For those weary of Pride Month, take heart: In vast swaths of the country, June is undergoing a refresh.
In Alabama, June is now Strong Families Month. In Arkansas and Utah, it is Fidelity Month. The official designation in Indiana and Tennessee is Nuclear Family Month.
In addition to the red states, the Trump administration is marking Title IX Month for the second year in a row, honoring the federal law signed June 23, 1972, that bans sex discrimination in education.
“Throughout the month of June, we’re spotlighting the critical civil rights protections that women fought for decades to secure and the Trump administration’s vigorous commitment to protecting Title IX’s promise for current and future generations of women and girls,” Kimberly Richey, assistant secretary for civil rights, said in her June 1 announcement.
She did not mention Pride Month, but the message was clear. Rather than enduring Pride, Republicans and conservatives are seeking to shift the celebration from the LGBTQ movement to traditional family values.
Rep. Mary Miller, Illinois Republican, introduced a resolution designating June as Family Month and declaring that the House “no longer recognizes Pride Month.”
“By recognizing June as Family Month, we reject the lie of ‘Pride’ and instead honor God’s timeless and perfect design,” she said in a June 3 statement. “If we truly want to restore our nation, we must stand united to protect and uphold the foundation upon which it was built — the family.”
LGBTQ advocates are resisting the renamings and want conservatives to pick another month to champion their causes.
“Establish Fidelity Month in, who knows, August or September or January, whatever, whenever,” Gordon Monson, a columnist for the Salt Lake Tribune, wrote in a June 9 op-ed.
“But don’t use it as a giant eraser or as a counter-movement, as some kind of simultaneous stamp and statement to diminish or divert from what so many in the past and present have sought and seek to make clear: That they are human, they are valuable to society, they deserve equality and respect and, even absent of agreement, they deserve understanding,” he said.
Critics say Americans can recognize that LGBTQ people “deserve equality and respect” without being bombarded with drag story hours, adult-themed gay pride parades, rainbow logos and stores packed with Pride Month merchandise.
“Increasingly, Americans see Pride parades not merely as expressions of tolerance but as demonstrations of cultural influence reaching into every corner of society,” Tony Perkins, president of the conservative Family Research Council, wrote in a June 5 op-ed.
He said that “concerns over gender identity policies involving children became the point at which broader questions about sexuality, marriage, parental rights, and cultural authority converged.”
Pride Month loses luster
The spate of June renamings offers evidence that support for Pride Month may have peaked, including in corporate America.
Companies are pulling back on Pride Month products, sponsorships and messaging. The decline was accelerated by the 2023 Bud Light debacle, when Anheuser-Busch’s market share plummeted after partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Target cut back its Pride merchandise after a 2023 backlash over its “tuck-friendly” bikini for biological males who identify as female. PepsiCo, Mastercard and Walmart are among other companies that have scaled back support for events.
“Just a few years ago, rainbow logos and Pride products seemed ubiquitous among companies, even across industries,” Jack Walker, a Future of Queer Media Fellow, wrote in a June 5 article in Out magazine. “But as public opinion declines around LGBTQ+ rights and the LGBTQ+ community faces political attacks nationwide, many companies have retreated from once outspoken support for their queer customers.”
The publication cheered brands that continue to wave their Pride flag, including Levi’s, REI and Hot Topic.
Some sports franchises have also pivoted. The NHL banned specialty on-ice jerseys in 2023 after some players refused to wear Pride Month rainbow gear. Nine NFL teams did not post Pride Month messages on June 1, OutKick reported.
Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers maintained their status as the only MLB franchise not to host a Pride Night. The team hosts a Faith & Family Night.
In this case, politicians and corporations may be following the trend rather than setting it.
The annual Gallup Values and Beliefs survey released last week found that support for same-sex marriage and relationships has dropped since reaching an all-time high in 2022.
The poll found that Americans who believe same-sex marriage should be valid fell from 71% in 2022 to 65% in 2026. Those who agree that same-sex relationships are “morally acceptable” declined from 71% to 62%.
In 2021, 46% of Americans polled said that changing one’s gender was “morally acceptable.” That number fell to 38% this year.
“For about two decades, Americans grew more accepting of LGBTQ+ people and more supportive of their civil rights,” Gallup said in its June 4 analysis. “However, those pro-LGBTQ+ attitudes peaked about five years ago and have since edged downward, mostly among Republicans.”
Pride Month received federal recognition in 1999 when President Clinton issued a proclamation designating June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. Democratic presidents, including President Biden, continued the tradition.
President Trump has not issued Pride Month proclamations. Shortly after he took office, the State Department released its “One Flag Policy” listing the flags that may be flown outside U.S. embassies. The order does not include the rainbow Pride flag.
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