Why is Pride So Corporate?
No group has gained more political leverage and social acceptance over the last three decades than the LGBTQ+ community. Having been born in the mid-late 90s, I came of age as part of the first generation of gay adults who can legally marry in any state. I owe the quality of life I have now to decades of protesting, organizing, litigating, and trailblazing by people far braver than me.
However, rather than being the radical protests they once were, Pride parades in major cities seem increasingly similar to mainstream, cishet-dominant events like 4th of July parades or the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Rather than showcasing everyday queer love and joy, they’ve arguably become a vehicle for corporations to barrage us with shallow pandering and slacktivism.
For today’s piece, we’re looking into how corporations became so intertwined with the LGBTQ+ movement, what some of the main pitfalls of corporate activism are, and how queer people and allies can see beyond rainbow capitalism.
How Corporations Got Involved To Begin With
There are two main theories of why corporations do what they do. Popularized by right-wingers like Milton Friedman and Ayn Rand, the theory of shareholder primacy posits that the primary responsibility of corporations is to maximize shareholder value. This theory argues that it is moral and just for corporations to exploit workers and the environment to generate endless profits, as those returns go to shareholders.
By contrast, stakeholder theory argues that corporations should consider and balance the interests of all stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers, and the community at large. Ideally, this leads to more sustainable and ethical corporate behavior and promotes social responsibility beyond merely lining their pockets.
It stands to reason that if companies want the best available talent to work for them, they need to be able to hire and retain LGBTQ+ workers. Companies began to recognize this in the last few decades — in 1992, Lotus Development became the first public American company to offer benefits for domestic partners of LGBTQ employees. The United Automobile Workers Union organized nationwide and got Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler to do the same in 1999.
By 2013, almost all large retailers, including Walmart, began offering domestic partner benefits. That same year, in United States v. Windsor, over 370 corporations signed onto an amicus brief urging SCOTUS to declare state bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. This was both morally right and would have forced their competitors to also provide the benefits they already provided to same-sex couples.
Even after marriage equality was legally enshrined in Obergefell v. Hodges, some corporations have continued supporting equality. Policies such as North Carolina’s anti-trans bathroom bill and “religious freedom” laws in Arkansas and Indiana were condemned by CEOs, as they threatened not to do business in these states or to pay for employees’ relocation costs should they choose to move. By threatening to hurt a state’s bottom line by not doing business there, a corporation can exert economic pressure while still maximizing both its shareholder value and what it may perceive as its stakeholders’ good.
Of course, there’s also a marketing element to this. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ninety million Americans self-identified as “conscious consumers”, with $3.2 trillion worth of buying power between them. Over 72% of consumers report “that they will actively seek a brand that aligns with their values if price and quality are equal.” While taking a stand on social issues can present some risks for companies, others risk losing profits if they don’t take a stand.
You might wonder, gee, if corporations have been so helpful to us gays, what’s the problem? Well…
Why Corporate Activism Is Dangerous
Queer Issues Aren’t Always Profitable To Address
The examples we talked about above had clear business cases to be made for why corporations pursued them. However, it’s important to remember that some of the same issues that disproportionately affect the queer community are issues that can affect everyone under American capitalism.
Let’s take homelessness as an example — queer youth are over twice as likely to be homeless, and unhoused queer youth experience higher rates of early death and trauma than their non-LGBTQ counterparts. However, homelessness benefits corporations as an (implicit or explicit) threat to hold over workers. Providing queer kids with access to safe and affordable housing requires giving everyone access to safe and affordable housing — and we can’t have that, can we?
Similarly, making healthcare available to all would immediately change the fact that LGBTQ+ people are twice as likely to be uninsured as the general population. Addressing income inequality would bring much-needed relief to the 22% of American LGBTQ+ people who live in poverty. Criminal justice reform will protect queer people of color, who are incarcerated at higher rates (and keep them out of private prisons.) More specifically, decriminalizing sex work would help protect trans women of color, who are the most likely to be in the sex industry and to become victims of violence on or off the job. Corporations won’t pursue any of these, because they’re either too controversial or wouldn’t help their bottom line.
This is, perhaps, the main reason why…
Many Of These Companies Still Donate To Anti-LGBTQ+ Politicians
A 2021 study identified 25 companies that proclaim their support for LGBTQ+ consumers while collectively donating more than $10 million to politicians who sponsor or support anti-LGBTQ+ bills. This practice is best known as “rainbow washing,” where corporations use pro-LGBTQ+ messaging to enhance their image while also being complicit in enacting policies that harm the community.
