Why We’re Showing Up for Wild Pride Montreal - and Not Corporate Pride
At Origami Customs, we’ve always understood that our work exists within the context of politics and privilege. Yes, we make clothing, but every garment we create is also an act of care for our community, a tool for self-determination, and a reflection of the world we want to live in. Although we may not get everything right, we take great care as a company to act in ways that align with our values regarding ethics and support for a gender-diverse community.
While June is Pride Month in the USA, in Montreal it takes place in August. Although Pride used to be one of my favorite times of year, over the last few years, we’ve become increasingly cautious about participating in mainstream Pride events.
Why We’ve Backed Away from Corporate-Sponsored Pride Events
It’s not that all corporate involvement is inherently harmful. Visibility does matter, especially for those in isolated or unsafe environments. But too often, corporate sponsorship is rooted less in solidarity and more in strategy.
Queer and trans people are often seen as a target demographic with brand loyalty and disposable income, not as a community in need of protection, investment, or care. When companies only show up during June and disappear the moment things get hard, it becomes clear that many never had a real stake in our liberation.
Also, when major Pride festivals rely on corporate funding, it often comes with strings attached. To secure and maintain sponsorships, organizers are pressured to make their events more “neutral,” more “palatable,” and ultimately, less political. That means sidelining calls for justice, avoiding controversial topics, and distancing themselves from the very communities Pride was built to uplift.
It’s a quiet kind of compromise. One that happens behind closed doors but is felt in who gets platformed, whose voices are silenced, and what conversations are allowed to take place. Over time, the values of these events start to reflect the priorities of their funders, not the needs of the community. And when that happens, Pride stops being about liberation and starts being about optics.
That’s why, in 2025, we’re so excited to be a part of something new happening.
Introducing Wild Pride Montreal
Wild Pride emerged in response to something many of us have been feeling for a long time: that mainstream Pride no longer reflects the values of the community it claims to represent. It’s a grassroots uprising led by queer, trans, racialized, Indigenous, disabled, criminalized, unhoused, neurodivergent, Muslim, Jewish, migrant folks and more. The same people who are too often excluded or exploited by corporate Pride festivals. It’s a reclamation of what Pride was always meant to be: a community fighting for itself.
From the Truxx bar raid in 1977 to the police assault on Sex Garage in 1990, our history in Montreal is steeped in resistance. And in 2025, we’re still fighting. Against anti-trans protests like last fall, legislation like the recent Québec Comité de Sages report, against rising fascism, against the corporate pinkwashing of genocide.
We stand with the organizers who have chosen not to take money from corporations complicit in war, occupation, pipelines, and pinkwashing. Instead, they’ve built something from the ground up. Something rooted in care, accountability, and collective action. That’s the kind of Pride we want to be part of.
Why We’re Not Supporting Fierté Montréal
For years, community organizers have raised concerns about the direction Fierté Montréal has taken. Concerns about who is centered, who is excluded, and what values are being prioritized. Those concerns have been consistently ignored.
Time and again, the festival has platformed corporate sponsors that profit from pipelines, war, policing, surveillance, and displacement, companies whose actions directly harm the communities Pride is supposed to uplift. At the same time, grassroots groups and local community members have been sidelined or unsupported, while calls for community change have gone unanswered.
The most recent issue is with Fierté Montréal's decision to provide a platform for companies and organizations that support the Zionist entity. Community members have submitted proposals, written statements, and asked for accountability. Instead of engaging, Fierté Montréal has doubled down, choosing brand partnerships and optics over meaningful solidarity.
Allowing Zionist groups under the banner of Pride ignores the lived realities of those in our community who are directly impacted by settler colonialism, both here and abroad. It sends a clear message: that queer visibility is only welcome when it doesn’t challenge power. That is not a message we can support.
Yes, We Support a Free Palestine
Let’s be clear: our liberation is interconnected.
