Like me, you have probably noticed a greater-than-ever amount of Pride-themed merchandise, both being worn and being sold (and yes, it's now Pride Month, not Pride Week - will we have made the ultimate progress when it becomes Pride Year?)
As LGBTQ issues become ever more mainstream, many retailers have discovered a lucrative marketing niche, much like the bandwagon Raptors apparel that suddenly sprang up with the unexpected success of the Toronto Raptors basketball team recently. Many large companies in the USA (like Macys, H&M, Target and American Apparel, among others) are also making sizeable donations to LGBTQ-linked charities and organizations, as well as pumping big money into Pride Parades around North America.
Such is the nature of marketing - exploiting niches is what they are all about - and it is difficult to complain about companies that are just doing their jobs and taking advantage of marketing opportunities. But some in the LGBTQ community are questioning whether the hearts of these corporations are really in it, and taking issue with the brazen opportunism of what they call "rainbow capitalism".
And it's a thorny issue. Can LGBTQ organizations afford to turn down sponsorship money which might also, coincidentally, be helping the bottom lines of major corporations? Where is the hazy line between support and control? Is it even possible to tell when a minority group is being taken advantage of? It also draws up the battle lines between those who believe that Pride Parades should be protest marches and those who feel they are merely celebrations of gay culture. Just how mainstream does the LGBTQ movement actually want to be?
It's hard to see the apparent outpouring of support for the gay community as anything but a positive thing. But I can quite understand those who are cautioning vigilence in the new zeitgeist.
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