Fayetteville PRIDE leader: Rainbow Pages helps LGBTQ make a difference with their dollars

Taylor Shook, The Fayetteville Observer
·2 min read
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Phonebooks have long listed individuals on white pages and businesses on yellow pages. Now, Fayetteville has a new directory — the Rainbow Pages.

Today, Fayetteville PRIDE published listings of 75 area businesses that are owned or operated by members of the LGBTQ community or their allies.

It includes medical providers, retailers, restaurants, bars, wedding services, religious organizations, veterinarians, salons and tattoo shops, as well as banks, lawyers and real estate firms.

Fayetteville PRIDE, which was founded in 2017, aims to support and educate the LGBTQ community. President Katrinna Marsden said that while great strides have been made toward equality, there is still a long way to go, and the Rainbow Pages can help patrons make a difference with their dollars.

Rainbow Pages, a new directory from Fayetteville Pride, lists LGBTQ-owned, operated or affirming businesses, doctors and other services.
Rainbow Pages, a new directory from Fayetteville Pride, lists LGBTQ-owned, operated or affirming businesses, doctors and other services.

PRIDE leader says LGBTQ community, allies can put their money where their mouth is

Supporting businesses like the ones in the Rainbow Pages could increase the negative financial impact of bills that discriminate against LGBTQ people and make them less likely to be signed into law, Marsden said. note

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For example, outcry from businesses led to the repeal of a state law passed in 2016 that required transgender people in public buildings to use the bathroom corresponding to the gender on their birth certificate and made it illegal for municipalities to adopt anti-discrimination policies to protect LGBTQ people, Marsden said.

Finding LBGTQ-affirming doctors is a high priority

Medical and mental health providers who understand the needs of LGBTQ patients can provide better care, Marsden said.

Fayetteville PRIDE receives many requests for recommendations of LGBTQ-affirming doctors and mental health providers, she said, often from people who are new to the area or who have suffered negative experiences with a current provider.

“Part of our mission is to be a resource to our community, and we felt the charge to provide answers to these questions more accessibly,” she said.

Finding LGBTQ-affirming doctors will be even more important if Senate Bill 641, the Medical Ethics Defense Act passes, Marsden said, which would give medical providers the right to discriminate in providing health care.

Submit a business to the Rainbow Pages

Marsden said she hopes to continue to add more listings. The organization may publish annual hard copies of the directory soon, she said.

Individuals and businesses can submit information via a form to be considered for the Rainbow Pages.

Reporter Taylor Shook can be reached at tshook@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville Rainbow Pages lists LGBTQ-friendly doctors, dining, more