Have we indeed passed the point of Peak Woke? June was always going to be a litmus test – and the signs are that we just may be putting wokeness more and more behind us.
June is, of course, so-called ‘Pride Month’. The month when near-naked dog men gambol around on all fours, and topless fat ladyboys flash their pastry flesh, in front of children. When every major company obediently change their livery to variously eye-assaulting ‘rainbow’ versions.
Or not.
This Pride Month, many retail chains and brands are going quiet.
Companies are treading lightly, avoiding prominent campaigns and visible public support. Thirty-nine percent say they plan to scale back public Pride Month engagements this year, according to a survey of more than 200 corporate executives by Gravity Research, a risk management advisory. That includes sponsoring Pride events, posting supportive messages of LGBTQ rights on social media and selling Pride-themed merchandise.
Despite frantic media denials that it’s a thing, more and more companies are realising that going woke is a shortcut to going broke. Just ask ESPN, Gillette, Bud Light…
Naturally, though, the left media are blaming it all on the Bad Orange Man.
The subdued approach marks a shift for businesses, which used to turn the annual June celebration of LGBTQ Americans into a branded holiday. It’s part of a broader pivot in corporate America, with many businesses scrapping some of their programs to advance diversity in the workplace under pressure from the Trump administration and Republican activists.
Advocates for gay, lesbian and transgender Americans say the Trump administration’s opposition makes it harder for businesses to compete, innovate and attract talent. They also warn that companies risk losing business by downplaying support for their growing number of gay, lesbian and transgender customers and workers.
More likely, they’ve realised that alienating the majority of Americans who just aren’t interested in being metaphorically slapped in the face by a gigantic rainbow dildo for a month.
Sixty-five percent of companies in Gravity Research’s survey said they were preparing strategies to respond to blowback. A growing number of chains, including Walmart, Target, Kroger, have also been warning investors about the risks of consumer boycotts over corporate positions on social issues.
Anger from the right over Bud Light and Target’s marketing efforts, in particular, has had a chilling effect on corporate strategies for Pride Month.
Well, there must be a hell of a lot ‘right-wingers’, then.
Bud Light sales tanked in 2023 after the company’s partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney sparked anti-trans backlash and boycotts. Bud Light’s tepid response also angered LGBTQ rights advocates.
In 2023, activists and customers on the right attacked Target on social media for its LGBTQ-themed merchandise during Pride Month.
Well, when you’re selling sexually-themed clothing to children, should you be surprised that people get a bit narky?
Nordstrom, Gap and several other brands that highlighted their Pride Month efforts last year appear not to have repeated them this June. The companies did not respond to CNN about their plans.
Even better, the grass-roots backlash is hitting the groomer activists right where it hurts: in the hip pocket.
Pride festival organizers are grappling with a budgetary shortfall of hundreds of thousands of dollars this year, as corporations scale back funding for Pride Month events – a trend likely to continue – forcing organizers to turn to crowdfunding and other community sources of support, according to AP.
Good luck with that. The withdrawal of corporate baksheesh is leaving a gaping hole in the activists’ balance sheets.
Brands such as Amtrak, Anheuser-Busch, Benefit Cosmetics, Boeing, Booz Allen Hamilton, Citi, Comcast/Xfinity, Deloitte, Diageo, Garnier, Goldman Sachs, Lowe’s, Mastercard, Meta, Nissan, Pepsi, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Skyy Vodka, Target, Visa and Walmart pulled back Pride sponsorships and donations this year.
Pride organizers across the country are facing major cuts, including San Francisco ($200,000 shy of its $3.2 million budget), New York City (down 20% or $750,000 from last year), Salt Lake City (short $400,000 or half of its budget), Washington, D.C. (off $260,000), Kansas City (-$200,000), St. Louis (-$150,000), Houston (-$100,000) and many other festivals in Colorado, Florida, Ohio, Arkansas and North Carolina have lost funding.
Remember when we all agreed that what consenting adults did behind closed doors was nobody’s business? Well, here’s hoping they’ll go back to their bedrooms and keep it off the streets and away from children.
