Pink Capitalism, also known as Rainbow Capitalism stands for the incorporation of the LGBTQ+ community movement and sexual diversity into capitalism. It is the fight for diversity and acceptance, as a way to capitalism and a market economy.
The LGBTQ+ community movement was initiated after the Stonewell riots by the gay community broke out which were in retaliation to the police action taken on LGBTQ community on 28th June 1969 at the Stonewall Inn, Greenwich Village near New York. The Stonewell riots played an instrumental role in unifying the community and led to the formation of Gay Liberation Movement which fought for LGBT rights in United Sates.
The riots also resulted in the creation of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) in New York, motivating thousands of people to join the protests for the rights of the community.
Since its inception, GLF has had a revolutionary agenda for the social transformation and acquiring an equal status. It sought political alliances with other marginalised communities and worked towards their common liberation. It has also been known for campaigning for unity and solidarity of all victims of injustice.
The popularity of LGBTQ+ social movement has given rise to the emergence of pink capitalism, a form of capitalism which came into existence commemorating a “new” market focused specifically on the LGBTQ+ community. Earlier this potential market was consciously or unconsciously ignored by the society, companies and the media. The community has now generated enough purchasing power referred to as Pink Money, which has led to increasing market focus on them, through businesses such as hospitality, bars, nightclubs, themed restaurants, gay hotels and corporate marketing practices.
Marketing activities targeted towards LGBTQ+ community is one of the major forms of Pink Capitalism we witness today. Assuming that this community is their current and potential clientele, marketers are now trying to relate their marketing activities, partially or completely, towards them. Many brands have been seen releasing advertisements supporting the LGBTQ+ community while others such as Coca Cola, Doritos, SoulCycle and Head &Shoulders have displayed their logos and packaging with rainbows.
To support Pink Capital, corporates are coming up with advertisements in categories as diverse as fashion, travel, luxury goods, alcoholic beverages and hair and skincare products. This shows availability of enough pink money to be spent by the LGBTQ+ community on these categorical items. By adding the target community- friendly elements, marketing campaigns create a self-identifiable association with their customers. Companies have also started including symbols like rainbow colours in their commercials to increase the effectiveness of their campaigns. A prime example of this is Absolut, an alcoholic beverage brand, which started showing interest in the LGBTQ+ consumers and launched its special rainbow bottle as a tribute to the 30th anniversary of the Rainbow icon, a symbol of LGBTQ movement.
However, the reality tends to differ from the examples we speak of above. Apprehensions regarding corporates merely manipulating the movement in a bid to maximise profits may not be completely ill-founded. Each year in the month of June, we observe a noticeable rise in rainbow-themed items from big corporations. Stores would offer big ‘Pride Discounts’ to grab the attention of the public and attract potential consumers. The companies thus have commercialised the celebration of Pride Parade, raising scepticism regarding their sensitivity towards the cause the community is seen fighting for.
In recent years, the involvement of rainbows and other pride related content in commercial campaigns has been merely reduced a capitalist PR strategy called Pink washing.
Pink washing is making products or the image of a company appear LGBTQ+ friendly to showcase progressiveness and tolerance of the company in order to attract customers from the LGBTQ+ community.
Let’s take the example of China, specifically how Chinese business is embracing the LGBTQ market. China has estimated that 70 million LGBTQ+ people represent a new market worth $300bn per year. In comparison, the US equivalent is worth $790bn a year. Homosexuality was illegal in China until 1997 but only declassified as a mental health disorder in 2001.
Recently in China, global firms such as Starbucks, Alibaba, Nike and Adidas have started marketing themselves as LGBT-friendly. As gay marriage is not legal in the home country, Alibaba-owned shopping giant Taobao organised trips for ten gay Chinese couples to get married in Los Angeles. In Beijing, the number of gay night destinations have also increased.
In light of the recent developments, we can conclude that the global market is slowly accepting and promoting the LGBTQ+ community. However, the question we need to ask is whether this inclusion is just for brand promotion or are we actually moving towards Pink Capitalism.
WRITTEN BY:
Deepali Gandotra
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