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Tennessee’s new anti-drag law comes with economic costs

Mar 31, 2023
The bill’s vague language is making drag queens, businesses and festivals apprehensive about future performances.
“Our performers don't perform or do anything that's considered lewd or obscene," said Josh Cloud, owner of the Big Drag Bus. "But the definition of obscene or lewd is up for debate.”
Courtesy Tyler Shields

How LGBTQ-owned businesses are celebrating Pride Month

Evie Smith Hatmaker, founder and CEO of the PR firm Rebellious, on the importance of supporting LGBTQ-owned businesses.
Rebellious founder and CEO Evie Smith Hatmaker (left) sharing a laugh with team members from the PR agency, Abigail Idiaquez (right) and Stephanie Guenther on a retreat.
Courtesy Evie Smith Hatmaker

Pride Month is a big deal for companies. Are values and actions actually aligned?

"Previously, it was about profit," says marketing specialist Andrew Isen. He believes that's changed.
A man walks on steps covered in rainbow colors for Pride Month at Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park in New York City.
JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images

The colorful history — and precarious future — of rainbow washing

Jun 28, 2021
What started as niche marketing by a handful of companies has turned into a rainbow-ified corporate logo competition.
A handful of companies started advertising to queer markets in the 1980s and '90s. Several decades later, hundreds redesign their logos and sell rainbow merchandise for the month of June.
Leon Neal via Getty Images

"Rainbow washing" during Pride hurts both brands and consumers

Simply attaching your brand to a rainbow flag but failing to take further action can have unintended negative results.
Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images