The Importance of Authenticity During Pride Month
Happy Pride!
Growing up in the early 2000s, I feel like my childhood and teen years very fortunately positioned themselves in a fast-progressing cultural mindset that being gay was less and less of an issue. However, I also had friends who told me constantly that if I ever got married they wouldn’t go because it went against God’s will and wasn’t legitimate. Parents would whisper to each other about my flamboyance and stuff like that, but that was pretty much it. Their feelings were all an eye roll and a “whatever” to me.
I was always aware of pride, but never paid any attention to it until I was in college in NYC. I’ll be honest with you, even in college I barely paid any mind to it. It was kind of like a brand itself that I didn’t identify with. My friends would go all out. Leather harnesses, speedos, dressing up as gay icons, rainbow flags, being as slutty-in-the streets as they could. I wanted no part of it. It just wasn’t me. If it’s for you, go out and do your thang, hunnayyy! Whatever makes you happy hahaha
It wasn’t until years later when I stopped to reflect on the different facets of pride when I realized that I have been participating my entire life. I basically threw my flamboyance in the faces of my friend’s conservative parents every time I was at their house; I would read essays about my analysis of America’s Next Top Model and Project Runway seasons to my community college classes that consisted mainly of straight lumberjacks, read Vogue at my desk, the list goes on.
I feel like I’ve participated in pride by just being me, being happy, being enthusiastic, and never showing shame or acting like I’m being repressed somehow. I don’t need an allotted holiday time slot to celebrate pride because I feel like it’s more of a personal, internal journey that is constant. When you feel proud and happy with who you are, that energy is the one that makes change without you having to push for it.
When it comes to brands and pride, I have some thoughts…
Pride month has always felt like a weird gratuity to me and when brands do pride posts, that also feels like a gratuity. In 100% honesty, any pride post from a brand that’s selling something feels gross. Gratuities are thrown out like candy in order to get a wider demographic’s money and it sickens me. In a way, it makes more separation. It says “this is your box and we are highlighting it this month because we’ll get in trouble in the comments if we don’t.” It all feels incredibly inauthentic, no matter how much production went into it.
I could write that brands can incorporate the queer community by inclusivity in campaigns and visual assets and that’s all true. But it’s not new advice hahaha
I’m looking for something real, something that’s actually from a founder’s heart. I want brands to stop looking over at each other’s desks and copying, be unique and don’t be afraid to be different and sometimes controversial. Brands need to practice having more pride in themselves and believe more in themselves. Cancel culture has created a fear that rules the industry right now. My advice to brands is to stop living in fear. It only creates more and gives cancel culture more power. Take back your power, your visions, your love and your dreams. I can’t even imagine what that change would look like, but it’s time to stop living in fear ❤