Everybody’s Business

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Celebrating resilience of LGBTQ-owned small businesses

Since the pandemic began, a staggering number of small businesses have permanently closed across the country. In fact, roughly 200,000 U.S. businesses have closed in the first year of the pandemic, according to a study released recently by economists at the Federal Reserve. Despite the millions of dollars of federal and local aid made available in the form of loans and grants, many small businesses had to think creatively to stay afloat. Many of these small businesses leveraged their own identity and community as sources of inspiration -including the LBGTQ community. As we celebrate our LGBTQ identity and community, we […]

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UK Pride groups ditch the rainbow in powerful protest against ‘cynical cash-ins’

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A group of local Pride organisations have given up their rainbows in protest against corporations ditching the LGBT+ community as soon as Pride month ends. The campaign, which sees Pride groups turn their rainbow logos to black and white, was coordinated by Swindon and Wiltshire Pride. he group said in a statement: “Today you will notice we have removed the colour from our logo. Many organisations today will be removing their visible Pride support from their social media pages. “Some support the LGBT+ community throughout the year and many just for Pride Month. “It’s great so many have joined in and supported by changing their […]

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Pride merch won’t save trans youth

ust before the start of Pride Month, Walmart, the largest retailer in the world, began selling a wide variety of rainbow-themed merchandise. A perusal of the company’s website reveals hundreds of such items for sale, like a Queer Eye-branded clothing line and tie-ins from rainbow-themed brands like Skittles and the Kellogg Company. You can even buy a shirt that reads: “I can’t even think straight.” Walmart earned a perfect 100 percent rating on the Human Rights Campaign’s 2021 Corporate Equality Index, which scores companies based on their support of LGBTQ employees through HR policies, practices, and benefits, as well as their public advocacy. Earlier […]

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These 25 rainbow flag-waving corporations donated more than $10 million to anti-gay politicians in the last two years

This month, corporations are plastering their social media avatars with rainbows, sponsoring Pride parades, and declaring their unwavering commitment to the LGBTQ community. Many of these companies, however, are spending millions supporting the campaigns of anti-gay politicians at the federal and state level.  A Popular Information investigation found that 25 major corporations have spent more than $10 million since 2019 supporting members of Congress with a zero ratingon the latest Congressional scorecard produced by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the most prominent LGBTQ rights organization in the United States. These same corporations have also donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to […]

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15 brands that are giving back for Pride Month 2021

After a year when Pride celebrations had to go virtual, members of the LGBTQ community and their allies are eager to shine bright in 2021. And as in years past, numerous brands have launched special Pride products and capsule collections that celebrate love, diversity and inclusion. However, advocates say that authentic support means more than just a rainbow stripe on a T-shirt. “Brands need to approach Pride not as a marketing moment to sell products and profit from LGBTQ people, but [as] a time to loudly use their reach and influence to affirm our community and support advocacy organizations in […]

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Twitter to finally introduce pronouns to user profiles

Twitter is set to add the long-sought option to add pronouns to users’ profile pages. As part of a sprawling design shakeup, the social media platform that boasts some 192 million daily active users will introduce a new ‘About’ tab on accounts. Alongside options to add their date of birth, job title, current location and interests will be a dedicated section to list their pronouns. The ‘About’ tab will be to the left of the already existing ‘Tweets’, ‘Tweets & Replies’, ‘Media’ and ‘Likes’, according to mock-ups seen by TechCrunch. Twitter has not provided a timeline for the slated update, but did […]

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Transgender entrepreneur co-founded online banking provider focused on the LGBTQ community

After a doctor’s visit, three court appearances, five trips to the bank and having her name and address published in a newspaper, Billie Simmons finally got a debit card with her chosen name. As a transgender woman, that meant she didn’t run the risk of outing herself every time she used her card for routine expenses like buying groceries. The legal process to change her name and her gender on identity documents took several weeks. Yet four years on, Simmons still receives her monthly credit report in an email addressed to her dead name. She hasn’t been able to change […]

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Lego announces 1st rainbow set ahead of LGBTQ Pride month

Lego is kicking off LGBTQ Pride month, which is celebrated every June, a little early this year. The toy company announced it’s releasing a special set, called “Everyone is Awesome,” that celebrates the diversity of its fans. This is the first time in Lego’s 72-year history that it is releasing an official LGBTQ Pride set. “I wanted to create a model that symbolizes inclusivity and celebrates everyone, no matter how they identify or who they love,” Matthew Ashton, Lego’s vice president of design, said in a press release.  “Everyone is unique, and with a little more love, acceptance and understanding in […]

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TikTok is spreading violent anti-gay; – trans content, report finds

Video-sharing social networking app TikTok’s algorithm is spreading anti-LGBT+ content, according to an analysis by watchdog Media Matters. The report, published on Tuesday (18 May), found TikTok’s recommendation algorithm – which determines the videos that appear on a user’s page – is promoting content that encourages violence against the LGBT+ community. According to the TikTok website, the ‘For You’ feed reflects the “preferences unique to each user”. As such, the recommendation system will suggest content based on several factors including what videos a person likes or shares, accounts followed, comments, information in the videos and account settings. But Media Matters found that liking […]

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Instagram adds new pronoun section to user profiles

Instead of having users take up limited character space in their bio, Instagram is now letting them select their pronouns in a specific section of their profile. Users can choose from a variety of pronouns including he/him, she/her and they/them. Once selected, their pronoun preference will appear in small gray letters next to their username. “They” is often used as a singular pronoun for a person “whose gender is intentionally not revealed” or “to refer to a single person whose gender identity is nonbinary,” according to Merriam-Webster, which selected “they” as word of the year in 2019. The company said the […]

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