“When we get defined as narrowly sexual people, we lose our full identity.” What concerns me is that it plays into a stereotype that LGBTQ people are more sexualized than everyone else,” he said. “It’s not unusual that sexualizing comes about in advertising. Witeck added in a telephone call that Pride Month messaging needs to be “as authentic as possible” to avoid giving the impression that events such as drag queen story hours and brunches open to small children are “sexualized events.” “When the message uses sex in a specific way, it says to me that’s who they think I am.” “Pride season always brings out creativity from marketers, with some dismay to gay consumers,” said Bob Witeck, president of the LGBT marketing firm Witeck Communications.
The growing Pride Month emphasis on the “T” in LGBT advocacy has come in response to recent laws in states such as Florida and Texas that restrict young people’s access to transgender resources like public school gender identity lessons and gender-altering medical treatments. This year’s Pride Month shift toward transgender advocacy, “family-friendly” drag shows and sexualized advertising is dividing some LGBT advocates as June draws to an end.