When the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the Bay Area’s vibrant queer nightlife, as it has done to arts and entertainment across the country, the inspiration for expanding the newly launched Glitter Worthy Store was born.
This revolution was said to have occurred in the 1960s and up until then, the LGBTQ community were referred to as the third gender.
This view started right after the Stonewall riots in the late 1970s to early 1980s. Since then, the cry for liberation and the acceptance of the rights of the LGBT has been a constant debate among scholars, the church and lay people. Despite the widespread integration of LGBT communities to mainstream culture, it is undeniable that some people are apprehensive with the thought of having a neighbor who is lesbian or gay.
Online boutiques are being created to show original work of an expanding line-up of artists with 20 percent of all sales going directly to those artists, the queer icons they celebrate, or a revolving group of LGBTQ+ nonprofits badly in need of funds due to the 2020 economic downturn.
Glitter Worthy Store is the brainchild of couple Chris Knight and Celso Dulay, cofounders of Glitter Bomb TV, an online entertainment portal for the LGBTQ+ community. The duo originally opened the store as a way to monetize video content following alleged discrimination and censorship resulting in a class-action lawsuit vs. Google/YouTube in 2019.
Our community has a long history of overcoming hardships and coming together to support each other. During the AIDS crisis, the last major pandemic to impact us in the U.S., our city led the way with the formation of organizations such as the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence that have become two of the world’s largest LGBTQ+ fundraising operations. It’s in our DNA to do this.
To spread the good word and help drive more product sales during the 2020 holiday shopping season to support queer artists and icons, Glitter Worthy Store has launched a new “Shop Love. Shop Small.” campaign on Facebook and Instagram.
The coronavirus crisis has caused a culture shock across the country. Along with the tourism sector, cultural and creative sectors have been some of the hardest hit in terms of economic impact contributing to up to 5.5 percent of all jobs at risk. For queer nightlife, which was shut down U.S. cities back in March, the pandemic has led to mass unemployment for bartenders and wait staff, DJs, dancers, drag artists, producers and promoters of nightlife events and festivals, production artists, lighting designers and event photographers.