Let’s talk about something that’s been painting the town pink—pinkwashing. No, it’s not about putting pink paint on your walls for aesthetics (though that’s not a bad idea!).
Pinkwashing is when companies slap a rainbow or a pink ribbon on their products during Pride Month or Breast Cancer Awareness Month to show their "support." If you are on Instagram, you'll see all those companies coming up with all those fancy logos with the LGBTQ+ flag. On the surface, we can all say “woohoo” and celebrate the fact that they are being supportive, but no, not really. You see, these companies are just hopping on the bandwagon to boost their sales. You know, it’s like giving your dog a bath. You can celebrate the fact that he is all clean and shiny, but he’s going to go roll in the dirt again as soon as he sees it. (But dogs are lovelies, so we can excuse them.)
I mean, you could say, “Come on, you are being so harsh for no reason.” But really, what we mean is that genuine support shouldn’t come with a price tag! Imagine if all the funds spent on marketing went directly to the cause. We’d be swimming in research breakthroughs and inclusive policies. Instead, we get rainbow-coloured widgets and pink-tinted gadgets. What good is that going to do? I mean, superficially sure; on a deeper level, not really.
The next question is surely, “Ok, but what can we do?” Well, the solution is very simple: if you want to support queer individuals and queer-friendly products, why not support queer-led small businesses? Why not help that one friend out who is trying to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights? There are so many ways to go about it other than paying money to MNCs for their half-hearted support meant for just profit.
Find companies that walk the talk, not just talk the walk.
Slapping a rainbow on it doesn't make it inclusive, just like slapping a sticker on your car doesn’t make it faster.
So next time, be sure to support all those small queer businesses if you really want to celebrate pride! (if you really want to spend some money to show your support, that is.) Support comes in many ways other than money too :)
