I reflected on the stories that make me feel empowered. I'm grateful to live in a time when we recognize the queer community not just for a single weekend, but throughout the month of June. The city of Boston is transforming with symbols of pride to validate its support, hanging rainbow flags from the windows of City Hall and decorating flagpoles on the steps of the Boston Public Library. Stores are also taking this opportunity to showcase their themed supportive sale stickers and flags in preparation for the weekend festivities. More and more companies are asking buy email list how to include LGBT people in conversations with their brands.
This year I also noticed that almost every major store was selling Pride versions of their regular products. These items typically featured the company's logo inlaid with the rainbow flag, although they had never participated in any significant way in the LGBTQ+ community before. It was seeing these corporate interpretations of the movement that buy email list I began to understand the difference I had felt watching these two floats take part in the parade: authenticity. Authenticity is something that cannot be bought, made or created. It is a value that I learned at a young age by facing the challenges of young gays. I remember my mother explaining the importance of being true to yourself. She gave me the invaluable knowledge that others would be able to tell when.
I was trying to be someone or something that I wasn't. In all my life experiences so far, this has been true every time. Thanks Mom. The crowd and buy email list community responded overwhelmingly to those who upheld the values of Pride and saw the values of celebration as part of their own identity. However, businesses that seemed to only wear the rainbow to promote their brand instead of the community message received only a muted sense of celebration and acceptance. That's not to say the companies didn't share the commitment to the community, but they had work to do to communicate and connect with their audience.