Let Pride Month be a catalyst for year-round advocacy, ensuring the fight for LGBTQIA rights continues
By Dishita Swaika, Dr Moitrayee Das
As Pride Month dawns each year in June, a sea of rainbow-coloured logos, social media posts and themed events paint themselves across the internet, signalling support for the LGBTQIA community. Pride Month is important for commemorating the LGBTQIA community’s history and raising awareness about their struggles for acceptance and equality.
However, when Pride Month comes along every year, many organisations employ initiatives to commercialise their apparent allyship, bringing upon the question, are these actions by organisations a genuine commitment to support the LGBTQIA community or merely tokenistic gestures to enhance their public image.
Cashing in on
Tokenism during Pride Month manifests as ‘rainbow washing,’ where organisations market their products using LGBTQIA symbols, adding rainbow flags to logos and selling rainbow-themed items for profit without genuine support for the community. A study by Reboot Online (2022) found that only 64% of organisations with a Pride campaign donated to at least one LGBTQIA organisation, meaning nearly one-third used Pride-themed merchandise and branding for profit without making any donations. While 64% sounds like a big number, can’t multimillion-dollar organisations afford to donate all their profits from a single campaign once a year?
A study by Randstad India found that 53% of Indian companies lack career development opportunities for LGBTQIA individuals, and only 9.5% have made significant efforts toward LGBTQIA inclusion (Jain, 2023). Additionally, nearly 75% of Indian employees from the community are seeking to change employers to find more inclusive organisations, according to Deloitte (2023). A recent example of this disconnect is of an Indian CEO who mocked “they/them” pronouns while his company’s website has multiple videos promoting the community in light of Pride Month. Such actions show the blatant gap between tokenistic marketing strategies and genuine support, overlooking the struggles experienced by the community.
Exploiting Vulnerabilities
Using Pride initiatives as PR strategies exploits the community’s vulnerabilities and overshadows core challenges, leading to feelings of marginalisation and betrayal. Capitalising on the movement clouds the public’s perception of queer liberation, reducing queer issues to singular topics like marriage equality and media representation, concealing how queer justice is intricately linked to intersecting systems of oppression, including colonialism, casteism, transphobia, ableism and capitalism. Tokenism shifts the focus away from activism towards consumerism, where allyship is promoted through buying goods rather than taking meaningful action. It also increases unrecognised labour for minorities to participate in these initiatives, neglects specific identities under the broader LGBTQIA umbrella and fails to create meaningful change, as small-scale training sessions often appeal to those already engaged while those with significant biases remain unchallenged (Calvard et al, 2019).
True allyship requires ongoing commitment, meaningful engagement and substantive actions that extend beyond performative displays
Finally, tokenism can also lead to a “minority tax,” where individuals from minority groups are assigned additional responsibilities to create the appearance of diversity, which can be harmful as it places undue pressure on them and increases their workload (Ellis et al, 2020). Thus, the true depth and breadth of the community’s struggles and liberation movement are replaced by a superficial understanding that fails to address the underlying systemic issues.
Genuine Inclusion
To move beyond tokenism and foster genuine allyship, organisations must make concerted efforts to create safe and inclusive environments for LGBTQIA individuals. It starts with a commitment to nurturing “chosen families” through an environment where these individuals feel valued and understood within the organisation, acknowledging that not all individuals may have supportive biological families. Additionally, tokenism stems from a superficial desire to meet expectations, while genuine inclusion comes from a sincere commitment to dismantle systems of privilege and actively listen to diverse voices.
Thus, genuine inclusion involves evaluating existing systems and eliminating barriers to diversity and inclusion. Crucial steps include policies that provide gender-neutral washrooms and accommodations, medical and financial aid, regular awareness and sensitisation programmes, equal access to opportunities, queer-friendly hiring practices, equal spousal benefits for same-sex marriages and options to update one’s pronouns. It is important to include queer voices in the decision-making process during policy information to truly increase inclusion. Organisations should also ensure that their support for the LGBTQIA community is consistent and not limited to Pride Month. This involves actively supporting LGBTQIA organisations through donations, partnerships, activities and policies that promote inclusivity year-round. By doing so, they can demonstrate a genuine commitment to LGBTQIA rights and create a workplace culture that values diversity and inclusion.
As consumers, we can drive change by making thoughtful purchasing choices and holding organisations responsible for their actions. When buying products, it is crucial to be mindful of where your money goes and ensure that the organisations you endorse genuinely advocate for LGBTQIA rights. Look out for organisations that present genuine depictions of LGBTQIA individuals in their advertisements and promotions. Are they showcasing real LGBTQIA people, or are they relying on generic stock imagery? Do their portrayals accurately reflect the diversity of the community, or do they rely on stereotypes?
Additionally, directly supporting LGBTQIA organisations through donations and volunteering can significantly advance their rights and contribute to meaningful change within the community. It is crucial to scrutinise organisations that practice rainbow washing during Pride Month but do not actively support the community for the rest of the year. Avoid endorsing products or campaigns that feel insincere with generic rainbow designs, and hold them accountable to adopt genuine practices that truly support the LGBTQIA community year-round.
In conclusion, true allyship requires ongoing commitment, meaningful engagement and substantive actions that extend beyond performative displays. Achieving equality and acceptance for LGBTQIA individuals demand dedicated efforts from both organisations and individuals. While the visibility brought about during Pride Month can be a step toward greater awareness, it is crucial to recognise the tokenism that often underlies these gestures. Let Pride Month be a catalyst for year-round advocacy, ensuring that the fight for LGBTQIA rights continues beyond the month of June. The next time we look at a tokenistic action, it is important we ask ourselves: “Is it really advocating for the community by adding a rainbow flag to one’s logo or selling merchandise with the slogan ‘Love always wins’ without genuinely implementing queer-inclusive practices within the organisation?”
(Dishita Swaika is Psychology graduate and Dr Moitrayee Das is Assistant Professor of Psychology at FLAME University, Pune)