The Profit of Pride

Pride Month hit social media with a blast of glitter on the first of June this year. Meme accounts poured out videos of queer people dancing, strip teasing, revealing rainbow after rainbow on wigs, jock straps, tutus, hats, and captioning iconic Drag Race moments with “me at Pride.” Events are held all over the country, where thousands pour into parks and clubs to dance, sing and celebrate queer magic. And year after year, more and more companies jump onto the Pride bandwagon, looking to cash in.

Commodification of social movements isn’t new. Andi Zeisler’s book, We Were Feminists Once, muses powerfully on the way capitalism has shaped feminism, brimming with examples like First USA’s 1998 campaign pushing their Anniversary Series Platinum Mastercard that aligned itself with the 150th anniversary of suffrage. Their slogan: “Celebrate women’s rights. Apply today.” Ironically, women couldn’t own credit cards until 1974.

Even more broad swaths of social justice have been made tacky, mainstream and profit-driven. We all, for the most part, have tried to forget the great white safety pinning that occurred en masse after Trump’s devastating 2016 win. The idea was well-intentioned enough, that straight, white, cis people would wear safety pins on their lapels as a symbol to minorities that they were a safe person to talk to, or seek protection from in public spaces. But, as when white, cis, hetero people get involved in most things, the move was widely panned as over-simplifying what it means to be an ally—along with giving white people another easy way to feel better about their privilege without having to be active advocates. However, that didn’t stop jewelry retailers across the internet from shilling 24-karat gold, sterling silver and crystal-studded safety pin necklaces to “woke” housewives across America.

It was disappointing but not surprising as I scrolled through my dazzling Happy Pride feed to see sponsored advertisements from pretty much every hip retailer with a millennial market.

So, it was disappointing but not surprising as I scrolled through my dazzling Happy Pride feed to see sponsored advertisements from pretty much every hip retailer with a millennial market. Abercrombie & Fitch has a “Cropped Pride Tee” with a rainbow across it. DSW wants you to buy Gola rainbow tennis shoes with no Pride affiliation, but for two extra dollars they’ll throw in rainbow laces with code MYPRIDE. The North Face is selling a rainbow logo long sleeve via the incredibly problematic Urban Outfitters. And Adidas has its I-5923 “Pride Shoes” which feature, “A design that celebrates equality. The rainbow is reimagined in pastel shades to honor diversity and LGBT pride.”

The aforementioned offenses are some of the most egregious and perhaps nefarious, as none of those companies are donating any proceeds from these items to any pro-LGBT organizations, or if they are, they are not boldly admitting to it in the style descriptions. There are retail giants who do recognize that if they’re going to shill out rainbows for profit, they should benefit queer people beyond looking cute. Levi’s, which is probably selling the largest selection of Pride items, kind of understands this. You can choose from a selection of jean jackets ranging from the $148 “Pride Community Trucker Jacket,” which has a rainbow embossed on the back and says “I have seen the future,” to the $108 versions with just patches. They also are selling Pride bandanas, baseball caps, suspenders, underwear, socks, festival totes, belts, and a whole slew of t-shirts.

Levi’s statement is, “Every year, Levi Strauss & Co. donates to organizations helping LGBTQ communities around the world. As a long-standing friend of the LGBTQ community, Levi’s® shows some love with a collection celebrating key moments in LGBTQ history.” Sorry, not sorry, but I just am not impressed that a multimillion-dollar company donates a few bucks every year to support basic human rights, and thinks millennials should thank them by paying more than they usually would for a denim jacket.

There are the companies flaunting Pride merchandise and donations who want to couch it in some millennial minimalist aesthetic that is ultimately disrespectful to the entire notion of Pride.

Then there are the companies flaunting Pride merchandise and donations who want to couch it in some millennial minimalist aesthetic that is ultimately disrespectful to the entire notion of Pride. Everlane is selling t-shirts with “100% Human” embossed on the breast pocket, which is about the most lukewarm slogan for gay rights possible. You might as well call it “Don’t say Gay.” Their statement reads, “We launched the 100% Human Collection to support two things that matter to us—protecting human rights and remembering that we are more the same than we are different. For every 100% Human Pride product sold, we’re proud to donate to the HRC. #HumanTogether.” Tepidly saying “human together” in navy is not a Pride statement. You know who else is human, Donald Trump. Grow some sparkly, gay balls, Everlane.

Then there is a tier of retailers that get a dusty, tarnished gold star for at least advancing the visibility of LGBT individuals by giving the community a face in its advertisements for Pride merchandise. H&M is selling all kinds of Pride fashions, with no disclosed donations on their H&M Pride Out Loud page, but they did hire all LGBT public figures like Gus Kenworthy and Aja to model at least.

Popular brands selling Pride merchandise is a step forward for acceptance, especially when they are also donating profits to LGBT charities and celebrating Pride visibly in their marketing. However fast fashion is already problematic, so for those companies to then co-opt Pride for profit is abysmal. We all want to wear one million rainbows for Pride, and companies making it easy is very enticing, but it speaks to a system of financial oppression that has long kept marginalized groups down. So this Pride, instead of buying corporate Pride, search Etsy and employ local LGBTQIA+ designers and seamstresses to make your Pride lewks.