lucrative time for Crumm, but he’s more likely to work with a brand if it reaches out during any of the other 11 months. “Over time, you can tell the brands that are doing it just to be a part of the moment or for consumerism,” he said. “The brands that I feel truly care do things all year long.”
Oddly would also rather collaborate with brands outside of June. But the deals are often better during Pride. “I’m paid drastically differently in June, and I get more opportunities then,” she said. “Brands know that I am more lucrative for their business during this month than any other time of year, which is why they’ll take the slight risk of hiring a drag queen to talk about things for them.”
No matter how much flak a company gets for selling Pride merchandise, Oddly said it would never compare to the discrimination queer people across the US face every day.
“It’s easy to say and do something when nobody is pushing back,” she said. “But when companies get that pushback we’re already used to, they don’t know what to do. Honestly, I hope everyone gets a little bit of pushback going forward, because that’s going to show me who’s really there for me.”
• This article was amended on 15 June 2023 to clarify a reference to the Stonewall riots; while Black trans women were among leading figures in that uprising of LGBTQ+ protesters, they were not its only leaders as an early version may have unintentionally suggested.
