Corporate sponsored Prides!!! It drives me nuts every year, they see the LBGT as a meal ticket to make some extra doe from us during Pride months and sell some Pride themed items, and every year it pisses me off when I hear some friends in the LGBT falling for it and buying from these big corporations, big box, and chains from their offerings. Where are they the rest of the year, and where were they when the dump and his administration was cracking down and gutting inclusion programs and dismantling diversity programs??? Most of these companies were excuse my French...pussies. I say investigate before you buy, and better still keep into gay owned companies to get Pride apparel and such. I'm very firm on that.
But the good news is, the corporation and big boxes are leaving but the community is not. I just read a report last week about companies are starting to quietly walk away from Pride. I say good! Brands like Starbucks, Mastercard, Nissan, Target and Comcast have either pulled their sponsorships entirely or have significantly reduced their commitments to Pride organization across the US and Canda. The reasons range from backlash, economic uncertainty to the Dump administrations crackdown on DEI programs. Gay Apparel a gay owned company even saw their stock cut by 80% to Walmart last year, and this year, complete silence. I say I love it!!!!!Now local gay owned stores, companies, and businesses once overlooked by Pride organizations, who wanted Fortune 500 funds are now accepting gay owned small business in that were once simply overlooked. But if you ask me 50 small and gay owned businesses showing up consistently beats one corporation that disappears the moment things get politically inconvenient. This year Philly's Pride and Parade was funded almost 70% by local and gay owned places and donations and I heard only two corps sponsored floats!!!
Also, kudos to Kathy Hilton no longer being the grand marshal of WeHo Pride this year!!!!!!They won't have any grand marshal this year. But might I suggest to WeHo Pride actually take Pride in their community and choose a local volunteer or someone in the LGBTQ who's toiled for years donating their time and money to a beloved charity or community outreach? And to those who say "But they're not a celebrity or No one knows them!" maybe our community SHOULD know them. We should uplift our own and reward them for doing an often-thankless job for free. Kathy is not gay or a gay icon. This was a stupid branding exercise to benefit Kathy Hilton. Cali-Boi told me that in 2005, Paris Hilton was the grand marshal and she brough her mom Kathy along. He went on to say his friend who was on the float with them heard Kathy ask her husband "Do you feel pride?" He said, "Not at all", and they left shortly after and haven't been back since, till the last few years for Kathy anyway. Why would the very gay area of LA be alienating gays with their clueless picks for a grand marshall???
Maybe it's time Pride and parades started investing in our own community that actually never left?
HERE! FUCKING HERE!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI retired from AT&T 6 years ago. Prior to that, I was one of the leaders in the corporate Pride initiative, LEAGUE. When I began, it was all grass roots. Regional GLBT employees coming together in our AT&T finery to be out and visible at the New England pride events (Boston, Providence and Hartford). We had rosters of folks from around the area who identified as gay or were allies, and we became... family. For those first years it was great; we had a blast. The company would provide us with trade show swag that we would give out and provide a company van for the parades. Each season, our CEO at that time, Randall, would post the proclamation fully supporting our community, and he put his money where his mouth was! That was when gay marriage was being attacked on every front - he stood up in full support of it, and the share holders got in line behind him. It was beyond affirming.
ReplyDeleteThen he retired.
And a greedy, a** of a CEO took over. Pride could be supported IF we could prove corporate gains as a result; "How much traffic will these events drive to the storefronts?" "How many people can we subscribe for the services?". In my last season with LEAGUE, I saw the big, glossy van in the Boston parade. I went up to the guy decked out in corporate finery and asked "This looks fantastic! What store do you work out of?" Indignantly, he replied, "Oh, I don't work for AT&T, I was only hired for this parade." It just, like, took the wind right out of my sails. When I asked my regional friends, none of them were ever approached to be a part of the event.
Then we learned that the CEO was playing all sides with corporate donations to both pro and anti gay candidates.
So damn glad that I got of there.
