Company Pride Logos: Performative or Productive?

Is it productive? It can be! A big part of acceptance is education and visibility. By creating more visibility through the increase in Pride logos, it can interest people about the LGBTQ+ community and encourage them to get educated. The resources and information that is shared during June is helpful in many ways and can open up the minds of potential allies. When young people who are struggling with their sexuality see the illusion of universal acceptance through these logos, it can end up empowering people to feel confident in themselves.

I asked a few of my queer friends about their thoughts on this question. 

When asked if companies changing their logos is performative or productive, Wyatt Robertson (@wyattandthewhale) said that it, “[d]epends! I think if the company 1) is uplifting queer people in their own organization to help create the campaigns 2) does more than just like donate a small portion of their profits from their Pride campaigns 3) doesn’t cause harm to the community overall, both during Pride and also for the rest of the year (like big banks that invest in prisons)”. 

It’s a tricky situation because companies giving visibility to queer people seems inherently positive. Like people say, no press is bad press. By getting the message of queer people in the workforce out into the world, it helps create a bridge of acceptance. However, there are also circumstances that can cause harm to the LGBTQ+ community by performatively changing a logo for a month.