Whither Support?

A few years ago I was walking around the St. Louis Galleria during June. It was Pride Month and, as I made my way past the mall stores, noting how so many of them had pride flags in their windows, I became a tad misty-eyed marveling at how far we'd come. I couldn't help but think of younger Matt, back in the 1990s, who was terrified at the prospect of coming out, and wondered how much stronger he would have felt if he'd been able to see pride flags displayed at public places.

A gay friend I was with at the Galleria (and, honestly, I can't remember who it was now) scoffed at the displays, and his reaction caught me off guard. He bitterly remarked that it was just some hollow corporate show, put on because being gay was in vogue. I didn't really understand that because my mind was still cast back decades earlier to when seeing such an exhibition -- hollow or not -- just wouldn't have computed for me. I responded to the friend with something like, "Well, I still think it's nice. And if it helps a younger person struggling to come to terms with who they are, then it's something we should celebrate." My friend was nonplussed.

Fast forward to 2025, and we have a firmly anti-LGBT administration at the federal level, making threats of cutting off federal funding to any entity who supports DEI initiatives (which, of course, includes backing of the LGBT community), and now we're seeing how prescient my friend's view of corporate support really was. Look no further than St. Louis. Their annual Pridefest lost its main sponsor. A little to the west of St. Louis in St. Charles, Missouri, and we see that one of their primary Pride sponsors, Procter and Gamble, dropped their monetary support this year. This is just one year after the company reflected on its "longstanding commitment to advancing LGBTQ+ equality."  This isn't limited to just the St. Louis area. It has happened nationwide.

This isn't the case everywhere, of course. I've just returned from a trip to California. We flew Southwest Airlines, and among their in-flight offerings were LGBTQ Pride Month (labeled as such) films. I watched one of them (Am I OK?) on the way out there. Granted, there were just five movies to choose from, but hey, in the aforementioned current political climate, I'll take the wins where I can. And, while Anheuser-Busch has withdrawn its sponsorship from the St. Louis PrideFest this year, the St. Louis Cardinals (who are financially intertwined with Anheuser-Busch) still held their annual LGBTQIA+ Pride Night earlier this month. Indeed, several corporations are still showing support for the LGBT community this month. Many others, unfortunately, are not.

All of this brings to the fore two important points. One is that it is disconcerting (to say the least) to see the number of former supporters fold up their tents upon a change in government. It causes some concern as to what it could possibly portend for the future if the proverbial political waters get even more choppy. Second is that it shows who our allies truly are. It's one thing to show support for folks when there isn't much resistance, when everything is (comparatively) hunky-dory. It's when there's pushback, when the thing you supported is less popular than it once was, when we find out who's got our back.

Aa for St. Louis Pride, it's still happening next weekend, though the budgetary shortfall has to be made up somehow. Hence, after 45 years of free entry, PrideFest will be charging a $10 entry free to attend. That seems reasonable, though it's a shame they've had to do it at all. And, of course, even $10 isn't going to be easy for everyone to cough up -- particularly during these rough economic times -- and could prove to be a barrier for some. But, hey, the going got a little rough this year, and we've seen how Anheuser-Busch (and other corporations) basically got gone. It's their money, of course -- they can do what they want with it. But, this will certainly be remembered.

Anyway, Happy Pride Month!