This Pride Month holds a different weight to the LGBTQ+ community, and the nation at large, than we’ve seen in the past decade. While community members and allies alike use this month to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, we also must acknowledge the persistent legislative attacks on the community in 2023. In just this year to-date, the ACLU has tracked nearly 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills in the U.S., two of which are advancing here in Massachusetts that are focused on youth education. Last week the advocacy group Human Rights Campaign declared a State of Emergency nationwide for LGBTQ+ Americans for the first time.
These attacks across the country encompass various areas, including healthcare, education, parental rights, and transgender rights – with a strong focus on gender identity and expression. These measures have a detrimental impact on the mental wellbeing of the LGBTQ+ community and create a hostile environment that perpetuates discrimination.
Attacks on LGBTQ+ Americans are often the result of misinformation, stereotypes, and fear. Without large-scale resistance to these attacks, at individual and corporate levels, the fear will continue to spread and create harm. Discriminatory laws against the LGBTQ+ community add a sense of legitimacy to the fears while also perpetuating them. It is on all of us to take action; we must use our voices in whatever capacity possible to ensure that communities across the nation are safe, comfortable, supportive environments for its LGBTQ+ residents.
Here are some tips you and your organization can use to participate and stand up to anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.
Individual Participation:
While the majority of these attacks are taking place on a legislative level, it’s important to understand the role we all play in our daily lives to create change in our own corners of the world. Whether it’s through conversations with your family or friends, in dialogue with your co-workers, or through your participation on social media – your voice makes a difference. Intervening and standing up in conversations where hate is being communicated, or misconceptions are being mistaken for truth, is a great way to change the course of hateful dialogue that ultimately leads to discriminatory voting patterns. It’s important to note that interjecting in conversations is not for everyone; if you are a part of the LGBTQ+ community, you may not feel comfortable or safe to speak up in fear of backlash. This is why allies are so crucial to creating safe environments for others. Using your voice in a situation where others may not hold the same privileges is imperative to making meaningful impact and progress.
Corporate Activism:
Corporations hold a tremendous responsibility to engage with, address and act on ongoing social issues. Not only do they hold influence and power through large-sum donations, but they owe it to their consumers to let them know where they stand on social issues so consumers can make a conscious choice about what they’re supporting with their dollars. A recent study shows that 78 percent of consumers make purchases based on their values. Many corporations fund politicians that back anti-LGBTQ+ legislation while still waving rainbow flags and using colorful corporate logos during the month of June, which makes it difficult for consumers to truly understand what their purchasing decisions are supporting. Corporations must make it clear not only that they stand for the rights and freedoms of the LGBTQ+ community, but also that they support, fund, and stand by politicians and organizations working to advance progress for the community.
Stopping the surge in anti-LGBTQ+ attacks is no easy task. However, we are all responsible to step outside of complacency and stand up to the unjust actions witnessed in 2023. It is on us all, either as individuals or corporations, to move to needle back towards progress and ensure that current and future generations of LGBTQ+ people have the same rights to individuality, self-expression, healthcare, and education as the rest of the country. Use this year’s Pride Month to be bold, to be accountable, and to let our elected officials know we will not stand for these attacks. It’s critical that we start now.
