Pride or Profit: Assessing the Authenticity of the Pride Flag as an Identity Safety Cue for LGBTQ+ Americans

ABSTRACT Once a signal of resistance, the Pride flag is now a global marker of LGBTQ+ acceptance—one that governments, businesses, and individuals routinely use to express support of sexual diversity. The flag is thus regarded as an identity safety cue, conveying that LGBTQ+ people can expect to be safe where it is present. However, with its widespread use, LGBTQ+ people might question whether its use represents authentic inclusion or serves external motives of allyship. To explore these tensions, we conducted a qualitative study with LGBTQ+ participants ( N = 76; M age = 42; 65% White; U.S.‐based). We identified contextual considerations, such as distinguishing between flag users’ personal choice versus commercial interests and recognizing behavioral (in)consistencies with the flag's values. We also identified desirable contexts for flag displays (e.g., public spaces, historically exclusive domains) and its complementary identity threat cues (e.g., Trump and Christianity symbols). We situate findings in the flag's historical and political roots.