The absolute truth: Alcohol companies sponsored disproportionately more queer Pride festivals than July Fourth festivals in 2019

Abstract

Introduction Despite known disparities in alcohol use among queer communities in the United States, little is known about the extent to which alcohol companies sponsor queer Pride festivals each June. This study aimed to (1) examine the nature and extent of alcohol sponsorship of Pride in 2019 and (2) compare the prevalence of alcohol sponsorship for Pride versus Fourth of July festivals. Methods We identified Pride festivals through InterPride’s 2019 Pride Radar Report and Fourth of July festivals by searching Google. Researchers recorded each festival’s name and location, then sorted their sponsors into ten categories. We adjusted for overall population count and same-sex couple count estimates; and only included cities in our sample that hosted both Pride and Fourth of July festivals in 2019. Results Researchers identified 207 Pride and 154 Fourth of July festivals in 45 states and 129 cities, which included 4,643 Pride and 972 Fourth of July festival sponsors. Pride festivals had a significantly higher percentage of alcohol sponsors (9.1% (95% CI: 9.0%, 9.1%)) compared to Fourth of July festivals (2.0% (95% CI: 1.9%, 2.2%)) (p < 0.001). We also found a significant interaction between the prevalence of alcohol sponsors and US region. Conclusions Our findings indicate a greater need to understand the extent to which alcohol marketing at Pride celebrations contributes to alcohol use.