Are queer creators only remembered in June?
When June arrives, so do the brand briefs.
For queer creators and their talent managers, Pride Month brings a flood of rainbow-themed campaigns, inclusive messaging, and calls for creator-led content. But as the calendar turns to July, much of that interest vanishes, revealing just how seasonal some brands’ commitment to the community still is.
While India’s influencer marketing industry is projected to surpass ₹3,600 crore this year (Comscore, 2025), queer creators continue to be sidelined for most of it. For many, brand interest peaks only during Pride Month—and even then, the collaborations often feel rushed, transactional, and lacking in genuine inclusion.
“There’s an undeniable spike in demand during Pride Month,” says Rachit Sharma, Head of Brand Partnerships and Strategy at Qoruz. “Brands often approach with briefs focused on inclusivity, diversity, and visibility, which, while well-intentioned, can feel seasonal and performative if not backed by long-term commitment.”
This seasonal approach is something talent managers have seen year after year. “The Pride Month briefs come in every shape and colour just like the pride flag — almost like a flash sale for inclusion,” says Danny Advani, Head of Business Strategy at Dot Media. “It’s critical because this is the only time queer voices get a chance to make money. Post that, brands fizzle out and their quote of inclusivity reaches max capacity.”
And this year, even that brief burst of interest has dropped. Creator Arjun Madan says the number of campaigns has gone down, and that the larger cultural shift around diversity may be playing a role in how brands are showing up.
“Usually brands only wake up during June to give campaigns to queer creators. The rainbow DP, the badges for employees, etc., are their bare minimum attempts at rainbow washing,” he says. “But this year it’s even fewer than before — maybe because we’re seeing a shift toward conservative governments globally, and that’s affecting how corporations approach DEI efforts.”
And even when the briefs do arrive, they often follow a familiar template. Surface-level gestures, tight timelines, and a very specific idea of what queer representation should look like. Which brings us to the next big question:
Who gets picked & what gets told
During Pride Month, certain brand categories have historically taken the spotlight—beauty, fashion, and skincare, where identity is visually expressed, have long dominated. But that may be starting to shift. Increasingly, brands from traditionally quieter sectors are stepping into the conversation, signalling a broader and more inclusive approach to LGBTQ+ representation.
“Now Pride month is fortunately open to all brands and categories,” says Danny Advani. “We welcome them all, we aren’t picky and choosy like our dates on Friday night.”
It’s not just limited to lifestyle and grooming anymore; finance, FMCG, and even legacy brands are starting to test the waters.
Rachit Sharma points to a recent example. “We’re now seeing growing interest from FMCG brands who are celebrating this month. For example, Britannia recently urged Parle in one such campaign… However, these still form a smaller slice of the pie. For inclusion to be meaningful, queer creators need to be seen as default talent for any vertical — not just diversity checkboxes.”
But while the range of categories is expanding, the diversity of voices being platformed often isn’t.
Both Sharma and Advani highlight a clear trend: brands tend to favour creators who fit a “safe” mould — urban, English-speaking, mid-tier in follower count, and often androgynous in appearance. These choices, while seemingly progressive, still reflect a narrow definition of queer representation.
“Brands tend to gravitate toward ‘normalised queerness’ so that it’s more palatable for their audience,” Advani notes. “Creators who are well-spoken, urban, often androgynous in style, and aligned with metro culture. Trans and non-binary creators are still underrepresented, and the gaps are still large and wide. There’s also a tendency to pick ‘poster’ profiles — those who check boxes rather than challenge norms. It’s improving, but we’ve got a long way to go.”
Sharma says the same, “Brands often lean toward creators who are urban, metro-based… binary-presenting, or whose content feels ‘brand-safe’ in tone… in the mid-tier influencer range (50K–500K followers), ensuring reach but not risking controversy. This leaves out a large section of queer voices — especially trans creators, non-binary voices, drag artists, or those in smaller towns who might have highly engaged communities but don’t always align with conventional brand aesthetics.”
For creators like Arjun Madan, this filtering isn’t just visible in who gets picked, but it also shows up in how campaigns are structured and what kind of voice they’re allowed to bring.
“Yes, I have felt this. There are certain brands that won’t engage with me throughout the year but will only send me PR packages during June. There is a hotel in Delhi that declined to work with me and said, ‘he doesn’t go with the image of our restaurants’, but came to me during Pride Month for a video bite, they wanted to tell the world that they are inclusive. They have also declined entry to a queer couple whom I am friends with. I declined the collaboration.”
Even when creators are approached, the brief often leaves little room for real storytelling, especially the kind that shows the complexity or truth of queer lives.
“The briefs are usually very generic and simplistic. Most brands don’t want to address any real issues, but rather have a rainbow stamp on their content in a sense. The opposite end of the spectrum is where a brand asked me to fabricate traumatic details of my life and journey because ‘sad stories sell.’”
While some brands are trying to move beyond tokenism, many still operate within a limited framework of queer representation, one that prioritises who is deemed ‘safe’ enough to be the face of it.
What real inclusion looks like
If brands want to be seen as true allies, they need to show up when it’s not June. Visibility during Pride is easy, but equity is demonstrated in who you hire, how you compensate, and whether queer creators are integral to your brand story year-round.
To Arjun Madan, genuine allyship can’t be manufactured.
“Real allyship is when brands are not being performative. They are paying queer creators and brands and not expecting ‘barters’. When they work with queer creators, even in November and February, they let their platform tell the actual stories of the people they’re working with. It’s also just a feeling — most queer people can tell when an attempt of allyship is genuine vs when it’s just for optics.”
He breaks it down further and points out three things he wants to tell brands,
- “Pay people — your ‘exposure’ doesn’t pay bills.
- Engage in meaningful conversations with the community beyond what you’re putting out on social media. Use your resources to support queer non-profits.
- Hire more queer employees. Diversity in the workplace automatically breeds a sense of acceptance. It also financially supports the community.”
Advani urges brands to stop treating queer representation as a seasonal checkbox. He says, “Acceptance is key — just because someone is Gay, Bi, Lesbian, etc., doesn’t mean they won’t eat out of your yellow, pink, blue packaging. They embrace the colours and so should you…If you’re truly inclusive, consider striking long-term deals. Stop tokenising or pink washing.”
And this shift needs to begin at home. Internal policies need to change for it to reflect in brand communication.
Rachit Sharma outlines what meaningful change looks like.
- “Shift from tokenism to trust — treat queer creators as long-term collaborators.
- Inclusion by default — cast them in everyday campaigns, not just pride content.
- Internal alignment — if your team isn’t inclusive, your campaigns won’t be either.”
“Queer creators are not here to be ‘featured,’” he adds. “They’re here to be seen, heard, and respected — just like any other creator.”
Queer creators aren’t waiting to be ‘given’ space; they've already built communities, crafted powerful narratives, and shaped culture across categories. What they need now is for brands to catch up, not just during Pride Month, but through year-round collaborations.
If brands are serious about inclusivity, it’s time to move beyond rainbow-tinted content calendars. Because allyship isn’t measured in Instagram posts, they are measured in who gets paid, who gets to be on platforms, and who gets to belong, even when the world isn’t watching.
After all, Pride may be one month but queer lives, voices, and stories are all year long.
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