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At a time when our government is denying the existence of trans people, erasing trans rights, and generally undoing the progress made toward LGBTQ+ equality in the U.S., boycotts are an outlet for collective anger and a means of fighting bigotry. 

LGBTQ+ history is filled with powerful stories of queer and trans people advocating for our rights by using every tool available, whether it鈥檚 seeking justice through the legal system or pushing back against police violence鈥攜es at Stonewall, but also at and the hundreds of other, lesser-known protests that came before.

And yet, boycotts haven鈥檛 played as central a role in LGBTQ+ liberation as they did during the civil rights movement. 鈥淲e鈥檙e ultimately a fairly small group,鈥� says Eli Erlick, activist and author of . And since companies haven鈥檛 historically valued queer consumers, the impact of a boycott is diluted. 

Still, boycotts have been an important tool for liberation. 鈥淨ueer communities have used boycotts to amplify voices when mainstream media and politics ignored them,鈥� says Jay Santana, an LGBTQ+ historian and activist. 鈥淭hese actions created not just pressure, but visibility.鈥� 

LGBTQ+ Boycotts Build Coalitions and Acceptance

In the 1970s, the to protest discriminatory labor practices at Coors, where employees were disqualified from being hired if they were gay or pro-union. At that time, homophobia was widespread in , but labor leaders also recognized  the organizing power within the LGBTQ+ community, and the organizing talents of Harvey Milk and other LGBTQ+ leaders. Bay Area gay bars refused to stock Coors鈥攖o this day, many still don鈥檛 carry it鈥攁nd bartenders ceremoniously poured out beer in the streets. The Coors boycott helped broker an alliance between LGBTQ+ people and union workers.

In 1977, Miami-Dade County, Florida, passed an ordinance that prohibited discrimination against LGBTQ+ people. Christian singer , who was a spokesperson for the Florida Citrus Commission, instantly began campaigning for its repeal by claiming that LGBTQ+ people groomed children. 

In response, LGBTQ+ leaders organized a and orange juice. Bartenders poured orange juice out in the streets. Protestors wore . The boycott earned more than and made gay rights a mainstream conversation topic.

Though Bryant won the battle and the nondiscrimination ordinance was repealed, she lost the war. 鈥淭he universal anger directed at Anita Bryant was so strong that others joined the struggle and Anita was fired and the LGBTQ+ community had an important victory post Stonewall,鈥� says Robert Kesten, president and CEO of Stonewall National Museum, Archives & Library.

In the years after the Florida orange juice boycott, HIV/AIDS spread through the gay community. We spent our collective energy caring for one another and organizing to demand the callously indifferent respond to the public health crisis. Things were pretty quiet until the same-sex marriage debates. 

When Chick-fil-A鈥檚 CEO spoke out against same-sex marriage, in 2012, public outrage was shift. College students organized to protest Chick-fil-A opening locations on their campuses. Local officials in , , and vowed to prevent Chick-fil-A from opening or expanding in their market. 

In the short-term, sales increased as sympathetic conservatives bought chicken sandwiches in droves. However, the backlash forced Chick-fil-A to . While the company in 2019, they鈥檙e still perceived as anti-queer, which has cost Chick-fil-A . 

When North Carolina passed the first anti-trans bathroom bill in the U.S. in 2016, the ensuing mass boycott felt like a sea change. PayPal and Deutsche Bank nixed plans to expand into North Carolina, costing the state . Musicians including Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, and Demi Lovato canceled appearances. The and relocated events to more inclusive states. 

The anti-trans bill cost North Carolina between $450 million and $630 million, according to . Though that was only around 0.1% of the state鈥檚 overall GDP, it was enough for the state鈥檚 politicians to nix HB2 in 2017. 

In its place, the state鈥檚 legislators passed , which kept many of the anti-LGBTQ+ elements of the hated bathroom bill. Most crucially, HB142 prevented local communities from passing LGBTQ+ non-discrimination ordinances for three years. These subtleties were seemingly overlooked as public opinion celebrated what seemed to be a victory. 

I traveled to Asheville, North Carolina, when HB2 was in effect. While Asheville is a progressive city, I dreaded using public restrooms and being misgendered. The broad support for the boycott was comforting. It was one of a few times I鈥檝e felt like my country was on my side. 

Boycotts Document Our Refusal to Be Erased

Anti-trans measures have only grown in the years since HB2鈥檚 repeal. 鈥淚t鈥檚 alarming when [anti-trans sentiment] is so widespread that it becomes normalized and impossible to enact boycotts,鈥� says Erlick.

With Donald Trump back in office and committed to using executive orders to erase trans rights鈥攏ot to mention the very word 鈥渢ransgender鈥濃�攁 collective fury has spurred a resurgence of calls to boycott corporations that abandoned DEI. 

Take Target, which in market value earlier this year, as consumers have used an economic boycott to protest the company鈥檚 decision to cancel DEI initiatives. Jamal H. Bryant, the senior pastor at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, subsequently called for a that was timed to coincide with Lent. LGBTQ+ consumers, still angry about the retailer鈥檚 prior waffling on whether to , joined in. Now , foot traffic hasn鈥檛 recovered, and Target鈥檚 reputation is in tatters. 

鈥淭arget could have made a very different decision,鈥� says Santana, pointing to the success of retailers like Costco, which stood by DEI and saw in response. Erlick agrees, noting, 鈥淐orporations are ultimately not that supportive of our communities outside of superficial initiatives.鈥� 

The hollowness of brand promises can be painful to realize. But once we come to terms with the shallowness of corporate pledges, queer and trans people can seek ways to leverage our collective power. Santana points to the , a series of decentralized protests held at Tesla dealerships nationwide earlier this year, as Americans registered their discontent with government cuts proposed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk in his role as adviser to Trump, as an example of what鈥檚 possible now. 

Tesla Takedown protests have brought joy and hope in dark times and, more crucially, caused a leadership crisis and for Tesla. When claims of homophobia or transphobia are dismissed as individual sensitivity or snowflake behavior, or minimized with labels like 鈥渃ulture war,鈥� Santana says boycotts name the harm, which helps LGBTQ+ people to heal. 

Increasingly, travelers to the United States鈥攁nd entire countries鈥攁re also refusing to cosign our nation鈥檚 bigotry with their tourist dollars. The most vocal critic has been Canada, whose citizens are seemingly furious with the U.S. over tariffs, broad anti-immigrant and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment, and calls to annex Canada and make it the 51st state. In response, Canadians have begun canceling their vacations to the U.S. and dumping bourbon and other imported products. 

Close allies like , , and , have warned LGBTQ+ citizens against visiting the U.S., amplifying the persecution of trans Americans and validating our outrage. U.S.-based trans journalist Erin Reed maintains a for trans Americans, color-coded to reflect threat levels. Reed has flagged Texas and Florida as 鈥淒o Not Travel鈥� states for the severity of their anti-trans laws, and she warns foreign citizens who are trans against traveling to the U.S. at all. 

The pressure comes with a hefty price tag: Goldman Sachs estimated from decreased travel and trade. 

鈥淏oycotts document our refusal to fund our own erasure,鈥� says Santana. So while the government publicly 鈥� from the Stonewall National Monument鈥檚 website and replaces LGBTQ+ with 鈥淟GB,鈥� boycotts remain an effective means of tapping into our collective power and recommitting to queer liberation.