It was a riot, a protest, an upending of normalization. Like so many movements, Pride started because we had it with being marginalized. Abused in the spaces we were forced to create out of the need and fucking desire to connect with one another.
More than 50 years have passed by, and sometimes we forget that Pride isn’t just a celebration of our LGBTQ+ identity, but it is also a moment we get to demand the right to be seen.
There is a great article written in 2019 for the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots by the fine folks at gayly.com (Stonewall: 50 Years of Throwing Shoes) which really helps to set the stage for the events which lead up to the first pride. For those in our community, or in general interested in learning more about the history of Pride, this is a good fucking read and was very helpful when I began researching this subject.
But instead, I want to focus on the corporate involvement in Pride, because I think this is a very very gray fucking area where if allowed corruption could find its way, if it hasn’t already into one of the most sacred times in our community culture.
Pride! Brought to you by Acme Co.
The thing that none of us want to talk about is balancing the spirit of Pride, and the business of Pride. And it’s the fucking truth. Every June (generally) hundreds of thousands of folks, from all walks of life will descend onto cities and towns, both large and small.
Like any major event, Pride brings with it revenue dollars to local businesses in the form of services and goods provided, as well as dollars to the local governments themselves from taxes, and the consumption of municipal services.
These are all good things. I have no issue supporting local businesses or even Governmental agencies which openly and honestly support our community. I think it’s a good idea for us, a demographic that stereotypically has money to burn, does so in places that are welcoming.
And any time you are attracting a niche audience that may otherwise be hard to target with cash to spend, you can bet your ass that major corporations are going to try to get in on the action. And why shouldn’t they?
Pride events are expensive to produce. There are many things to consider:
- Cost of Talent (those Queens aren’t free)
- City Permits
- Insurance
- Business Processing Fees
- Security
- Police Protection (Yes You pay for that in a lot of cases)
- Promotions and Marketing
And the numbers are staggering. In 2022, the cost of the NYC Pride Parade was said to have been over $1 Million Dollars. FOR JUST THE PARADE! That didn’t include how much was spent by participants to create floats, hire their own talent, etc, etc.
And while the City of New York works in partnership with NYC Pride, much of the expense of the event’s production is placed on the organizers.
So when Mega Corp a division of Acme Co, a ABC Universal-Wendys subsidiary (I completely made that up) offers to help, you can understand why their money is so attractive. The issue comes when these sponsors really turn out to be a sheep in Wolf’s clothing and begin to bring their agendas along with their checkbooks.
“Partners” have already started to “normalize” Pride events, making them family-friendly destinations, like going to see the lions at the zoo. When the fact is Pride is far from family-friendly. Remember… it’s a fucking protest.
Now That isn’t to say that families aren’t welcome. At least from my point of view, I love seeing kids at Pride. Let’s teach them tolerance young. If kids can learn hate as so many do, let’s instead teach them love with the same passion. But parents better be ready to explain to your babies why that person is wearing assless chaps or why that other person is dressed up like a human-sized puppy, or why men are women, and women are men, and why some are trans, and others are fluid……You get the point.
If you want to expose your family to our culture on what is the holiest day in our calendar outside of the start of RuPaul’s Drag Race and Halloween, you are going to have some explaining to do. And for the most part, we are happy to help you with that. We understand that moms and dads may not have the lens or experience to understand everything, and that’s okay. Education of what we are is part of the protest as far as I can see. We want to help you teach your family that Pride welcomes all who welcome us.
Corporations tried Taking Kink out of Pride
Yep, that fucking backfired. Kink is part of our culture just in the same way the colors on the rainbow have meaning. You can’t have pride without kink. For fuck sake, in the 50s and 60s being gay, loving someone of the same sex, let alone being trans was extremely taboo. Our modern understanding (and this is debatable) of Kink stems from those roots. I mean the Oxford dictionary’s informal definition of “Kinky” is involving or given to unusual sexual behavior.
Businesses have tried to temper and homogenize Pride celebrations again to attract a broader audience thus maximizing their ROI on sponsorships. Even going as far as to sight possible consent issues or standards of public decency with regards to Kink contingence, AT PRIDE!
Where were these standards when our fore-folk were being chemically castrated or placed into mental institutions and subjected to heinous torture under the guides of “treatment” just for loving whom they were naturally meant to. Or being arrested and jailed for congregating in establishments of indecency (more modernly referred to as gay bars) where were those standards then?
No Kink is part of the protest spirit of Pride and as such will remain a major part of the celebration.
Is there a Balance?
The Fuck if I know…
My personal best guess is that with proper vetting, you can find those who wish to partner with Pride not because it’s good business, but because it’s the right thing to do. Partnering with Pride allows businesses to also celebrate their values in a way that is a win-win.
But the organizing group responsible for Pride Events have to take up the challenge of doing that vetting, but also listening to the community and understanding that partnerships and the money that comes with it can not, and will not have any sway on the course of Pride. It’s our fucking moment to shine not theirs.
