How to celebrate rainbow fever

2019 marks a significant year for the LGBTQ as the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, a landmark achievement that has quite rightly sparked international recognition. Yet it is one thing for the people to take to the streets and refuse to be persecuted for their sexual orientation, and another for their struggle to be adopted as a marketing strategy. For 2019 was also the year that Pride that filled our shop windows and TV screens as one conglomerate after the other took up the rainbow as their logo of choice. While having companies getting behind a cause is nothing new, it seemed to strike a sour point with those who felt the true message of Pride was being lost so capitalism could gain. Their anger is understandable, but is it possibly misplaced? Pride has officially cracked the mainstream - is this not in fact an accomplishment worth celebrating?

First, we must address why people are unhappy about the change of tone during Pride Month. The Pride movement was originally sparked back in 1969, when marginalised patrons of the Stonewall Inn in New York (predominantly people of colour and the LGBTQ community) decided to fight back against the police oppression that had pervaded their lives for so long. The first official Pride march was held a year later and ever since then the cause has gained so much momentum that we are now questioning whether it may have swung too far in the other direction. No one is saying of course that we should undo the great strides our governments have made towards equality for all, nor should we take our eyes off these issues in countries where sadly discrimination is still enshrined in law. But the parades of today have come to resemble more of an opportunity for Instagram than activism, as the rainbow symbol is flaunted by all regardless of its true message. In terms of people donning the flag I'm going to make the possibly controversial claim that the majority of them have good intentions, but when a brand such as Adidas releases a "pride pack" - a brand that was also one of the main sponsors of the FIFA World Cup in notoriously homophobic Russia - it starts to reek just a little of hypocrisy. There are fears that Pride now encourages "slacktivism", allowing companies such as H&M and Nike to say they support Pride without really doing much to support LGBTQ causes. As maddening as this may be, I would like to make the case for a positive spin on this rainbow fever. As it (thankfully) looks like Pride is very much here to stay, maybe we need to rethink the discussion around its extraordinary popularity.

The use of the Pride flag to sell merchandise may seem like a hollow victory for the heart and soul of the Pride movement, however if the cause has reached this level of mass appeal (because even the mindless consumer has some understanding of what Pride is) it must be seen as a sign of progress. The Pride rainbow is such a powerful marketing strategy because it signifies a movement, of power and togetherness and a refusal to accept that state of injustice that has previously dominated. People want to feel part of something, and if you can be part of something with such a positive message of acceptance and equality then it's no wonder that even the heteronormative cisgender massive are getting on board. They might not have known the entire history of Stonewall, nor could many of them empathise with the struggle that members of the LGBTQ community still face on a daily basis. But they were still choosing to show their support in whatever small ways they could.

However many may feel about it, queer culture has become engrained into mainstream culture, with shows like RuPaul's Drag Race bringing the art and language of drag to the masses and artists like Sam Smith and Hayley Kiyoko unashamedly expressing their sexuality in their work. Examples like this are a twofold success story: whereas RuPaul deliberately uses his position as a queer icon to educate viewers and spread the message about the joys of drag, Sam Smith is a multiple award-winning musician whose openly gay status (although he recently came out as pansexual) has not affected his ability to be judged on sheer musical talent alone. 30, 20, perhaps even 10 years ago the media was a far less tolerant force, and it is doubtful whether these people could have been so open, or if they had been if they could still have been successful.

Legal changes have also of course made a huge difference. Over the past decades gay rights groups have campaigned successfully on a vast range of issues, from gay marriage to adopting children to LGBTQ sex education in schools. With tolerance comes acceptance, and as the queer community are granted more freedom and become more prominent then it seems inevitable that Pride will too. To restrict this and write it all off as a soulless marker of capitalist greed would undo the great leaps and bounds that the movement has made in their attempt to gain equality. Should more be done to educate people about the meaning behind Pride? Of course! Should brands be made to support the causes that they claim to? Definitely! But if real change is to happen (and we have already seen that it can) then all of us must practice what we preach and fight for what we believe in. Pride has for many years been notorious for its boldness and message of tolerance, which is what helped it to gain so many allies in the first place. For Pride is not now only a symbol of what the queer community is fighting for, it is also a sign of what has already been achieved. And these achievements should always be celebrated.