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| Ben Finzel |
The past few years have cast a dark shadow over Pride celebrations. Countless news stories have highlighted the declining corporate engagement with LGBTQ organizations and the polls showing falling support for LGBTQ people as proof that Pride Month is less important and less worthy of attention and engagement.
Here’s what’s wrong with that assumption. Pride is not just a celebration or a protest (although both are important), it’s an acknowledgement of LGBTQ lives. Pride is about identity and existence. Pride means LGBTQ people aren’t just here, but that we’re part of the fabric of the global community. Pride reflects the long journey from hiding in the shadows to marching down Main Street as fully acknowledged, accepted and respected people. Pride demonstrates that we are as deserving of freedom and equality as everyone else.
As communicators, we must be both cognizant of the challenges of educating the public about LGBTQ lives and focused on the reality of what Pride really is, what it means and why it’s more important than ever in times of increasing difficulty and discord. Here’s what key communications audiences should understand about Pride in 2026 and beyond:
Media—Don't report on Pride as though it's just another “opinion” to be dissected or a “side” to be contrasted with something else. Pride and what it stands for are about the right of LGBTQ people to exist and be recognized as equal members of society. Our existence is not an opinion, and your decision to try to present “both sides” about LGBTQ lives is both dangerous and wrong. Pride deserves your respect.
Brands—Don't treat Pride as disposable or as a temporary marketing opportunity. This year more than ever, you must mean what you say and say what you mean. If you truly support equality for LGBTQ people, back it up with actions, celebrate with us and continue speaking out for us. Otherwise, stand down: performative actions such as coloring your logo with a rainbow while you support politicians who oppose equality will do you far more harm than good. Pride deserves your authenticity.
Community leaders—Don’t treat Pride as someone else’s responsibility: it is yours. With so much fear and division in our daily lives, LGBTQ people are looking to community leaders from all walks of life to stand with us by acknowledging us and the challenges we face, and speaking and acting on our behalf. As drivers of societal acceptance, you have the responsibility to be clear about the value and worth of every member of the communities you serve. Pride deserves your support.
Political leaders—Don’t treat Pride as a question of partisanship: my existence is not political, and neither is my right to the same freedoms as any other person. LGBTQ people are your family, your friends, your colleagues and your voters. Understand that speaking up for basic fairness and freedom is about your humanity, too. Pride deserves your action.
Communications firms—Don't treat Pride Month as a one-off opportunity to appear as though you're fully supportive. Your staff will be looking to you for leadership now and all year long, particularly at a time when so many of us feel under attack from our government, from media, and from our fellow Americans. Your clients will be looking to you to determine how and whether they should engage on our behalf. This is your opportunity to show both your LGBTQ staff and all your clients who you are and what you stand for, not just in June but year-round: take that opportunity and follow-through with public support, equal benefits and opportunity and open engagement. Pride deserves your involvement.
It’s a scary time for LGBTQ people. The hatred and contempt for our community from political leaders has been magnified by the declining support of business and community leaders we assumed believed in us and our right to be free and equal. It’s easy to view these twin threats as inevitable and just the natural “cycle” of public opinion that will one day “swing back” in the other direction. That view isn’t just lazy, it is dangerous. For LGBTQ people, support equals safety. Marginalized communities are vulnerable communities. The perception that declining support for our very existence is just a news story rather than a commentary on fairness and justice that threatens our existence is perilous.
In 2026, supporting Pride is no longer a question of targeted marketing: it’s a statement of who you are, what you believe, and how you view your role in and for the communities you serve. As communicators, it’s up to us to help ensure our clients, our colleagues and the audiences we engage with make the right statement this month and every month.
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Ben Finzel is president of RENEWPR in Washington, D.C., an NGLCC-certified LGBT Business Enterprise. 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 network of inclusive communications agencies. He works with and supports numerous LGBTQ advocacy organizations and has been honored by the Washington Business Journal and others for his activism and business and industry leadership.
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After the rainbow-colored logos and Pride flag-bedecked websites disappear at the end of this month, we must remember that Pride is year-round. Now is no time to disengage. In fact, the opposite is true: 2024 should be the Year of the LGBTQ Ally.
