What is Pinkwashing?

The moment June ends, big corporations have a big task to do- take off the rainbow version of their logos from their social media profiles. Pride month is viewed as a time to celebrate with bright advertisements and rainbows and forgotten all about the next month. This phenomenon has a name- Pinkwashing.

Pinkwashing is a term used to describe the action of using gay-related issues in positive ways to distract attention from negative actions by an organisation, country, or government.

The practice of presenting themselves as queer-friendly often helps capitalist corporations to get away with homophobic attitudes and policies that go unnoticed as they obnoxiously wave pride flags with their superimposed brand logos at pride parades and rallies. Unsurprisingly, such organisations seldom take concrete steps to help queer communities in terms of employment, prevention of workplace harassment, and in other areas. They are only concerned with keeping up their facade of progressiveness, tolerance, and liberal values.

Certain companies create products specifically for Pride, targeted towards members of the LGBTQ+ community. Sometimes, a small portion of the profits is donated to a queer-based charity.

So, why is this a problem? Isn't it a good thing that large, influential companies are spreading awareness?

Here's why it's not a good thing:

What corporations do during Pride month is all a front for making money. They make huge profits on these products and make no real contribution to the community.

They may be talking about this underrepresented section of society, but let us not forget that it is in their economic interest to do so. This sort of hijacking of the community’s struggles completely erases the problems of caste, gender, race, religion, and economic class that also intersect with those relating to their sexual orientation. It paints a false picture of branded inclusivity that seems to be within everyone’s grasp but is far from it in reality.

These brands trivialise the issue to forget that Pride month exists for a reason, which is to maximise the voices of queer people who still face grave injustices and prejudices to this day. Profiting off of this is highly unethical.

The most important things you as an individual can do are:

1. Support queer-owned business (which will impact queer people)

2. Constantly educate yourself about the issues faced by the community, helping you understand that Pride isn't just a celebration, it's a movement against injustice

3. Don't let your attention to these problems fade away with the end of Pride month