Un fortunately I think that is happening more and more. If they don't get any kick backs from it they don't want to do it and I fine with that. We don't need them then. When I worked at Bloomingdales our store and the next closest in Short Hills NJ, many of us too walked with the parade and all wore Gay Pride Bloomies Supports the LGBTQ. They didn't expect any kick backs and we did however carry a small selection of Pride Swag and shirt in the store, but at least 50% of the profits went to the Trevor Project or a new LGBTQ charity every year. But I would still only give patronage to gay owned business first.
DeleteI agree with you (of course). I’m tired of Pride marches (especially WeHo and LA) selecting celebrity who have no business being grand marshal of a Pride parade. Kathy Hilton was completely inappropriate.
ReplyDeleteCorporate sponsorships give very little to the community except a more expensive Pride event. And then money in the pockets of the corporations. I found Torremolinos Pride disappointing when almost all participation was on corporate-sponsored matching, huge flatbed trucks. No charm and little individuality except for those on board who were mostly lost to view. But you knew who paid for them! Sadly, corporate participation bears no relation to corporations’ support of LGBTQ+ issues.
I agree too. Since most of them pulled their funding, it saw the ticket price fall drastically for entrance into the festival itself...or one could just give a donation. At least in Philly and we saw bigger numbers coming out.
DeleteBrava!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree 100%.
Corporate sponsors of Pride who wait until June to acknowledge us and the the next 11 months it's "LGBTQ+ WHO???"
Let's use our own community to represent not those fair-weather corporations looking to get some traction.
We always have had Pride without hem for years....so we dont need them. Let's get back to the grassroots feztival and marches are use to have without all the glitz.
DeleteAbsolutely agree.
ReplyDeletePink washing is a shameful practice and it must be eradicated. Just give me the fun.
XOXO
I couldn't agree more. I like to party and have like the next person but the last two years, we and some of my neighbors hadn't even gone going to the parade and festival this year. We’ve had it with rainbow capitalism. This year it's all different. I'm glad if these corporations are true and mean it then we don't need there support, we will be just fine.
ReplyDeleteI too am glad to read this! These chains and big corporations, there support and funds are neither required nor desired, if they can't be true allies 27/ 7 /365 days. I do like your ideas here. I wonder if they were thinking they’d get a donation out of her or there would be people showing up just to see her Plus NOT a great look with how the Hilton corporation embraced ICE and it's agent stays. And gave in to dismantling their diversity program. Regardless it’s the right move to recalibrate and choose someone of the community. So many choices in the LGBTQ. BrAVO Mistress!
ReplyDeleteI concur! It was relief to see way less sponsorship in Philly's Pride this year.
ReplyDeleteAnd the Hiltons!!! WHY would they choose her anyhow? The family and the corporation bend to the knee to give into Trump. Not to mention gave great funds to his campaigns.
I always felt our Prides should be kept local...grassroots feeling and community driven....I loved the feelings of the Prides when I came out.
DeleteTarget has largely lost my business, Under Armour no longer offers a PRIDE collection (shoes that always drew compliments) I need to seek out who the local LGBTQ businesses are in my area.
ReplyDeleteA number of years ago I was with the Central PA Pride Festival and the idea of getting a sponsorship was a dream come true. Not that they didn't work with the local gay businesses, but getting to display a Hershey Foods logo would have been the answer to their financial prayers.
ReplyDeletePhilly Pride was getting alot of that....but now their committees have really cut back of them..but largely by the corporation's cutting back. Now it's back to local charities....groups, services and pub and bar sponsored floats and such.
DeleteA Grand Marshall was nothing but a PR stunt to get the straight community to show up for the parade. Sponsorships help pay the bills, it's that simple. So, of course, the Pride organizers tried to get those. But to have those same companies run away when it became politically inconvenient are not the kind of support the LGBTQ communities need.
ReplyDeleteI ignore a lot of these businesses based on what they do throughout the year. I haven't shopped at Target in a few years and after they started selling women's t-shirts and sweaters that said Dump Him (as in their men) I don't even think of them at all unless they're mentioned.
