Time to reclaim Pride Month as revelry overtakes protest as main agenda

Although Stonewall is a bar in downtown New York city that welcomed queer persons, to this writer and perhaps many queer persons worldwide, it symbolises the spirit of many of their illustrious ancestors.

Stonewall is the site of resistance, rebellion and a revolution (that the New York Police Department portrayed as a riot, to criminalise the largely working class, black, Latino and other marginalised queer and trans persons whom they harassed and hurt), which began on June 28, 1969 and still continues as 'Pride Month'.

Transformation of Pride Month

Commemorated throughout June globally via colourful public parades and/or private gatherings, Pride Month is a tribute to our courageous ancestors and celebrates the resilience of the LGBTQIAP+ community. However, over the past 8-10 years, Pride Month has changed, but not in the way many queer persons prefer.

Watch | Chennai LGBTQIA+ Safe Places | Pride Month June 2025

Romal Laisram, a seasoned queer rights activist and writer said: “Pride, in Bengaluru specifically, was about solidarity, protest, collaboration and coming together without organisational identities and personal politics.

"Today, sadly, it has devolved into an absolute mess with corporate agendas, divisive politics and power-hungry individuals gatekeeping the movement to remain relevant in an increasingly diversifying and evolving community."

"Many LGBTQIA+ community members also do not connect with other minorities’ struggles and marginalised sub-communities and keep asking why Pride still should be a protest," Laisram added. "In such a toxic environment, many pride movements, in Bengaluru included, are seeing splinter groups springing up, hoping to dilute these power centres and make Pride more inclusive and relevant again.”

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Rainbow capitalism’s realities

Laisram’s emotions ring true in the “Pride Month has been Pinkwashed“ view that many queer persons express, internationally.

With 14-years of IT industry experience, this writer believes that in the corporate workplace, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies are required. However, since they are framed with minimal input from potential beneficiaries they rarely become sustained and meaningful practices. This is unpalatable and renders DEI almost worthless.

Further, some corporate employees attending Pride month events in close-knit groups, wearing clothes and accessories displaying their organisational logos prominently, defeats the purpose of inclusivity.

Coming out with Pride

Gaby K, an organiser with Acespaceldn, a London-based asexual and aromantics persons’ support group, reflected: “Pride Month starts from history and the fight for rights, as a protest. Pride for me represents feeling confident in my identity, a time to come together with the wider community.”

Grateful that it exists, she, however, added: “It's become much more of a general party celebration that everyone joins without understanding it well. It is also like having a holiday just for us, a time when we're allowed to celebrate our identities. What's interesting to watch in recent years is how with political shifts, commercial companies take different stances about it.”

Further, Gaby pointed out that to watch big name companies stop sponsoring Pride events is upsetting. “Yet, events being sponsored by big companies are complicated. Big companies are not necessarily the people you want to be supporting. Are they actually supporting Pride in their work all year round? Or, are they just paying some money in June to get kudos?” she asked.

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Spectacle driven party

From the 1970s, globally, Queer persons have rallied publicly for self-assertion while demanding access to dignified and sensitised healthcare, education, employment, housing and other fundamental needs, primarily during Pride Month.

Lillian Hope, a young trans woman in Hyderabad, states that until around 2015, when marriage equality was nationally legalised in the US, Pride (implying the month and relevant activities) increased the visibility and voices of queer community members, especially intersectionally marginalised persons.

Some Pride spaces in India explicitly obstruct Dalit, Muslim and indigenous trans people from participating, though this is hardly discussed.

“We now try remembering and vocalising that Pride is supposedly a protest but in my opinion we are just lying to ourselves to be political enough, while conducting Pride marches,” Hope said.

According to the trans woman, Pride has turned from protests to celebrations – people have taken it from demanding basic rights to making it a reason to party.

Wide disparities

Momo, an intersex rights activist and healthcare researcher in Bengaluru, says that celebrating diverse identities and enhancing our visibility are vital and should persist.

“Yet, the current Pride celebrations landscape reveals disparities between grassroots, community-led organising and the spectacle-driven party culture dominating mainstream visibility,” said Momo.

“For many queer and trans youth, the politics of Pride become blurred by glittering commercial stages, where consent is often disregarded and boundaries are violated, ironically by those championing safe spaces, accessibility and accountability elsewhere. Community spaces — often run on minimal or no resources — struggle to remain visible or sustainable, comparatively.

"When queerness is reduced to expensive outfits, bar tabs and photogenic moments, the deeper calls for justice, ethics and collective care are dismissed as ’too political’ or ‘not fun enough’. But what is liberation if it's only palatable when profitable? What remains of community when consumerism sets the standard for belonging?” asked Momo.

Also read: Trump's male-female-only order can have global ripple effects: Queer rights activist

Casteism at play

Mikail, a non-binary transmasculine Bangladeshi and trans healthcare advocate who champions mutual aid for socio-economically marginalised trans persons, finds that some Pride spaces in India explicitly obstruct Dalit, Muslim and indigenous trans people from participating, though this is hardly discussed.

“Considering the voluminous funds right wing Hindu nationalists have, minimal resources go elsewhere in South Asia. In Bangladesh, very little funding even reaches trans people considering that elitist organisational frameworks that Bangladeshi NGOs-NPOs have copied from various casteist NGOs in India,” shared Mikail.

Reclaiming Pride Month

Amidst the above challenges, some Queer persons value Pride month greatly.

Take the case of Tyeewhyee, a non-binary AroAce podcaster in Canada. “Pride Month has always been a protest — if it wasn’t, we would not have gotten the limited rights we’ve gained in the past couple of decades. But Pride is also an opportunity to be visible — because visibility is what others need to be seen, validated, find the words to describe their experiences and be with those who can relate to their lived experience,” pointed out Tyeewhyee.

Similarly, Ravi, a queer theatre trainer in Karnataka, feels that Pride in contemporary times is extremely relevant. “This is because the space for connecting and feeling of community is decreasing alarmingly — for me it signifies the confluence of diverse identities without suppressing them or forcefully "coming out", said Ravi.

Populist effect

Nandhini, a trans woman from Tamil Nadu, who used to view Pride month as a time to be ”out and proud”, now feels that it has turned into something corporate and socio-political organisations perform for populist effect and be tokenistic about.

“A Pride event that excludes sloganeering or carrying posters is pointless. Likewise, we need to interact and integrate with the general public and ensure not to exclude working class queer and trans persons,” she added.

Truly, Tyeewhyee’s words conclusively captures the essence of Pride Month. “At the centre of Pride is a protest, as we continue to be attacked, further marginalised and erased by society.”