There goes the gayborhood. In June of 2003, the year I graduated high school, homosexuality was still effectively illegal in 14 states, including Florida, Texas, and Massachusetts. Twenty years later, cities around the country have once again lowered their flags, raised the ubiquitous rainbow colors as if in submission to some conquering foreign army, and opened their arms to an ever-growing array of identities we term broadly, but incorrectly, “gay.” America has come a long way on the topics of sex and gender, and in many regards the country is improved. But for fear of once again landing on the “wrong side of history,” we’ve adopted a culture of accepting almost anything, no matter how illogical. This has produced a liberal discourse of spectacular incoherence, through which we’ve mainstreamed both regressive leftist gender ideology in the name of progress, and a celebration of moral excess in the name of tolerance. Conservative backlash was inevitable, and congrats, it now extends well beyond its original catalyst in early education, bringing us finally — and back — to a tidal shift in perception threatening everything from gay marriage, to gay relationships.

At first glance, a meaningful erosion of gay acceptance doesn’t seem serious. We see the colorful signs of progress everywhere. But today, what is really meant by the phrase “gay rights”?

This month, as has been the case for many summers now, tech shaped the Pride terrain. Google made it easier to connect with “LGBTQ+”-owned businesses, Airbnb threw a spotlight on “LGBTQ+” experiences, and Meta launched a series of “LGBTQ+” activations. “Gay people are okay,” the companies seemed to be saying. “Gay people are fine.” Millions were reached, and nobody cared. It was the kind of effort someone might have noticed a decade ago, in that simpler period of American history between the moments Britney shaved her head, and Donald Trump became our president. TechCrunch would have loved it. But now, in a culture saturated by the sentiment, it takes a little more to sizzle: a cartoon peach in a jockstrap, for example, and a national convo on butt stuff.