DISCLAIMER: I am not bashing the rainbow symbol for LGBTQ+ pride, it’s a great symbol that’s very versatile. What I am criticizing is the commercialization of Pride. Also not all companies act like this, some genuinely support it, but most (especially the larger ones) don’t. It’s going to be Pride Month soon, and if you live in a fairly large town or city, with an active LGBTQ+ population, you can expect to see rainbow flags being flown, and pride marches. But you can also expect to see companies change their logos to be rainbow colored, and rainbow colored products, in the name of “support.” While this isn’t a problem at large, most companies are only using this as a tactic to get the community to buy their products, and to gain favor from the press. They’re only doing it so they can tap into our market, and act like they’re the good guys for supporting queers when they’re really just going to promote heteronormativity anyway. It’s all for money. So, I ask that you (and try to tell others around you to do the same) try not to buy, or at least minimal things from companies that make rainbow products and make their logos rainbow. Sort of like a pride boycott. That way, they’ll realize that we won’t buy their products whether or not they’re rainbow or not. We need awareness and acceptance, not rainbows. What’s the point of using symbols for activism if we forget what those symbols stand for? I’d rather not support LGBTQ+ than pretend to support it but instead doing it for money. I know this would be hard to spread using a platform as small as Scratch, but I’ll be sharing this on (another sm platform that starts with r and ends with t). If you can, tell others about it or share it on social media. Use the hashtag #RightsNotRainbows to spread the message. Happy (early) pride month, and let’s hope it’s filled with acceptance and not capitalism.
