23/05/2025
LGBTQ Nation newswire reports this week "
A new poll released just before Pride Month shows that more Americans would avoid a company that offers Pride merchandise than would be motivated to support the same company.
The poll, commissioned by the LGBTQ+ organization GLAAD and conducted by the polling firm IPSOS, asked American adults what impact it would have on their likelihood of buying from a brand or store if they knew that that brand or store offered “LGBTQ Pride collections/merchandise.” Fifteen percent of respondents said they would be more likely to buy from that brand or store, while nearly twice as many (27%) said they would be less likely to buy from that brand or store. A majority (55%) said that it wouldn’t impact their decision to purchase from the store. In a press release, GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) was more upbeat about the survey results. For example, for the question about Pride merchandise, they noted that 70% of Americans in their survey said that a brand offering Pride merchandise would have either a positive impact or no impact at all on their purchasing decisions, a statement that’s true even if most of those people are in the “no impact” category.
The survey has led to some speculation on the gay internet on how LGBTQIA+ organisations relate to corporate backing. For some on the political and social left of the LGBT+ movements, corporate involvement is a counter productive side show. However others note that corporate support can help in opening up conversation and changing minds, one by one. Some commentators from our community said that we must act cannily to get the most from the heterosexual public. They argued that we need to focus efforts on influencing political structures and getting behind the scenes of financing and corporates where policies can be changed.
