After last year's Pride backlash, many brands back away from trans-inclusive campaigns

Jun 10, 2024
After a period in which companies tried to stand out with progressive messages, experts see brands proceeding with caution this year.
Pride Month items on display at a Target store in 2023. Following the backlash, Target's 2024 collection will not feature items for children.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

"We are explicitly for members of the lesbian community": Inside Los Angeles' first lesbian bar in years

Mar 7, 2023
Last month, Mara Herbkersman and Emily Biealgus opened The Ruby Fruit, a restaurant and wine bar.
Mara Herbkersman, left, and Emily Bielagus at The Ruby Fruit.
Andie Corban/Marketplace

The colorful history — and precarious future — of rainbow washing

Jun 28, 2021
What started as niche marketing by a handful of companies has turned into a rainbow-ified corporate logo competition.
A handful of companies started advertising to queer markets in the 1980s and '90s. Several decades later, hundreds redesign their logos and sell rainbow merchandise for the month of June.
Leon Neal via Getty Images

Biden executive actions target LGBTQ discrimination

Jan 20, 2021
The president is strengthening workplace protections and rolling back the military ban on transgender service.
LGBTQ rights supporters rallied outside the Supreme Court in Washington in 2019 as the court held oral arguments in three cases dealing with workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Biden's nomination of Dr. Rachel Levine sends signal about LGBTQ health protections

Jan 20, 2021
If confirmed, Levine, a transgender woman, would take a top health care role as assistant secretary of health.
Incoming President Joe Biden has tapped Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to be his assistant secretary of health, leaving her poised to become the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Courtesy of Biden transition team

Many LGBTQ veterans face long waits for access to benefits

Dec 23, 2020
Veterans with discharges linked to their sexual orientation may be denied benefits until getting a discharge upgrade. But the process can take years.
The type of discharge a veteran has matters for the types of benefits they receive and can affect future employment.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

New census data reveals more details about LGBTQ community

Sep 17, 2020
The data isn't perfect, advocates say, but it's likely to prove useful to government agencies and employers.
The U.S. Census found same-sex couples participate in the labor force at a higher rate than opposite-sex couples — almost 85% compared to just over 80%.
Visualspace/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

After Supreme Court ruling on LGBTQ rights, activists continue push for legislation on discrimination

It is still not against the law to discriminate because of sex in places open to the public like stores or restaurants.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Supreme Court ruling prohibits workplace discrimination against LGBTQ people

Jun 15, 2020
It had been legal to fire someone for being gay or transgender, deepening economic disparities.
An activist holds a Pride Flag outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday after the Court ruled LGBTQ people cannot be fired for their sexual orientation.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The doctor who left primary care to help LGBTQ patients

Nov 12, 2019
"It's so rewarding to just provide good care, and be kind and have them feel safe," said Dr. Crystal Beal.
GERGELY BESENYEI/AFP via Getty Images