Genuine Pride or corporate rainbow washing?

What was once a civil rights protest and riot to demand equal rights has become part of the corporate pipeline. Nevertheless, Pride provides companies with the opportunity to make their values clear, show support for their LGBTQ+ employees and, in the best cases, use their platforms to demand social change. However, over the past decade, as civil liberties have been expanded to LGBTQ+ communities in many countries, corporations have been called out for rainbow washing and hopping on the bandwagon of the Pride celebration without real activism or veritable support.

What is rainbow washing?

Put simply, rainbow-washing is the practice of using rainbow-themed symbolism in branding, advertising, merchandise or social media, ostensibly to support LGBTQ+ people during pride month, but without active support of LGBTQ+ people’s identities or rights. The term (sometimes also referred to as pinkwashing) is used to call out organisations or corporations that disingenuously use Pride branding for their own gain or to give themselves a deceptive air of liberalism and allyship. It is akin to the term greenwashing, whereby companies claim to be eco-friendly while still performing or supporting environmentally damaging practices or policies. 

What is Pride?

Pride month, and its corresponding parades and celebrations, commemorate the Stonewall riots that occurred in June 1969 in New York City, during which queer people, tired of oppression, faught back against violent police officers and organised protests in the following days. The event is said to be one of the key moments in the gay liberation movement, inciting the queer community to organise in their demanding of equal rights and protection from the law, by voice or by force. Apart from being an event of affirmation and community for LGBTQ+ people, Pride was first and foremost a protest march, whose disruption was meant to demand change and progress in equality. 

50 years later, Pride marches look less like protests or celebrations of queer people by queer people and more like rainbow-coloured corporate parties. Miles and miles of corporate-sponsored floats, each of which can cost thousands of dollars to approve and create, parade down city avenues, throwing out rainbow-coloured and branded merchandise to crowds. Of course, this change is in part due to the large strides that many countries have made in advancing equal rights for LGBTQ+ people and reducing discrimination since the Stonewall Riots. But this is also due to the appropriation of Pride marches by corporations eager to rejuvenate their public image and tap into new customer markets. 

Understanding the rainbow flag

The rainbow flag has been used as a symbol of the LGBTQ+ community since the late 1970’s and is meant to represent the diversity of human sexuality and gender. It was created by artists Gilbert Baker, Lynn Segerblom, and James McNamara, with the support of other activists, and has undergone various revisions in the past 50 years. It is internationally recognised as an emblem of queer communities, organisations, people and establishments as a symbolic message of ownership or support. 

Why corporate rainbow-washing is nefarious 

While public support of the LGBTQ+ community by organisations and companies is important to pushing visibility and creating change by social pressure, it must be used in genuine ways that go beyond marketing campaigns and public relations stunts - not just faked to save oneself from criticism for abstention or to make profit off of a celebration or a minority group. Pride campaigns are inappropriate when they are not followed by financial support to the LGBTQ+ community and activist organisations; when the profits from any merchandise sold as Pride paraphernalia are swallowed up gluttonously; when companies discriminate against LGBTQ+ people in their recruitment processes; and especially when companies espouse homophobic, transphobic, or queerphobic politicians and provide them with funding. 

The use of the rainbow logo is an appropriation of its imagery and significance - with all of its history, background, progressive agenda and fight for equality - and an integration of it into the image of the company’s identity and branding. Branding, as a reminder, is a marketing tactic to attract consumers of specific consumer groups and shopping habits by visual designs. Aligning a company’s image and values to the target consumer group is therefore a simple and effective way of attracting consumers, leading them to automatically identify with the brand and encouraging them to make purchases. When rainbow branding is done without additional proactive support, it is a performative and manipulative tactic used to improve brand perception and pilfer people’s money. It also commodifies Pride symbolism and dilutes the significance of its message, stripping it of its important social moment. 

Examples of rainbow-washing corporations

Prior to this year’s Pride festivities, the organisation Data for Progress released a list of companies that, in the United States, have hypocritically prepared Pride campaigns while also donating to politicians and organisations that actively discriminate against LGBTQ+ people. The most salient among these companies are Toyota, AT&T, Amazon and Comcast, who altogether have donated over $1.1 million to candidates with anti-LGBTQ+ agendas. It is unacceptable for these companies to use Pride symbols to lift their public perception when their funding works against the fight for equal rights that Pride represents.

Many retail companies create merchandise for Pride, adding rainbow designs or logos to their products. While some of these companies also donate to LGBTQ+ organisations, they often do not disclose how much profit they have truly made from the merchandise, and whether their profits have exceeded their donations amount. This raises the question of whether it is ethical for these companies to pocket the profits made from a civil campaign or if they are therefore taking advantage of the excitement generated around Pride, like a trend.

How should companies celebrate Pride

Meaningful support of Pride should tie back to its roots: Pride is not just a celebration, but a moment to collectively demand equal rights, treatment and opportunities for LGBTQ+ people from governments, organisations and people alike. This can take the form of using one’s voice and platform to demand change, donating to organisations that advance LGBTQ+ rights, or providing opportunities for LGBTQ+ people in the workforce, where they often face discrimination. 

What can consumers do?

Consumers should apply a sceptical approach before purchasing from companies that claim to support the LGBTQ+ community or have collections for Pride, ensuring that they also give back to the community and employ queer people. An espousal or Pride should come with an uncompromised espousal of its platform, especially of the advancement of rights of the most vulnerable and discriminated people in the community, such as transgender individuals and people of colour. 

Photo by Mercedes Mehling