Rainbow Capitalism: The Commodification of Pride

For people who identify as part of the LGBT+ community, the month of June means a time dedicated to celebration and acceptance. For corporations and institutions, the month of June means taking advantage of a disenfranchised group for capitalistic gain. This is known as rainbow capitalism, and it is especially prevalent during pride month. Even if you were not yet familiar with the term, you almost certainly have seen rainbows or other symbols associated with gay pride popping up in stores and franchises every June. The community is fighting back against this commodification of their pride and demanding more meaningful action.

When it comes to addressing whether or not a company's support of the LGBT+ community is problematic, we have to explore what they’ve done in the past and their motivations. Some versions of rainbow capitalism are relatively harmless and obviously just a way to celebrate, such as rainbow socks or makeup palettes. Almost everyone at pride parades can be seen wearing something that is a result of rainbow capitalism. Being able to find things at stores that celebrate your identity is definitely a good thing because it makes people feel included and embraced. Apps like Instagram creating rainbow hashtags and Uber making their maps rainbow is just for fun. We don’t need to demand a deeper meaning from these types of rainbow capitalism. 

The problems arise when a company that genuinely has contributed to the oppression of the queer community decides to change their stance, usually motivated by what they stand to gain from doing so. It is possible that a corporation that has been homophobic or transphobic can work at undoing the harm they have caused. However, this is rarely the case. Gilead Pharmaceuticals is a top sponsor of San Francisco Pride and New York Pride. It is also the corporation that collects all the profits from the HIV prevention drug PrEP. The AIDS epidemic is notorious for the serious damage it did to the queer community, and one thing that largely contributed to this was the apathy of pharmaceutical companies when it came to creating and distributing an effective solution or prevention. After over three decades of pain and loss, the FDA licensed PrEP for use in the United States in 2012. Gilead Pharmaceuticals prices PrEP at around $1,500 to $2,000 per monthly supply, even though one monthly supply only costs $6 to manufacture.

This extreme profit margin harms the LGBT+ community, especially those who are most vulnerable to contracting HIV. People of color, IV drug users and incarcerated people are often the most likely members of the queer community to be HIV positive. They are also the least likely to have health insurance or the means to pay out-of-pocket. Other HIV treatments have long been seen as something only available to the wealthy, and it seems like PrEP also falls into this category. Poverty and lack of access to healthcare is a serious issue in the LGBT+ community. This usually leads to the contraction of life-threatening diseases, which cyclically exacerbates these issues. Corporations often choose to support the conventional aspects and members of the community and ignore the most disenfranchised people. Transgender people of color, especially trans women of color, are disproportionately the victims of violence and hate crimes. This pharmaceutical company is complicit in the oppression of the most vulnerable queer people. Since PrEP has the potential to save someone’s life, those who can get ahold of it are often willing to pay the high price. This is unfair profiteering off people put into a desperate situation at best and denial of necessary healthcare at worst. Gilead Pharmaceuticals is praised for their presence at pride parades, but they benefit from the exploitation of queer people. This is a clear and strong example of rainbow capitalism.

So, how can corporations show support that is actually beneficial? It begins with reckoning with their past and recognizing the ways they may have negatively affected the LGBT+ community. If they do have a problematic past, they should then work at repairing the harm they have done. Real allyship comes from empowering members of a community. The queer community needs actual support, especially the most disenfranchised people within it. An example of rainbow capitalism that is at least a step in the right direction is Chipotle teaming up with drag queens Trixie Mattel, Kim Chi and Gottmik, whom each created a custom order and chose a charity to get $1 per order. Whoever has the most orders by June 16 will get an additional $10,000 donated by Chipotle. Trixie chose Trans Lifeline, Kim Chi chose the Human Rights Campaign and Gottmik chose GLAAD. Hopefully, other organizations will launch similar campaigns and something good can come from rainbow capitalism. It's time we held corporations accountable for their superficial support of the community and demanded that they do better.