It’s Pride Month everyone! Obviously we feel it’s important to celebrate our Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning / Queer + friends all year round! However June is an abnormally special time filled with tons of LGBTQ+ celebrations and commemorations for this strong and diverse community. Plus, it’s a time when everyone can celebrate together and collectively give more visibility and support to the LGBTQ+ community. Even though we should all have their back no matter which month of the year, the gesture of emphasizing this community all month long can have a major impact. We can raise awareness, spread so much joy and love, and of course do some good and add a ton of beauty to the world.

There are so many ways to show up this month and support the LGBTQ+ community. So today’s post is all about highlighting how to support the LGBTQ+ community in whatever way works for you. Remember, this group has fought long and hard to be accepted for who they love, how they look, just who they are. So show some LOVE and support LOVE all the more during Pride Month!

How to Support The LGBTQ+ Community

Educate yourself:

Educating yourself on the diversity of sexual orientation and gender identity is one of the best ways to confront your subconscious bias. You might not even realize it, but you could be holding onto harmful preconceptions and stereotypes that interfere with your allyship. Change starts within you. The best way to support the LGBTQ+ community this Pride Month is to do the inner work. Check-in with yourself and make sure your mindset is one of inclusion, acceptance, and love. Sometimes educating yourself can mean having a hard conversation with someone. So reach out to your friends in the LGBTQ+ community and ask for insight. Real change change can happen when we engage in conversations that might feel uncomfortable.

You can learn more about the importance of self-reflection by listening to this episode of The Uncomfortable Podcast, where Dom joins Koreen Odiney to talk about hard conversations and working through discomfort: The Importance of Hard Conversations and Self-Reflection

Donate money or time to the cause:

One of the easiest ways to contribute to change and show your support for LGBTQ+ people is to donate to organizations that advocate for their rights and mental health. You can donate your hard earned cash or your time as a volunteer, your choice. There are many groups that do amazing work!

If you want to support LGBTQ+ young people, as they are the ones who need our care the most, you can donate to the Gay-Straight Alliance. The GSA network unites LGBTQ+ students and LGBTQ+ youth allies at school. Their clubs build strong inclusive communities and are safe spaces for anyone no matter their gender or sexuality. Another amazing organization that supports the LGBTQ+ youth is The Trevor Project. Consider volunteering or making a donation to any of these to support young people during pride!

You can find a huge list of organizations that support the LGBTQ+ community HERE.

Stand up against anti-LGBTQ+ people:

Homophobia is still real, despite being a painfully retrograde mindset. As allies of the LGBTQ+ community, we have to stand up whenever we witness aggression or lack of respect towards them. This includes putting family members on the spot if they make a homophobic comment or stopping a colleague from glaring at a non-binary coworker. Let’s fight microaggressions together! Show your commitment to inclusion by taking a stand against discrimination.

To dive deeper into becoming a messenger for acceptance and spreading your truth tun in to this episode: Becoming the Messenger That You’ve Been Waiting For with Ashlee Marie Preston.

Use your social media platforms to support the LGBTQ+ community:

Your social media channels can be a force for awareness, change, inclusion, and JOY. So post pictures if you attend a Pride event. Share your favorite LGBTQ+ influencers, businesses, products, documentaries, etc. Be sure to share resources for LGBTQ+ people and other allies on how to support the community and keep learning. You can even utilize new social features like putting your pronouns in your bio. Allyship should be celebrated, so use your social media to show your support!

Fore more on building confidence and using social media to spread positive messages: Building Confidence with Jonathan Van Ness.

Support LGBTQ+ businesses:

This one is quite simple. LGBTQ+ people are creatives, entrepreneurs, influencers, podcasters, and small business owners. So go ahead and support their projects! It makes no difference to you to get your coffee from Starbucks or an LGBTQ+-owned cafe. And guess what? It means the world to them! Allyship shows in many ways. Buying from LGBTQ+ businesses is one of them.

Go to a Pride Month event:

Pride Month is a time to spread love and acceptance everywhere you go. There are many fun events all around the country and WORLD where the community gets together to celebrate. Why not join them? You’ll have a blast! These are some of the most joyful events on the planet. Try a Pride parade, a Pride street fair, or just hang with your LGBTQ+ loved ones. Check to see if your favorite fitness studio, bars, or restaurants have any PRIDE events. Most businesses do! Get involved with the community and show your PRIDE!

Don’t stereotype your LGBTQ+ friends:

LGBTQ+ people are much more than what the media depicts them to be. They’re not a walking rainbow nor extremely masculine or feminine. They’re just like everyone else, with their own ups, downs, struggles, successes, baggage, and stories. Avoid stereotypes by not referring to them as your “LGBTQ+ friend” or expecting them to act a certain way. Also, don’t prescribe hetero-normative roles on them by asking intrusive questions like “Who wears the pants in the relationship?” Leave those in the past and stay up-to-date with their cause.

If you are unsure about what an LGBTQ+ stereotype looks like, listen to this fantastic episode of Let’s Go There. Terrel and Jarius get real about the preconceptions the LGBTQ+ community has to deal with all the time: Annoying LGBTQ+ Stereotypes That Need to STOP.

Be inclusive in all areas of your life:

Lastly, but not least, practice inclusivity in all areas of your life. It’s not enough to just say you accept them and are an ally. Show them! Invite your bisexual friend and their partner to have lunch at your house, join your trans colleague at the Pride parade, share their stories if they want you to. Use pronouns, have your LGBTQ+ friend’s back and be a staunch ally to the community. Live life as LGBTQ+-friendly as possible and advocate for inclusivity!

Listen to this in-depth conversation about inclusion on this episode of The Dissenters: Christian Siriano: The Inclusion Pioneer, on Disrupting Fashion, Championing Inclusion, and Changing Runways Forever.

Listen to the LGBTQ+ voices:

As you know, we’re all about amplifying diverse voices. The LGBTQ+ community has some incredible voices that share their stories on the regular through both hosting podcasts and interviews. To kick off your audio experience, check out Let’s Go There hosted by Terrell and Jarius Joseph. This duo is known for being real and authentic about their family, lifestyle, and of course opinions. We particularly love this incredibly authentic episode where they share their love story & this episode on Throuples, Only Fans, & Threesomes. We also recommend Say Yas to the Guest with Patrick Starrr. Patrick is an Asian American podcast host, beauty guru, and overall boundary breaker when it comes to crushing stereotypes. He’s all about diversity and inclusion both in his own life and in the guests he chooses for interviews. Hear from beauty gurus, drag queens, & honestly some of the most inspiring stories in the game.

More great LBGTQ+ podcast content:

How are you showing support for the LGBTQ+ community this Pride month?

Now you are ready to show your LGBTQ+ loved ones your support! Remember, it’s important to go above and beyond with your allyship this month more than ever. Stand up for all members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Questioning community! Are you a member of the LGBTQ+ community or a fierce ally? How are you celebrating Pride month this June? We’d love to hear your stories! Happy pride, everyone. Spread love and acceptance!

For more stories of diversity, check out this post on the Asian American Experience in America.