Nope, the 'love is love' branding isn't enough.

by Manasi

Since the pride month started a few weeks ago, I have seen an overwhelming amount of brands paint their products in rainbow colours. As a person from the community it irks me every time I see a rainbow-washed product. ie. a product that’s rainbow just for the brand to look queer friendly. Soooo many questions come up in my mind. Are they doing it for a cause or just for their brand image? Are any LGBTQ+ folks actually benefiting from this project? Are any queer people involved in this project? Or is it just another ad campaign that’s adding money to the rich cis-het, mostly upper class and caste men’s pockets?

I understand if that might seem harsh, but it’s not that far from the reality. If you are a brand reading this, you might be thinking, ‘Well Manasi, then how do we make you not hate us?’

Honestly, it’s not that difficult. Here’s a checklist for doing Pride Month right.

• Don’t use Pride Month just for the monies!

Yes we understand that you are a company and you need to focus on the sales too. But unfortunately sales are not the primary objective of pride month! So, find ways to support the community on-ground in June, and if you happen to have a mind blowing pride month idea that's working well, maybe donate a part of the earnings. (Groundbreaking right?)

• Make your workplace LGBTQ+ friendly.

What do I mean by that? For starters - make sure your workplace welcomes the community in the form of employees and clients. And secondly, make sure you have policies in place to take action against any discrimination. Check your employee benefit sheet to make it gender neutral. Are your employees getting LGBTQ+ friendly therapy? And does your medical insurance include gender affirmative procedures?

• Pride Month doesn’t end with June!

Did you know the gays are still gay after pride month? Please see that your activism doesn’t only end in June.

• Check your political affiliations

If you are supporting any political ideologies or affiliating yourself with any influential people, check if their opinions align with yours. If you want to focus on queer issues - why don’t you consider spreading awareness about the discriminatory Trans Act of 2019, instead of only focusing on the ‘love is love’ discourse?

• Create diversity

Being queer is not our only job -queer people want to be employed for our other skill sets too! And with societal norms not on our side, many opportunities are stolen from well-deserving professionals. Make sure you create opportunities for LGBTQ+ folks all year round.

And last, but not the least.

• Don’t paint it rainbow!

Rainbow-washed products are not what we’re looking for. Especially in a country where your rainbow coloured merchandise will most likely make us an easy target in public places. The pride flag carries a lot of importance within the community for political as well as personal reasons. So, I think, it’s better to be used sparingly only where it's necessary.

And just an FYI… if you do happen to create rainbow-coloured products, don’t use the seven rainbow colours. Because spoiler alert: the pride flag has six colours!

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