What is Pinkwashing / Rainbowwashing? It is when corporations or institutions publicly signal support for 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, especially during Pride, while continuing to uphold or enable systems that harm us or simply to leverage profit off a new “target audience”. A rainbow logo does not equal solidarity, especially when it is used to distract from funding anti-queer politicians, enforcing discriminatory policies, or staying (or going) silent when our rights are under attack.

To be clear: there is power and impact to see our cause and symbols enter the mainstream. It can and does contribute to positive outcomes in many ways. And not all sponsors are guilty of this pattern. However, we need to be more discerning of the contradictions.

This year, those contradictions have become harder to ignore. Under pressure from Trump-aligned threats and political backlash, major corporations like Anheuser-Busch, Comcast, Diageo, and Nissan have pulled their sponsorships from some of the largest Pride events in the United States. San Francisco Pride has reported a $200,000 shortfall. New York City Pride faces a $750,000 gap. When Pride becomes inconvenient, when it stops being profitable, many who claimed to stand with us walk away. That is not allyship.

If a company says they support Pride, we have to ask deeper questions. Where does their money go when June is over? How do they protect queer and trans employees in their workplaces? Are they willing to take a stand when it costs them something? Or perhaps most difficult, are we willing to turn down money if the source lacks integrity? Pride is not a time to reward the lowest bar or celebrate empty symbols. If companies really want to put their money where their mouth is, they need to do so when it matters the most to our survival, not their bottom line.