Over 25% of LGBTQ+ people feel excluded from Pride Month

Pride Month is just days away, but new research suggests a large number of LGBTQ+ people feel underrepresented or even excluded from the annual celebrations.

Every year, queer visibility is increased in June as Pride parades, parties and festivals take place, with rainbows and sequins filling the streets. However for some, it isn’t enough.

Research from dating app Taimi has found that a growing number of LGBTQ+ people feel a disconnect with Pride as it currently exists – whether that’s the weekend-long festivals, brands launching rainbow logos but doing little else for the community, or sponsored floats during parades.

Of the 1,100 LGBTQ+ adults surveyed, just 59% of people felt at least somewhat represented by Pride Month. Seventeen per cent said they’d never felt represented, 14% said they weren’t represented very well, and 9% said they were not represented at all.

‘It feels like I’m a performing monkey in a circus’

On top of that, just 25% of respondents felt that mainstream Pride was inclusive. However 25% felt LGBTQ+ people of colour, and trans and non-binary people were underrepresented or excluded. On top of that, 27% felt bisexual and pansexual people were underrepresented or excluded, and 29% felt LGBTQ+ people who did not live in big cities were.

Meanwhile, 23% said they feel suspicious of brands or companies who throw Pride Month campaigns, while 19% said it felt performative. Nine per cent said they actively avoid those brands, while 16% said they felt more comfortable with the extra visibility.

Forty-one per cent of respondents felt a pressure to perform during Pride that didn’t match with how they actually felt, with just 32% of people surveyed saying Pride is a celebration they genuinely enjoy.

Worryingly, 10% of people said they avoid public LGBTQ+ spaces during Pride due to the current political climate, while 45% were at least somewhat more selective about places they went during Pride.

One person said of Pride: “It feels like I’m a performing monkey in a circus.” Another respondent said: “I feel pressure from allies to be more stereotypically gay during Pride Month.”

The full results are available via Taimi.

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