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Pride isn’t the rainbow flag in your driveway. Pride also isn’t a month of the year and it certainly isn’t a marketing tool. Pride is rooted in a collective struggle against societal shame and serves as a protest for rights and a celebration of a diverse community.
To engage with that in meaningful ways means honouring the rich queer history and understanding the significance of influential events and figures. If Marsha P. Johnson is Jane Doe to you and the Stonewall uprising leaves nothing more than a question mark, then it is time to dive into these stories to understand the historical context of pride. Only then can you be a credible voice that is appreciated by the community for its respectful support.
This is our Pride, not yours. Leave the spotlight to queer communities or individuals and strengthen them as a supporter, not a bandwagon fan that is only here for the ride. Pride is us taking the stage in the struggle for acceptance and it is a passionate belief that we belong right in the middle of this society.
We don’t need people to understand our struggle, but we need them to support us in the fight against it. As soon as a company understands that and is taking up a role as supporter and ally, opposed to try and lead out with pride topics of their own, they will feel acceptance coming the other way.
Pride has become a strong opportunity for brands to showcase their commitment to diversity. But do they really? Do they actually step up to the plate and challenge the reactionary views on gender and sexuality across society?
It is crucial to move beyond shallow symbolism. Slapping rainbows on products doesn’t make a corporation internalise pride. Instead, reflect on your social responsibility, actively communicate your brand's values and proactively contribute to meaningful change that supports the LGBTQIA+ community. Not only in June.
Pride Month serves as a focal point for celebration and support, and that’s good. Exposure is good. Understanding of underlying issues and locking arms in the daily fight against them, however, is better.
Make June a celebration of your ongoing support throughout the year, not the month where you remember that pride exists. Demonstrate consistency and genuine commitment to inclusivity, equality, and the unwavering support of LGBTQIA+ individuals. Modern consumers have an inherent bullshit-meter and will cherish authentic engagement with issues they are passionate about.
Let’s face it. A meaningful pride campaign created by a bunch of white, straight cisgender men will most probably be a major fail. This is why it is essential to ensure that the teams and processes involved in the creation of pride campaigns reflect those they aim to represent.
Truly embracing diversity within your organization and giving those individuals a real voice will not only support systemic change, but enable your organization to carry out pride campaigns that genuinely resonate and promote inclusivity. And if your company is still on its way to diversity, there’s always agencies that thrive on diversity and can assist you to become a true pride ally.
How are you dealing with pride this year? Have you started a conversation internally or externally? There are many ways to make the right moves and we are here to support you. CAYA is a queer owned company that is diverse from inside out. We know that the who that we are is our biggest strength and we are proud of a similarities and differences. To quote Ke$ha: “We Are Who We Are”.
