Rainbow-themed products and Pride flags hanging from shop windows is not a scene anyone would have captured a century ago. In 2021, however, being gay, transgender, or any other LGBTQIA+ identity, is something to be celebrated yearly, rather than hidden away and ashamed of. The ever-growing support for the LGBTQIA+ community seemingly creates a corporate incentive to sell Pride-themed products. However, the commercialisation of a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity is risky. An advertisement or product made to show support for the LGBTQIA+ community may, ironically, achieve the opposite if a brand’s true intentions are not allyship but profit. 

Support for the LGBTQIA+ community seemingly creates a corporate incentive to sell Pride-themed products

Now that June, the month to celebrate Pride, has come to a close, it seems to be an appropriate time to question the true intentions behind Pride advertisement campaigns. It is clear that some brands take the opportunity to show the LGBTQIA+ community their wholehearted support. However, it is also clear to see that other brands use Pride month simply as an opportunity for profit, utilising performative marketing strategies to prioritise money over the key purposes of Pride month: showing genuine allyship, support and raising awareness of LGBTQ+ issues.

Every year in June, Skittles change their multi-coloured sweets to white in order to show support for the LGBTQIA+ community, stating that ‘During Pride, only one rainbow matters.’ For the majority of people, this campaign has been well-received, with many seeing it as a powerful statement. For others, however, this campaign was not appreciated. This led to numerous tweets stating confusion at the absence of Skittles’ colour, referring to the campaign as ‘White Pride.’ This backlash seems illogical, as the purpose of their campaign is very clearly stated – it has nothing to do with whiteness or race. Yet, despite this temporary rebrand, there was surprisingly no criticism suggesting that Skittles’ performative marketing was profiting off Pride’s popularity rather than showing genuine ally ship.

The commercialisation of a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity is risky

The issue here is not a few Twitter users twisting the intention of an advertisement campaign. The issue with Pride campaigns is ‘rainbow capitalism’ – a term used to describe brands that falsely claim support for Pride purely for economic gain. In the past, retailers such as Amazon, Apple and Adidas have been criticized for engaging in this. But members of the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies know that Pride is not a commodity. As a result, displaying genuine support for the LGBTQIA+ community may invite a more sustainable drive of profits in the long term, in comparison to the lesser financial gain made solely from some lazy attempts at engaging with Pride month. Ruby, a third year student who is bisexual, told Redbrick that she agrees with this. She states that she would prefer to spend her money in places that she trusts will make ‘a conscious effort to join the fight for equality, rather than interfere with it.’ 

Without insider information, it is difficult to know whether a company has a passion for supporting the LGBTQIA+ community, or just a passion for profit. One way to help determine this is by looking at their employee diversity. If a company’s employees are mostly straight and cisgender, it is not possible for them to claim that they are fully supportive. This may even indicate a level of discrimination in the workplace. 

Brands use Pride month simply as an opportunity for profit, utilising performative marketing strategies to prioritise money

Another indication that a brand may only be engaging with Pride for their own economic benefit is if the company only makes an effort in June. For instance, the mouthwash brand Listerine added the Pride colours to their bottles, yet they have shown no evidence of support for the LGBTQIA+ community in any other month of the year. Although June is the dedicated month for Pride (since it was June 1969 when the Stonewall riots began), equality for the LGBTQIA+ community is a cause that needs to be worked for all year round.

More than two thirds of the LGBTQIA+ community avoid holding hands with their significant other in public out of fear of a negative reaction. Worse yet, the average life expectancy for a black transgender woman in America is just 35 years old. Compare that to the average life expectancies of American cis-gender women (76-80 years) and we can see there is still a long way to go before LGBTQIA+ equality is reached internationally.

Capitalising off performative activism is not helpful […] temporary rebranding is the bare minimum a brand can do to push for equality

To add to this, despite promising a ban on conversion therapy – an immoral practice used to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, found to create both physical and emotional trauma — this so-called ‘therapy’ has yet to be banned. Furthermore, it was only this month that more gay and bisexual men were allowed to donate blood. The previous rules meant that all men who had sex with other men were only able to donate blood if they abstained from sex for three months. 

In light of this information on present day LGBTQIA+ discrimination, capitalising off performative activism is not helpful. Temporary rebranding is the bare minimum a brand can do to push for equality; particularly those that are multi-million-pound empires and, therefore, have plenty of money to spend on LGBTQIA+ campaigns within their company. Showing genuine allyship all year round rather than exclusively in June signals that a business has a passion for more than just profit. These are the companies that will change the heartbreaking statistics into numbers that bleed nothing but LGBTQIA+ equality.

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On Sexuality: Rejecting Labels and Embracing Preferences

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