The systems that endanger queer and trans lives are the same systems fueling dispossession and violence in Palestine. Settler colonialism, militarization, and displacement: these are not isolated issues. They are part of a global structure that treats land, bodies, autonomy, and resistance as threats.
That’s why we stand in full solidarity with Palestinian liberation and with the local groups working tirelessly to keep that struggle visible. We reject pinkwashing: the strategic use of queer visibility to distract from or justify violence. And we reject the idea that safety for some must come at the expense of others.
Solidarity isn’t symbolic. It’s reflected in where we stand, what we build, and who we lift up. Our support for Palestinian liberation can’t just be lip service, and the VERY least we can do is not align with corporate entities or groups that fund and support this horrific genocide.
We’re Proud to Be Part of Wild Pride
We’re so excited to be part of Wild Pride this year, not just as vendors or workshop hosts, but as community members showing up for each other. Being part of this festival feels aligned with everything we’ve worked toward at Origami Customs, not just making affirming clothing, but helping build a world where everyone in our community has access to dignity, autonomy, and support.
There are so many incredible events that we urge you to check out, but here are the ones that we’ll be at!
AGIR Trans Care Day
Date: August 8th
Drop in: 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Location: 950 av Beaumont, 2nd floor (very near metro Acadie and around two blocks away from AGIR's office)
Please register if attending
Event Description:
An evening of free haircuts, tattoos, nail art, portrait photos, and food exclusively for trans and non-binary immigrants and refugees. This event is all about radical joy, community care, and showing up by and for our most marginalized kin. English, but with translators available for French, Arabic, and Spanish.
Free Workshop for Trans and Nonbinary Immigrants and Refugees
Date: August 8th
Workshop Time: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Location: 950 av Beaumont, 2nd floor (very near metro Acadie and around two blocks away from AGIR's office)
For whom: Trans + Non-Binary Immigrant & Refugee Community
Event Description:
Arriving in a new country comes with many challenges, and gender diverse folks face unique challenges when it comes to feeling affirmed! Let's walk through the basics of how to choose the right gender affirmation products for you, like binders, tape, and gaffs. We'll also cover the safety info and best practices to make sure you have a healthy and affirming experience!
This workshop will be one hour long, with a half-hour session reserved for questions and demos at the end. It will be available in English and translated into French, Spanish, and Arabic.
Drop By and Say Hi or Buy!
Date: August 9th
Time: Tabling 12 PM - 3 PM
Location: Tabling will be held in the Rangshala Theatre 251 Avenue des Pins Ouest, #148
Event Description: We will be at a drop-by booth where you can purchase gaffs and binders in all our sizes, have your measurements taken for free, and ask any questions about finding the right gender gear for you! Please read the accessibility info.
Binding and Tucking 101 Free Workshop
Date: August 9th
Workshop Time: 3 PM - 4 PM
Location: Workshops are at Teesri Duniya theatre, held in the Catherine-Macé room. 251 Avenue des Pins Ouest, #148
Event Description:
This event will go over the best practices and tips for both binding and gaffing, as well as help you to decide which products will work best for your body. It will take into account bodies of all sizes, as well as having accurate information about common disabilities and how they interact with binding and gaffing.
We take a harm reduction approach in finding the gender affirmation strategies that work best for you to alleviate dysphoria, while allowing you to make informed decisions about the implications on your health and well-being. It will be available in English. Please read the accessibility info.
Wild Pride March
Date: August 10
Time: 2-5 pm
Location: Place Des Arts
Event Description: We’ll be participating in the Wild Pride March, which will be less of a parade and more of a protest against sanitized Pride initiatives funded by those who oppress. It will be grieving and radical and joyful.
If you’re going to be at the opening party at the Pong Club tonight, or any of the other events around town, come say hi! I love chatting with new folks :)
See You There!
We’re proud to stand with other artists, organizers, and small businesses who are choosing people over profit, and showing what’s possible when we take care of each other at the local level. This is what community looks like, and we’re so honored to be involved. If you’re in Montreal, we can’t wait to see you there!
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