CVS, for example, received a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign (HRC)’s Corporate Equality Index and proclaimed it with pride on social media when they joined HRC’s Business Statement Opposing Anti-LGBTQ+ State Legislation. Simultaneously, though, CVS supported sponsors of anti-trans legislation in Texas, North Carolina, and Tennessee through its corporate political action committee (PAC). As of 2022, CVS has donated $259,000 to 54 members of Congress who received a rating of zero from HRC, indicating extreme opposition to LGBTQ+ equality.
Would companies like CVS do this because they secretly hate LGBTQ+ people? Maybe, but not necessarily. While companies like Chick-Fil-A and Hobby Lobby are outright in their bigotry towards queer people, some companies may support anti-LGBTQ+, right-wing politicians because the other right-wing policies they promote increase corporate power. Even corporations that claim to love the gays don’t want to be taxed, regulated, or held accountable, and politicians that enable them will get their support.
What makes corporate support for queer rights even more tenuous is that…
Public Opinion Can Turn At Any Time
In my last piece, I talked about how the Overton Window has moved to the right on immigration, leading the Democratic Party to betray the immigration rights groups that helped them get elected. Public opinion is not fixed, and again, corporations will only take action on LGBTQ+ causes if it doesn’t hurt their bottom line to do so.
For the first time in almost three decades, support for LGBTQ+ rights has declined in polling. This decline is predominantly among Republicans — it appears that trolling from accounts like Libs of TikTok and politicians (who might be bankrolled by “queer-friendly” companies) calling queer people “groomers” has been effective at riling up anti-LGBTQ hate on the right. Sentiment that grows on one part of the political spectrum (in this case, the right) can spread quickly to the rest of the country, as has been the case with immigration.
We’ve already seen this with some notable campaigns. When TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney (who is transgender) did an ad for Bud Light, a right-wing outcry led Anheuser-Busch to stop airing the ad and put out a statement that seemingly apologized to transphobes for having been “part of a discussion that divides people” (aka showed a trans person existing on screen).
Notably, they appealed to America’s “remarkable history and heritage” and addressed their apology to “military, first-responders, sports fans, and hardworking Americans everywhere” — ya know, the people who conservatives deem to be real Americans.
From a bottom-line (shareholder) perspective, it’s unsurprising to see Anheuser-Busch act like this. If transphobes boycott Bud Light and LGBTQ+ allies don’t immediately start guzzling a gross beer brand, it’s not going to be worth it to them to be allies.
It is because of this customer backlash (along with previous threats made against employees) that companies like Target and Nike have reportedly scaled back their Pride offerings this year. Conservative talking head Matt Walsh posted on X (formerly Twitter) that “the goal is to make ‘pride’ toxic for brands.” If people like Walsh are successful enough at that, supporting Pride won’t just become toxic for brands, but for the politicians they bankroll too.
How We Move Forward
Personally, I’m left with two main questions here. First, how do we celebrate Pride while also holding corporations accountable? Second, what we can do to make progress?
Since corporations are legally considered people with the unlimited and unquestioned right to political speech, their influence is going to stick around. While it’s debatable to what extent ethical consumption under capitalism is possible, people can “vote with their dollars” in small ways.
Sure, the Corporate Equality Index is a place to start, especially if you’re considering employment at one of these companies, but you should also know where your money might go. Often, you can find a company’s political activity on its website. I found CVS’ and Target’s simply by Googling “[Company Name] political contributions.” A search for LGBTQ+-owned or friendly brands will never hurt, as long as you confirm those companies walk the walk.
In the meantime, the next best solution is what many great activists are already doing — the real work. The same conservatives who are trying to make Pride toxic for brands are the ones pushing anti-trans and anti-gay legislation in state governments and the ones who will push this legislation in Congress should Trump win in November.
No matter where you live, there are improvements to be made in terms of making America more livable. That includes both LGBTQ+-specific protections and equitable socioeconomic policy in general. While charitable donations can have some impact, mutual aid can go even further in strengthening your community. Regardless of your financial means, your time can make a great impact.
Every state or city is going to have local organizations that you can get involved with, but I’ll list a few national ones below. Happy Pride in the meantime!
ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/action/
The Center: https://gaycenter.org/advocacy/volunteer/
The Okra Project: https://www.theokraproject.com/
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund: https://lambdalegal.org/
True Colors United: https://truecolorsunited.org/
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