Rachael Proud
As I’m sitting here educating myself about historical LGBTQIA+ events, icons, and movements, I’m reminded about how much the community has overcome, whilst also being reminded of the battles that we had to face in the first place. One of these being, of course, the battle with the cold, hard clutches of corporate capitalism.
According to the BBC Article, Business: The Economy: The Pink Pound, an “upwards of 90% of gay people support businesses which target pink money, while actively boycotting anti-gay companies”, and with the annual purchasing power of the global LGBTQIA+ community estimating around $3.9 trillion dollars (Forbes, 2023), it doesn’t take an economics student to realise how valuable the market is. However, for companies to obtain some of this money, and to avoid the subsequent boycotts, they had to actively make an effort to include the LGBTQIA+ community in their products – in the eyes of profit, it doesn’t matter whether you actually believe in something as long as the money is pouring in.
as long as the “pink” are spending their pounds on the products, that’s all that matters
And thus began the trend of “rainbow-washing”, which, according to the Urban Dictionary refers to “the act of using or adding rainbow colours and/or imagery to advertising, apparel, accessories, landmarks […] in order to indicate progressive support for LGBTQ equality (and earn consumer credibility) – but with a minimum of effort or pragmatic result”. And so, at midnight on the first of June, the first day of Pride Month, every company in the conscious mind changes their online profile pictures to don the rainbow flag. And for the whole 30 days, their main priority is to sell rainbow-coloured merchandise to as many people as possible, because as soon as the clock strikes twelve on the first of July, you’ll probably never see any of these products again. Because as long as the “pink” are spending their pounds on the products, that’s all that matters.
Some of you may be reading this thinking, “but writer, what do you mean? At least they’re making the effort!”, but you see, dearest reader, if we sit and think about it, how much effort is really being put into this? Of course, we can see that some companies put honest work into their pride campaigns, doing more than just slapping on the rainbow flag and calling it a day, but just because a company puts effort into their Pride campaign, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they have the community’s best interest at heart.
What we have seen, time and time again, are companies releasing products and content for the sake of being “politically correct”
In 2019, Marks and Spencer launched their pride sandwich, a twist on the classic BLT, of which they decided to name the “Lettuce, Guac, Bacon & Tomato” – the “LGBT”. Now, I am an English student, and even though the anagram fills me to the brim with the deepest discomfort and feels so morally questionable, you’ve got to admit, it’s very smart. You can tell the idea was workshopped, it probably went through multiple stages of development, a lot of people in the company got involved in this idea. And whilst no one is bashing its creativity, it’s hard to believe that in that whole process, not one person thought the reduction of LGBTQIA+ community to basic sandwich ingredients could come across as offensive or reductionist? Not to mention that, due to the fact it wasn’t vegan or vegetarian, it couldn’t even be enjoyed by everyone. Isn’t that the whole point of Pride Month?
Pride month is in full swing and we’re celebrating with our tasty twist on the classic BLT. Lettuce, guacamole, bacon and tomato – our LGBT sandwich is the perfect lunchtime treat. Donating £10,000 to @aktcharity and €1000 to @BeLonG_To, M&S is proud to celebrate Pride month. pic.twitter.com/q1kMPAJApf
— M&S (@marksandspencer) June 19, 2019
But it’s not just M&S that falls victim to allegations of rainbow-washing! Even companies in 2023 were getting called out for their performative activism. Bud Light failed to support transphobic comments against Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender influencer that they used to represent their product. Innocent deleted a Twitter thread as soon as homophobic comments were made and in doing so, deleted support for the community in an effort to “keep the peace”. What we have seen, time and time again, are companies releasing products and content for the sake of being “politically correct”, rather than because they genuinely want to support and help improve the community.
While I agree the visibility is great, visibility is also nothing if you do not also offer protection. How can you celebrate LGBTQIA+ voices if you’re also condemning them to a month of validating their own existence? How can you preach of love but then abandon people after putting their heads in the mouth of a lion? When a company rainbow-washes, it shows that a company cares enough to profit, but not enough to defend us in our time of need.
Look for the companies that are using what we put in to go out and make reasonable changes
So, what can we do? How do we know what are the right companies to support? Who can we actually trust? I know it’s not the answer everyone’s wanting, but to maximise the power of the Pink Pound, we need to exercise some critical thinking. When June rolls around and companies come out of the woodwork waving their rainbow flags, try and look for the companies that, rather than just selling products, are also actively supporting the community.
Look for companies that do the following: donate a certain revenue to LGBTQIA+-friendly charities; have actively supported the community all-year round; changed their policies to make it easier for LGBTQIA+ individuals; spoken out about (and are prepared to fight for) LGBTQIA+ issues. Instead of buying into the rainbow, let’s support the companies that are proactively going out and supporting the community. Look for the companies that are using what we put in to go out and make reasonable changes.
we are so much more than just a “target audience”
I am but a simple soul, I see a pride pin, I will most likely buy said pride pin. But before I add anything into my basket this year, I’m going to be thinking whether the company that I’m buying from really has my best interest at heart. The LGBTQIA+ community is a group of real and valid people fighting for international rights and representation and we are so much more than just a “target audience”. We’re the LGBT community (which, despite everything… is still not a sandwich).
Rachael Proud
Featured image courtesy of daniel james via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 courtesy of @marksandspencer via twitter.com. No changes were made to this image.
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