First, a little context: June is designated as Pride Month because of the Stonewall riots, which took place at the end of June 1969. Three years later, it’s just a rainbow dessert that the bakery uses in Pride-themed advertising, and as such has become gay-for-pay.Īs a gay man who loves gay stuff but has mixed feelings about capitalism, I spend June doing two things: celebrating Pride, and worrying about the commercialization of Pride. The rainbow layer cake at Bouchon Bakery started out gay, invented to celebrate national marriage equality in 2015. The entire menu at Big Gay Ice Cream, which is gay-owned and frequently supports LGBTQ nonprofits, is extremely gay. The rainbow pancakes at Dos Caminos, $18, which give nothing to LGBTQ charities, are gay-for-pay. Sweets by Chloe’s rainbow cupcake, which gives 50 percent of the profits from each one sold to an LGBTQ charity, is gay. This Pride, before diving into a rainbow-frosted cupcake or sipping a rainbow-fruit-skewer-topped rosé cocktail, there’s an important question all New York diners should ask themselves: Is this dessert/drink/meal gay? Or is it gay-for-pay?
