Regardless of corporate retreat from Pride, queer businesses are still here for LGBTQ+ communities

I’ve been celebrating Pride since 1993 when I came out of the closet and embraced my truth as a queer human being. Back in the 90s, the groups that marched in the parades were largely community organizations and local businesses that directly supported LGBTQ+ people. However, for the past decade or so, Pride Month has become an opportunistic season in corporate America: rebranded rainbow logos, capsule merch collections, and hashtags full of supportive intentions. As a gay man and the CEO of a clothing company that serves the queer community year-round, I watched this shift with both cautious optimism and a wary eye. On one hand, visibility matters. On the other hand, commodification does not amount to liberation.

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But this year feels different.

Some of the same companies that once proudly displayed the Pride flag now seem to have folded it up and relegated it to the back of the closet. Citing security concerns for their employees and changing consumer sentiments, many of our “corporate allies” have turned their backs on our community. When our representation depends on a quarterly risk report to shareholders, we must recognize that we are line items in their marketing budgets, not living, breathing human beings deserving of dignity, visibility, and respect.

So let’s be clear: Pride was never designed to be a marketing event, nor did it start out as a party. Pride was born out of protest. In 1969, queer people — many of them trans women of color — stood up to the indignity of police raids in gay spaces like the Stonewall Inn. Filled with fury and an unshakable conviction that they too deserved life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, our queer ancestors fought back against society’s oppression. Their actions are not just historical facts, they are the foundation upon which modern Pride celebrations and our rights as equal citizens are built.

After over 50 years of incremental progress, the pendulum seems to be swinging back against us. As a community, we are watching attempts to erase us happen in real time, from regressive legislative initiatives to misguided culture wars to scaled-back corporate campaigns. Businesses are showing us that they are willing to turn their backs on us as soon as we become inconvenient.

So now, more than ever, we need to have each other’s backs.

Those of us in the queer community and our true allies understand that visibility is not a seasonal campaign. It doesn’t just happen in June. It is a daily act of courage to exist authentically in a world that too often tells us we should do no such thing. For us, Pride isn’t optional. It is rooted in our very survival. It is not defined by who sponsors it. Pride belongs to us.

We see Pride in the grassroots fundraising efforts to fill in the gaps where corporate and federal funding has dried up. We see Pride in the community-organized marches and dance parties that give queer people spaces to rejoice in their identity. And we see Pride in every individual who walks down the street, living their truth, even when it might feel unsafe to do so.

So yes, Pride might look different this year. Shelves may not be filled with rainbow-adorned t-shirts and tablecloths. The hashtags may be fewer. The corporations may be quieter. But we will not be quiet. Our joy, our resilience, our solidarity—none of that is for sale. And none of it can be erased by the absence of rainbow paint jobs in June.

To our allies: Thank you for not turning your backs on us in the face of enormous pressure. You show up not just with words, but with actions. Your support of queer-owned businesses, your willingness to speak out against anti-LGBTQ+ policies, and your desire to educate yourself and others is the definition of real allyship.

To my fellow LGBTQ+ people: Our existence is not up for negotiation. Our identities are not marketing trends. We are more visible and more powerful than ever.

We are still here. We are still queer. And we are not going anywhere.

David Lauterstein is the CEO and co-owner of Nasty Pig, an NYC-based queer brand that has served the LGBTQ+ community for over 30 years.

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