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| Ben Finzel |
One of the many challenges of being a communicator in 2025 is the constant barrage of news and information, all of which feels important and relevant and timely. The continuous assault on our PR-focused brains makes it difficult to see the forest for the trees—or since it’s Pride Month, difficult to see the many efforts to further marginalize LGBTQ people for all the false flags from the Trump administration, numerous state governments and others.
In case you have missed it, the far right—now emboldened by the federal government and several state governments—is coming for LGBTQ people again. Not that they ever really stopped, but this now feels like an all-out assault on multiple fronts. They are using the levers of power to go after us in courtrooms, in federal agencies, in legislatures and in the court of public opinion. In just the past few weeks, we’ve seen:
- The Supreme Court rule that transgender children are not deserving of medical care
- The Trump Administration announce they are ending funding for a youth suicide prevention hotline run by the Trevor Project
- The Southern Baptist Convention vote to overturn the Obergefell ruling and make my marriage illegal
There is more, and there will be more to come, but if you’ve read this far you probably get the idea: it’s open season on LGBTQ people again (and immigrants, and women, and people of color, and the list goes on).
What this means for communicators is that you will have to be fluent in the fight because that is what is coming. LGBTQ people—including the people you work with and your friends—are going to have to step up the fight for our rights. And your clients—companies, organizations, nonprofits, advocates, and others—are going to be thrust into the middle of this fight whether they want to be or not.
As communicators, whether we’re LGBTQ or not, we will need to:
- Ensure we know what is at stake for the LGBTQ community
- Ensure our clients understand what this fight means for their businesses and organizations
- Ensure we provide the right counsel to navigate—but not ignore—these situations
So, what does that look like? Here’s a quick guide.
What is at stake is quite literally the rights, freedoms and livelihoods of millions of LGBTQ people in the US and around the world.
The open, aggressive attacks on hard-won rights like equal marriage (in the same month in which we celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling granting it) are a signal that nothing is off limits. Opponents of equality and fairness no longer care that their actions appear as ugly and bigoted as they are.
When the Trump Administration kicked off Pride Month by announcing that the U.S. Navy would strip the name Harvey Milk from a ship, there should have been no more illusions about the nasty, mean-spirited agenda of much of the political establishment right now. LGBTQ people still don’t have equality in the workplace or in our communities and now efforts to strip us of medical care and the right to serve our nation are gaining steam.
Our clients need to understand that in this climate, LGBTQ people and our allies (of which there are many) are becoming even more attuned to what companies and organizations are saying AND doing. For evidence, look no further than Target’s continually slumping sales or the long lines (and climbing revenues) at your local Costco.
This means that your clients can’t remain quiet in the face of concerted, organized attacks on our existence. Your clients don’t have to march to the front of the Pride Parade with a Progress Flag, but they should understand that speaking out against hate and speaking up for the rights of all to be free and equal is good business.
And we communicators—LGBTQ and not—need to understand that the best counsel is sometimes the hardest and most challenging. We need to match our advice to the mission, goals and vision of our clients. We need to understand what is real and authentic and true to them that also speaks to the best in all of us, and not the worst.
And yes, that will mean engaging in the fight—not to inflict pain, but to inspire hope. Simply speaking up to condemn this anti-LGBTQ violence—whether in laws, speech or action—is a powerful force for good. And appealing to the best in us is also, yes, good business.
The word “fight” doesn’t just mean to act in anger: sometimes it means standing up to bullies, making the case for the rights of others or saying no to hate and division. As communicators who seek to help our clients engage, inspire and enlighten their audiences, that’s our job all year-round, not just in Pride Month. But this Pride Month, we should all redouble our efforts and restate our commitment to living it.
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Ben Finzel is president of RENEWPR in Washington, D.C., an NGLCC-certified LGBT Business Enterprise focused on energy, environment and equity public affairs and communications founded in 2015. In 2003, he co-founded FH Out Front, the first global LGBTQ communications practice at an international PR firm (FleishmanHillard). In 2019, he co-founded The Change Agencies, the national inclusive communications agencies network. In 2020, he was a Washington Business Journal Business of Pride honoree.
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