June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month, an annual celebration of the queer community and a commemoration of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising. In the United States, the Stonewall Uprising was a turning point for the gay rights movement. It was a demonstration of immense courage that paved the way for LGBTQ+ pride. And today, corporations are working tirelessly to honor this historical event by plastering rainbows on T-shirts, manufacturing a wide array of dyed foods, and most recently, serving burgers with mismatched buns.
In all seriousness, the phenomenon of ‘rainbow capitalism’–the commodification of queerness–becomes especially pervasive during Pride Month. Some LGBTQ+ people are excited about seeing frequent representation of their identities. Others view the yearly marketing tactic as another sad instance of exploitation.
Rainbow capitalism’s spectacle is only as recent as the normalization of Pride in mainstream media. Allyship to the queer community has become ‘trendy’ in recent years (an issue to unpack on another day); when businesses caught wind of a new wave of consumers, they began to pander toward LGBTQ+ members and allies. Advertisements were suddenly ablaze with rainbow colors, complete with cheerful taglines about ‘acceptance’ and ‘love.’ A new demographic with exploitable purchasing power became the target of Pride-themed campaigns. Most troubling about queer-friendly commercialization is that it operates under the guise of advocacy.
Through a less cynical lens, one can argue that corporations have good intentions. It may even be empowering to see rainbows in every storefront—a mark of acceptance in a world outside of your GSA club or online queer forums. The impact, however, is mostly harmful. Rainbow capitalism serves as a bitter reminder that our society runs on wealth, not ‘acceptance’ and ‘love’. It centralizes the exchange of money during a month of togetherness and courage. It occupies spaces that are dedicated to uplifting queer voices. It takes a community’s decades-long struggle for liberation, whose pioneers did not live to see the fruits of their labor, and slaps a rainbow sticker on top.
Ultimately, the focus is on profit, not awareness. This is only further proved when companies preach Pride by day and back anti-gay politicians by night. This June, you can show your allyship by supporting queer artists, reading up on queer history, or donating to LGBTQ+ organizations. But you may want to pass on the rainbow Target aisle.
Afterword by Ryan Lalani:
“You’re probably wondering, what else can I do to help the amazing LGBTQ+ community? Luckily, I have the answer for you. Changing your Instagram profile picture to the same thing, but get this, it has a rainbow in the background now. This is by far the most effective way to completely obliterate and make up for all the years of oppression this community has faced. Studies have shown that for each Instagram profile picture changed, ten dollars is donated to the National LGTBQ Task Force. I urge everyone to change their profile pictures. Showing everyone on social media that you are an activist, without doing anything of value to support these organizations is extremely important and will have insurmountable impacts on our future. Pave the way, change your social media profile picture, and save lives. Thoughts and prayers 🙏🏽.”
Afterafterword by Andreana Lee:
“Ryan is joking.”
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