ReplyDeleteTarget used to be cool....what happened?
DeleteI hope there will come a day when it won't matter who you are; that we won't be judged on colour, race, religion. abilities, sexual preferences, sex etc.. Sadly I don't think it will be in my lifetime.
ReplyDeleteMine either.
DeleteTotally Agree and Support the Gay Population in the Local Communities.
ReplyDeleteAnd if we don't support gay business and shops what kind of a community are we? I only use Giovanni's Room for my books and literature either by mail or stop in when I'm in Philly. Could I use Barnes and Noble? Yes for convenience. but I don't.Does Gioavannis Room charge more...for somethings yes...but why not support local and gay. If we don't.... they're soon to disappear.
DeleteWell said!
ReplyDeleteI so agree! I'm a veteran of Pride events in London - I was at the 1985 one that was featured in the film Pride, and after a hiatus, every one since 1991 - and the moment it began to get huge and all the corporates started to take over it inevitably lost touch with its community-based, issues-based, political protest roots.
ReplyDeleteWhat pisses me off the most is the fact that we, a gang of individual gays and family members, cannot even set foot on the fucking "parade" (remember when it was known as a "march"?) unless we register and get a wristband and get allocated a slot in the running order - which would inevitably be way behind the likes of Google, Virgin, Tesco, KPMG (and so on) and their hordes of hangers-on (many of whom aren't even gay, just happy to wear the branded t-shirt and whoop a lot).
It doesn't bother us so much any more - anger's never a good look when everyone walking past us, in their dull corporate branded homogeneity, runs to the side where we're standing to have their photos taken with US, all dressed-up, on the sidelines!! Jx
In Philly, the route is a long one...so most people will watch like you all do, on the sidelines, but people are generally free to join in as long as they are on the sides and not in marchers and bands or floats way. Most will jump in at the end and walk with the parade till it's end point where the festival is...or people jump, hit a pub or two...then head to the festival. I was relieved to hear more than half the corporate bullshit was gone.I was told it felt more like the earlier days of parade marches and festivals, which I liked. And of course our hometown gal Madame LaBelle brought the house down.
DeleteHell honey child...who you kidding? Your gang outshines in fashion and camp over 90% of the parade itself!!!!!!
I agree that often Big Corporations just support whatever they consider Flavor of the Month and is profitable for them, but if it becomes monetarily or politically inconvenient to, they are conspicuous by their very absence. They are Pussies, you don't have to excuse that French my Dear coz I got even stronger Words for them. *Winks* I always Support Small Businesses over the Big Box Corps. who often exploit their Workers and latch onto whatever will make them a Buck and pretend to Care... when all they Care about is how much Green they can make off of whatever or whoever it is.
ReplyDeleteAnd they seem to pile even more work on the workers, with less pay or no raises and want then to milk the customers. At what point does it make them appear desperate?
DeleteAs heinous as IQ 47's administration has been, it has clearly demonstrated who truly supports Pride events and who doesn't. When the winds shift again, I hope Pride Parade organizers will tell those fair-weather sponsors to go pound sand! I like your idea of downsizing the glitz by getting back to the LGBTQ+ community's roots and why there's still a need to have Pride parades & marches.
ReplyDeleteHere Here! When I first came out there were little parades everyone could walk in and then it would end at the festival grounds, where there were eats and drinks, swag vendors, gay business and services, various health clinics, and various centers for the community and youth to reach out to if needed. And sometime areas of art with various bios of LBGT TRAILBLAZERS. And of course, local talent for entertainment. That was it.
DeleteWhen a gay love-in was held in Los Angeles for the first time in 1969, it was all supported by volunteers, gay activists and advocates, and gay businesses.
ReplyDeleteWe need to get back to that type of support and organization.
CA jock
Joan knows, she can smell the corporate shit !
ReplyDeleteAnd she knew how to deal with the corporate boys of Pepsi.
She made Pepsi pay and pay !
-Rj