Why Are You Surprised?
-Kevin Garcia
With so many big names making huge faux pas at allyship this past month, should we even be counting on corporations for their support at all? (Short answer: no.)
Pride month is here. And with it every single corporation from Shell to Wells Fargo is going to light up their social medias with rainbows, creating campaigns and products aimed at queer folks for one purpose and one purpose only.
No. Not allyship. They want sales. They want our money. And Queer folks are starved for representation that we tend to jump at it the moment we see it, not wondering if the hand that feeds us is also the one holding us back.
I knew it was gonna be wild when conservatives freaked out over Trans creator, Dylan Mulvaney, getting a cute little brand deal with Bud Light. And then I knew it was going to be even more wild when the Dodgers decided to play lukewarm ally as well when the organization disinvited the beloved Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence from the pride night event, only to face immediate backlash, and reverse their decision.
Again, that’s not allyship, that’s caving under pressure. That’s doing the right thing after you’ve been called out, which is good in some ways, but I’m not sure why anyone would look to the Dodgers as a source of allyship. I don’t look or expect any corporation to do the right thing when it comes to standing up for marginalized folk.
The same thing goes for Target…
Kevin Garcia (he/they)