It’s officially Pride Month, when being LGBTQ is usually celebrated with parades and marches around the world. 

It’s also a time when corporate companies show their “support” by changing their logos to a rainbow flag and selling merchandise plastered with rainbows and pride flags, as if that’s all the LGBTQ community cares about. 

Unfortunately, Pride Month this year feels bittersweet as a wave of anti-trans and other discriminatory bills pass across the nation. 

Kansas is no exception; recently, a bill deemed the ‘women’s bill of rights’ passed, which essentially seeks to define women based on biological reproductive systems. 

The bill, which will become law on July 1, will bar transgender women from using female-only spaces. According to the Kansas Reflector, the definition the bill is built on has met scrutiny, as critics say it excludes intersex women and alienates women who don’t have ovaries.

In addition to this bill and similar ones, the nation has seen a significant amount of anti-drag bills being passed.

Following these bills, corporate companies came out with their “support” for the trans community by featuring transgender people and/or merchandise supporting the trans community. 

Corporate companies such as Target and Anheuser-Busch — the beer company that owns and distributes Budweiser products — are facing backlash for supporting the LGBTQ community, and as a result, pulling some of their support.

In April 2023, Bud Light sponsored an Instagram post from transgender TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney, who revealed a Bud Light can with her face on it.

Since the reveal, Anheuser-Busch has faced backlash and threats from conservatives, including country stars Travis Tritt and Kid Rock, who posted a video of himself to social media, shooting cans of the beer and cursing at the company. 

Many conservatives called for a boycott of Bud Light and other Anheuser-Busch products, causing the company’s stock to go down.

Because of the backlash, Anheuser-Busch issued an apology on April 14, backing out of the deal made with Mulvaney and stating that the brand “never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people.”

While I don’t drink beer or follow Mulvaney, I do find this whole thing stupid. I don’t understand why people get defensive over a company supporting a transgender woman or why a company has to pull its support to please its more conservative audience. It doesn’t make any sense to me. 

In May, Target released its annual pride collection, which has pieces created by queer artists. The company also donates annually to GLSEN, an organization that works towards making schools safe and inclusive for LGBTQ students. 

I don’t usually buy pride merchandise from corporations, but Target is one of the only exceptions I make when it comes to corporate pride because queer people, like myself, create pieces, and it’s not all plastered with rainbows.

Target’s Pride collection seemed promising this year, with inclusive items like tuck-friendly and bind-friendly swimwear — until Target discontinued some items in the Pride collection, following backlash.

This decision came after several misleading videos and social media posts surfaced from users, claiming that the tuck-friendly swimsuits were being sold for children, when they were only sold in adult sizes. 

The product removal began in locations in the south but eventually spread to other outlets nationwide. 

When news came out about this decision, I was pretty disappointed in Target. I do understand wanting to protect employees from harm, but the queer community has also been threatened, harmed and even killed just for existing.

Not to mention the work that the artists do, only to have it discontinued to satiate alt-right conservative groups.

Another big reason I found this disappointing was because Target gives back to GLSEN. Personally, I think discontinuing items means that there will be less to give to GLSEN from Target’s collection. 

Another corporation that made a bold move against the LGBTQ community was the baseball team, the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

The Dodgers announced they would be hosting the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a drag group that dresses like nuns, at their 10th annual Pride Night at Dodger Stadium. 

Many Californians were offended by the queens dressing up as nuns, and the Dodgers cut the group from Pride Night. 

This decision then met backlash from the LGBTQ community, leading to the Dodgers inviting the group back to their Pride Night. 

Now, I’m not a fan of the Dodgers anyways, but this issue with the Dodgers made me dislike the team even more, especially since California is one of the most progressive states in the country, especially when it comes to LGBTQ rights. 

Because California is a progressive state, I feel like this makes the Dodgers look bad as a team. Especially since other California teams such as the San Francisco Giants are currently holding and have already held their pride nights with little to no issue from their audiences.  

All in all, rainbow capitalism is a problem, and many people in the LGBTQ community take issue with major corporations trying to sell pride-related merchandise, as a vast majority of them do it simply for profit. 

If you really want to support the LGBTQ community, buy from a small LGBTQ business that actually sells its work and doesn’t have to go through a third party to do so. 

Wichita has a few LGBTQ or LGBTQ ally small businesses you can shop or dine at this Pride Month, including Leslie’s Coffee Co., The Workroom, GROW Giesen, Scrunchie Bunnie and Espresso To Go Go.