Some Companies Back Away From LGBT Pride – Parents Should Still Be Watchful
Corporations are providing less support for LGBT pride month this year, leading some activist groups to scale down their celebrations of sexual sin and brokenness.
But parents should still be mindful; it’s very easy for families to stumble across LGBT parades, events and merchandise. Parents will want to plan ahead to protect their children as much as possible from exposure to sexually confusing, inappropriate subjects.
One study, from Gravity Research’s “Pride Pulse Poll,” surveyed leaders across Fortune 500 and Global 1000 companies about their anticipated corporate involvement in pride month. The survey found:
- Scaled-Back Visibility: 39% of companies plan to reduce Pride-related engagement in 2025. Notably, no respondents reported plans to increase engagement.
- Quiet Internal Continuity: Despite pullbacks in external-facing efforts like event sponsorships and social media branding, internal initiatives – such as workplace activities or partnerships with employee resource groups – remain largely intact.
- Backlash Planning in Progress: 65% of respondents say they are actively preparing for backlash, crafting reactive communication strategies and training HR teams to manage internal sentiment.
The Advocate, an LGBT activist magazine, noted one of the reasons for this reduced support was that companies were abandoning “diversity, equity and inclusion” programs. As this occurred, “Many also axed their commitments to LGBTQ+ Pride Month.”
The news outlet listed 14 corporations that “have stopped or scaled back sponsorship” of pride parades and activities, including Anheuser-Busch, Citi, Comcast, Garnier, Lowes, Mastercard, Nissan, PepsiCo, Target and Walmart.
Anheuser-Busch, for example, stopped sponsoring pride events in St. Louis, San Francisco and Columbus, while in New York City, “Hair care company Garnier was one of the four ‘Platinum’ donors that has withdrawn its support in 2025,” The Advocate reported.
Over at the conservative news and opinion outlet Red State, Senior Reporter Brandon Morse wrote:
“Major businesses that once plastered their logos with the Pride flag the moment June 1 rolled around have kept their logos virtue-signal-free.”
Morse listed Microsoft, IBM, Xbox, Target and Starbucks as companies no longer including LGBT symbols in their logos.
Despite this pullback by some companies, parents should be aware that pride events are still happening across the U.S. throughout June – and not only this month, as the LGBT calendar and events now stretch from January to December. In addition, many stores carry LGBT merchandise year-round.
It’s no longer a question of “if” children will encounter homosexuality and transgenderism in the culture – it’s “when” will they do so. So here are a few ideas, along with some resource suggestions, to help parents keep their children grounded in truth and protect them from sexually confusing ideology.
1. Teach your children God’s good design for humanity and marriage, before they encounter damaging and false ideas. In age appropriate ways, help children understand the basics: God created humans male and female; He designed marriage to be between a husband and wife; and a married mom and dad provide the best, safest place for raising children.
Simple conversations about these issues should take place earlier than you might think, as children can be exposed to these issues at very young ages. Remember, too, that this should be an ongoing conversation as they grow and mature.
2. Plan ahead as you travel and visit different cities. It’s easy to check online and avoid areas where LGBT parades and celebrations are taking place.
3. When your children encounter harmful teaching and images about sexuality, stay calm and cool, and discuss what happened. Listen to what they say, ask questions and assure them that they did nothing wrong – but the people who exposed them to these things were wrong to do so.
If you’re angry, acknowledge this to them, but offer assurance that you’re not upset with them, you love and care about them, but you are unhappy about what happened to them.
If they’ve seen destructive sexual behaviors or images, pray over them, asking God to cleanse their minds and protect them.
4. Make sure you’ve also taught your children about God’s plan for salvation. Talk with them about God’s good creation, how people disobeyed Him and sinned, and about His plan of salvation for all of us. Remind your kids that God loves everyone – even those who get caught in sinful behaviors – and He helps people get freedom from sin.
How you manage these subjects will depend upon their age, of course, but your children need to know it’s always safe to talk with you about difficult issues.
Focus on the Family and the Daily Citizen have resources to help parents (and grandparents and other concerned adults) understand LGBT issues and respond to questions from children in healthy, non-reactive ways. We also have resources for those navigating these issues with a family member or friend.
Related Articles and Resources
Counseling Consultations and Referrals
Five Things for Christians to Remember During ‘LGBT Pride Month’
Focus on the Family: Parenting
Focus on the Family Resources: Sex Education
How to Talk to Your Children About Homosexuality: A guide for parents
How to Teach Your Children About Marriage: Creative and practical ideas
Navigating ‘LGBT Pride Month’ – How Should Parents Respond?
Raising Children Who Honor Marriage: What you should know
The Talk: Healthy Sexuality Education – Basic Goals and Guidance from Focus on the Family
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