The Corporate Use of Pride is (Partly) a Good Thing
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Note: I am a cisgender straight man. This issue doesn’t affect me directly, but it affects people that I know and love.
We’re currently in the middle of Pride Month, and much has been made about the way corporations are using it as a way to cynically further their brand, and make themselves look cool. There is no doubt that this is problematic, and that it’s a complicated issue, with many layers and nuances. It’s always a little uncomfortable when a company looks at something important to you, and all they can say is, “How can we use this to make money?”
But I kind wonder if (in an indirect way) take-down pieces about the corporate use of pride month add fuel to the old “businesses should stay out of politics,” fire.
There have always been people who ridicule and condemn any mention of social issues in the media. A recent Billboard Hot 100 song by country singer John Rich even asks that celebrities and sport stars outright “Shut Up about Politics.” Many believe that most social issues (racism, sexism, homophobia, etc.) are just nonsense created by “SJWs,” or some other internet boogeyman, and are not worthy of our consideration. One can imagine that these individuals find a certain common ground with writers who criticize the corporate use of Pride Month.
A few months ago, Gillette released a commercial that discussed toxic masculinity, and the controversy that followed that commercial is an interesting mirror to what’s happening right now.
Yes, that commercial was most likely made because someone at Gillette said, “If we do this, it might help drive sales.” But when all is said and done, did they actually do something bad? Would we have preferred if the commercial never existed? Should we have sided with all the people who told Gillette to “shut up, and stay out of politics?”
Again, this is a complex issue, and there are many aspects of it that need to be considered. Are the businesses who use pride hypocrites because of otherwise unethical practices that they still do behind-the-scenes? Is it healthy that we live in a world where so much of what we see and hear is created only for profit?
But for what its worth, I still feel that it’s better to air on the side of visibility and discussion, rather than invisibility and silence. The motivations for engaging in Pride Month are profit-driven, but the end result is still a greater level of attention being paid to important issues and marginalized people.
If nothing else, it’s at least better than the old world, where the mainstream pretended LGBTQ people didn’t exist.
Special Thanks to Savannah Geary