The brand Simple Gay Apparel is striving to create clothing that will allow members of the LGBTQ community to communicate their identity and emotions at any time throughout the year.
A 2021 national survey found that 62% of the youth LGBTQ community reported that they were suffering from Major Depressive Disorder. Simple Gay Apparel was started because you often see clothing worn supporting the LGBTQ community only during Gay Pride month in June and most of the clothing is geared toward only the emotion pride.
“…I now say to people when I’m selling out and about that, you know, we have gay pride but where’s my gay depression?” said Emily Gross, creator of Simple Gay Apparel. “I think pride is just one aspect of the experience.”
The brand was started four years ago, and Gross is continuing to spread awareness about her growing clothing line. In 2022, Simple Gay Apparel traveled around the country selling at universities in North Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Maryland. Gross lives in College Park, Maryland.
“Finding people who don’t say negative things to you but who support you and understand you and desire to listen to you, I think that is a difficult thing.” Gross said. “I want people to feel confident about expressing themselves, about expressing their sexuality.”
Now members of the LGBTQ community have more opportunities for expression than the rainbow colors alone.
“At the time, that was really big for me,” she said of her early clothes and color. “It was, like, these rainbows and this positivity. This isn’t what I’m feeling. And I think I can do a lot with sort of like poking fun at the complexity of the experience.”
For more information about Emily Gross and Simple Gay Apparel, check out its website.
Reporter: Victoria Crosdale
Anchor: Mckenzie Muskett
Show Editor: Lauren Siegal
Web Editor: Christopher Zingale
