Our Favorite Memes Making Fun of Companies' Pride Month Pandering
Corporations' rainbow-washing of Pride Month has gotten intense. Here are our favorite memes making fun of companies pandering to the LGBT community.
June 3 2022, Published 2:05 p.m. ET
It's Pride Month, which means it's time for companies to profess their love for the queer community. While surely some members of the LGBTQIA community feel corporations' willingness to hoist the pride flag every June is a sign of progress, others can't help but roll their eyes when suddenly major corporations' social media profiles and ads transform into a rainbow explosion of "YASS QUEEN!" every June 1.
The phenomenon is so ubiquitous now that it has sparked some hilarious memes poking fun at the way companies respond to Pride Month โ and how quickly things change back to business as usual on July 1.
"Presto change-o, we're all gay now!" These memes smirk at the June 1 quick-change.
The inauthenticity and obvious pandering many companies engage in on their socials and in their ads is pretty embarrassing. It often makes you wonder if anyone who actually identifies as queer was involved in the decision making process for their Pride Month marketing strategy.
This year the sudden change over to Gaylight Savings Time was made all the more jarring for its erasure of support for Ukraine, whose occupation by Russia certainly didn't end on June 1.
On the left? That's an actual post from the U.S. Marines. That one on the right is a meme, but it isn't far off from the real thing. It's a little funny when you recall that, before 2011, the military could dishonorably discharge you for coming out of the closet.
This one works best if you remember the episode of The Office where Michael tries to show Oscar he's an "ally" in the most inappropriate way possible. Dunder Mifflin really needed a better HR department.
Regardless... the way corporate America tries to ram its tongue down the LGBT+ communities' collective throat, it's a pretty apt comparison.
As many have pointed out, most companies' Pride Month campaigns are rarely about acceptance and more to do with $$$.
We guess it must work because every year more and more corporations jump on the bandwagon.
A newer phenomenon is brands teaming up with content creators and influencers, sometimes with hilariously awkward tie-ins.
At least sometimes queer-identified folks can cash in with corporate partnerships.
Some content creators who belong to the LGBTIA community are able to score brand partnerships, which honestly we're all in favor of since at least it puts money in the pockets of the actual queer community. But that doesn't mean they're immune from some of the memes and jokes on Twitter.
Some kept it cleaner than others.
By midnight on June 30, all the corporate pride seems over as suddenly as it began.
Watch, it's almost like magic, but on July 1, all the rainbows will be gone, likely to be replaced with America flags for the 4th of July.
Of course, this phenomenon isn't unique to the LGBTQIA+ community. For virtually every marginalized identity that gets their own designated "month," it's the same story. Companies flood the timeline with support for the Black community every February, followed by women in March, and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in May.
But rarely do the corporations do provide any tangible support to the challenges those communities face, and after the month is gone, they return to the status quo.
Anyway, Happy Pride!