Celebrating Pride in 2021🌈
WHAT’S UP: Pride!
Momentum for Pride in 2021 has reached Maximum Momentum: an MFactor of 100, up from 58 in just 1 month.
Momentum for Pride was at an MFactor of 88 June 2020 because for the first time in its 50-year history, Pride events all over the nation — including the New York City celebrations — were postponed, canceled or made virtual.
Pride in 2021 is back in full force and reaching Maximum Momentum as states across the country completely lift COVID-19 restrictions and the LGBTQ+ community, allies, organizations and companies celebrate and pay tribute in new ways.
Pride 2021 is leaning into Innovation (continuous evolution) + Polarization (driving discussion & debate) with unexpected firsts:#1: Consumer Brands:
- Estée Lauder Cos. is hosting a roundtable discussion on genderless beauty, to take place on June 29. The event will be open to the public and will include panelists Rob Smith (chief executive officer and founder of the Phluid Project) and hairstylist David Lopez.
- MAC Cosmetics is debuting its Pride & Joy Liquidlast Liner Vault, an 11-shade collection of liners. 100% of the selling price ($125 on MAC’s website) will go to the Hetrick-Martin Institute — one of the country’s oldest advocacy organizations for LGBTQ youth, via the MAC Viva Glam fund.
- PVH Corp., which owns brands like Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfige, etc, is expanding its Pride Month initiatives to focus on year-round education and awareness for the LGBTQ community. They are sponsoring 6 events focused on the LGBTQ community throughout the year, including the Human Rights Conference and Black Queen Townhall this month. It is also expanding its community engagement by supporting the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities program and by partnering with PFLAG to help educate its associates.
- Rihanna’s lingerie label FENTY is releasing its first Pride collection this month — featuring 13 people from the LGBTQ+ community and photographed by Quil Lemons. Sales will be donated to several LGBTQ charities, including GLAAD, the Audre Lorde Project, the Caribbean Equality Project and the Trans Wellness Center, among others.
#2: Entertainment:
- 90s boy bands NSYNC and Backstreet Boys joined forces as “Back-Sync” for the first time for joint Pride Performance at the Grove in LA. They also presented $1 million in $TKINU Tokens to The Trevor Project, on behalf of the cryptocurrency-backed philanthropic coalition Mission Tsuki.
#3: Sports:
- First Pride logo worn on an M.L.B. field as the San Francisco Giants incorporated pride colors into on-field uniforms in honor of the LGBTQ+ community & pride celebrations.
- Carl Nassib made history this week by becoming the first active NFL player to come out as gay
#4 Celebrations:
- NYC’s Pride Parade will be both in-person and virtual: instead of parade floats, outdoor seating areas of some businesses on the parade route will be decorated and transformed with Pride imagery into “Pop Ups.”
#5 Politics:
- First sitting vice president at a Pride parade — Vice President Kamala Harris made history when she attended Capital Pride in Washington on June 12.
WHAT’S DOWN:
Rainbow Washing
Not all corporate recognition of Pride is welcomed by the LGBTQ+ community. Symbolic gestures can often be perceived as rainbow washing — when company recognition is only surface level with no tangible actions to uplift the community.
Pride Dont’s to avoid:
- Whitewashing pride: Only featuring white faces in posts about Pride and no acknowledgment of the discrimination BIPOC, particularly Black transgender women, face today
- Profiting off of Pride events: Creating rainbow themed products or selling tickets for events and pocketing the profits — Pride should be accessible to all, not just those who can afford the expense
- Performative posts: Making posts about Pride without offering training for all employees and protection against discrimination for LGBTQ+ employees
WHAT’S NEXT?
Pride Do’s for companies / businesses acknowledging & celebrating Pride:
- Pass the mic: Highlight LGBTQ+ voices within your company for those that are comfortable sharing
- Ensure content & materials about Pride feature diversity
- Donate most or all proceeds from pride-themed items to LGBTQ+ organizations
- Provide educational materials (internally & externally) about Pride that recognize how improvements still need to be made & bias training for employees
- Continue acknowledging & celebrating Pride throughout the year beyond just June
