For the longest time, I felt weird about marketing myself.
Not the writing. Not the photography or videos or the endless little creative rabbit holes I disappear into in the middle of the night. I’ve always loved making things.
The awkward part has always been the promotion. Posting links. Selling subscriptions. Talking about merch. Reminding people that creative work may feed the soul, but it doesn’t always pay the rent or the electric bill.
Somewhere along the way, a lot of us absorbed this idea that artists should remain above commerce. Pure. Noble. Eternally creating for the love of the craft while somehow surviving on caffeine, validation, and ramen noodles.
Meanwhile, everybody else in the world gets to monetize their skillsets without being accused of “selling out.”
Over the weekend, a dear paid subscriber reached out asking where he could find my Pride t-shirts and merch. And honestly? I’d completely forgotten Pride Month was almost here.
Thankfully, I already had most of the designs in my Threadless shop, hidden away like a box of rainbow decorations waiting for June to roll around again. So I reopened it.
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And while dusting off the designs and reorganizing the shop, I remembered why I made them in the first place. Not just because they were fun. But because I genuinely love queer culture. I love our flags, our humor, our resilience, our aesthetics, and our uncanny ability to transform survival into art.
We’ve always known how to make beauty out of scraps. How to turn camp into armor. How to create joy even when the world gives us every reason not to.
That’s part of what Pride has always meant to me.
Not just parades and parties and rainbow flags. But visibility. Creativity. Community. The simple but radical act of saying: We’re still here, damnit.
Which is why I’ve always found it a little strange that massive corporations can cash in on Pride every June without much criticism, while independent LGBTQ creators are often expected to stay humble and grateful in the corner while everyone else profits from the party.
Why shouldn’t queer creatives benefit from Pride too?
After all, Pride happens because queer people built it.
People wear Pride shirts because they want to feel connected to something bigger than themselves. They decorate their homes, laptops, jackets, water bottles, and bodies with reminders that they belong somewhere. That they survived something. That they found their tribe(s).
And honestly, queer people have always sold things to survive.
Books. Zines. Posters. Buttons. Photographs. Art prints. Independent magazines. Homemade jewelry. Vinyl records. Drag show tickets.
Long before corporations discovered rainbow capitalism, queer people were creating entire underground economies built around supporting one another’s art, businesses, publications, performances, and survival.
That isn’t “selling out.”
That’s resourcefulness.
That’s community.
That’s Pride.
Especially now, when so many independent queer creators are struggling just to stay visible. Journalism is collapsing. Advertising revenue is unreliable. Social media algorithms reward outrage and nonsense over thoughtful work and genuine connection.
So sometimes a t-shirt sale matters more than people realize.
Sometimes it helps pay for groceries. Or website hosting. Or camera equipment. Or simply the time and space required to keep creating.
So yes, I’m promoting my Pride merch this year. Proudly, actually.
Because every shirt, sticker, mug, subscription, recommendation, and small act of support helps keep independent queer voices alive in a world that still tries, in ways both subtle and obvious, to erase us.
And maybe that’s what Pride has always been about, underneath the glitter and go-go boys, anyway.
Not perfection.
Not branding.
Not corporate slogans.
Just people finding ways to support each other, celebrate each other, and keep showing up for one another year after year after year.
Keep calm and get your Pride on!
Clint 🌈✌️
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
BORN THIS WAY ON THIS DAY
05-20 = Gregory Gray (1959-2019) = Northern Irish singer-songwriter 🌈
05-20 = Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) = French novelist and playwright 🌈
05-20 = Karl M. Baer (1885-1956) = German-Israeli author and social worker 🌈
05-20 = Omar Apollo (1997- ) = American singer-songwriter and actor 🌈
05-20 = Ted Allen (1965- ) = American television host and author 🌈
MAN CRUSH OF THE DAY
Michelangelo had to jump through a bunch of hoops to afford his artistic life. I just bought a phone case not because I need it, but because I can. Live long and prosper!
Go Brian Go, fly your 🌈 flags high, Cheers DougT 🏴🇬🇧