Current Events > NYC LGBT groups claim Pride celebration is too 'commercialized,' splinter off

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https://www.wthr.com/article/stonewall-50-alternate-lgbtq-march-planned-says-pride-too-commercialized

One of the biggest celebrations of LGBT pride in New York City history will culminate Sunday with not one, but two processions through the streets of Manhattan, after dissidents who believe the annual parade has become too commercialized decided to split off with their own march.

Both parades cap a month of events marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, when patrons of a Greenwich Village gay bar fought back against a police raid and sparked a new era of gay activism and visibility.

Some 150,000 people are expected to participate in the NYC Pride March, with hundreds of thousands more lining the streets to watch as New York hosts WorldPride for the first time.

Organizers of the insurgent Queer Liberation March say they expect 10,000 or more at their event, which they say will have a protest vibe.

The main Pride march, the dissidents say, has strayed too far from its roots as a ragtag liberation demonstration celebrating an act of resistance. They complain that today's march is dominated by corporate floats and is too heavily policed by the same department that raided the Stonewall in 1969.

Police Commissioner James O'Neill apologized this month for the Stonewall raid, but organizers of the alternative march deemed the apology too little, too late.

The upstart queer march is scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m. at the Stonewall Inn and end with a rally in Central Park.

The larger NYC Pride March will step off at noon with corporate sponsors including T-Mobile, MasterCard and Delta Air Lines. It will also pass by the Stonewall Inn before concluding in the Chelsea neighborhood. A related closing ceremony in Times Square will feature a performance by Melissa Etheridge.

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They have all the rights they need. This month is unneeded now. It's all about money and looking politically correct.
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Seems counterproductive. The aims of the lgbt movement are to be less marginalised not more so.

Patty_Fleur posted...

They have all the rights they need. This month is unneeded now. It's all about money and looking politically correct.

What do gay people gain from pretending to care about gay people?
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So what's your angle on this admiral, we're all dying to know
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hockeybub89 posted...

Patty_Fleur posted...

They have all the rights they need. This month is unneeded now. It's all about money and looking politically correct.

What do gay people gain from pretending to care about gay people?

Exactly. What's the point?
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pinky0926 posted...

So what's your angle on this admiral, we're all dying to know

It wont be a positive angle about gay people, that's for sure
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The amount of corporate pandering during Pride month has seemed particularly egregious this year
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Zodd3224 posted...

pinky0926 posted...

So what's your angle on this admiral, we're all dying to know

It wont be a positive angle about gay people, that's for sure

Yeah I feel like this is something the Admiral would agree with on its face when trying to criticise pride but when its a group of LGBT+ people doing so in order to splinter off he'll need to concoct a position which aims more criticism at those people
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my perception of pride month from seeing all the ppl i know on social media doing pride stuff in NYC/Philly is that it's basically a month long bar brawl with rainbow flags in the background.

not that im complaining, i love bar crawls, but it did strike me as interesting that it seemed like a very non-political type of event
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Patty_Fleur posted...

They have all the rights they need. This month is unneeded now. It's all about money and looking politically correct.

Ah, I feel like we're finally seeing you.

pinky0926 posted...

So what's your angle on this admiral, we're all dying to know

yes. please tell us. we're dying to know.

knutjob posted...

Seems counterproductive. The aims of the lgbt movement are to be less marginalised not more so.

It's not about marginalization. It's fear that these corporations actively support a depoliticized Pride that doesn't elevate the visibility of the LGBTQ community or its struggles and just seek to turn the event into a giant party so it can sell shit. Or worse, it does all of the above while supporting anti-LGBT organizations or causes. This is called 'pinkwashing.'

I think these people are right to worry. It's one thing for Hilton Hotels to have a float in the parade. It's another entirely when they stamp their logo on every Pride themed banner, t-shirt, and beer coozie across the whole event as they did in DC Pride 2016. Them painting their logo in a rainbow is just lip service. What are they doing for the community to be taking up that much air in the room? These t-shirt cannons and 'Hilton+Pride' doubloons are little more than cheap party favors.

As more corporate dollars flow into Pride events, the it centers local politics surrounding LGBT issues and queer liberation less and less. Worse, I think there are people attending these parades who are there because it's place to be for the weekend. They have no idea about the surrounding issues. They just attend pride for the parties, or the right to call themselves an LGBT all, and then promptly forget about it Sunday night. For them, the corporatization of Pride is somewhere between culture vulture and commodotization. Not helpful.

Romulox28 posted...

my perception of pride month from seeing all the ppl i know on social media doing pride stuff in NYC/Philly is that it's basically a month long bar brawl with rainbow flags in the background.

not that im complaining, i love bar crawls, but it did strike me as interesting that it seemed like a very non-political type of event

Exactly. And that's historically not true. Especially now. And I kind of am complaining.
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My favorite part of pride month is making money off of pride month.
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Patty_Fleur posted...

They have all the rights they need. This month is unneeded now.

Bad take imo.
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this doesn't seem surprising to me at all

hollow_shrine posted...

As more corporate dollars flow into Pride events, the it centers local politics surrounding LGBT issues and queer liberation less and less.

seems completely reasonable that anyone who was really into the original message of the event and still feels like they don't have enough acceptance / representation / etc would find the current state of things insufficient
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Will there be two straight parades?

Zodd3224 posted...

pinky0926 posted...

So what's your angle on this admiral, we're all dying to know

It wont be a positive angle about gay people, that's for sure

Please addy, we're all waiting with bated breath
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I just think it's funny how so many other gay guys complain about the commercialization of pride now had no problem shoving cash into straight gogo dancer underwear for decades. Nobody is immune to commercial marketing, and it's not a bad thing that LGBT people are actually being recognized as a demographic.

Patty_Fleur posted...

They have all the rights they need. This month is unneeded now. It's all about money and looking politically correct.

No, they don't. They should be a protected class. Right now, in many states, it's legal to deny jobs and housing based on sexual orientation.
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Raikuro posted...

I just think it's funny how so many other gay guys complain about the commercialization of pride now had no problem shoving cash into straight gogo dancer underwear for decades. Nobody is immune to commercial marketing, and it's not a bad thing that LGBT people are actually being recognized as a demographic.

...what?
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Zodd3224 posted...

pinky0926 posted...

So what's your angle on this admiral, we're all dying to know

It wont be a positive angle about gay people, that's for sure

Also can we keep the police out of pride too?
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hyperpsycho posted...

Also can we keep the police out of pride too?

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This is gross:
https://www.eater.com/2019/6/24/18700836/jetblue-logo-stonewall-inn-new-york
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hyperpsycho posted...

This is gross:
https://www.eater.com/2019/6/24/18700836/jetblue-logo-stonewall-inn-new-york

its funny how people are getting upset over brands attaching to gay pride, as if corporate brands dont 100% control the entire culture in the US already.
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To put this in terms some less radical folks might understand: you know the sense you have that video games nowadays are increasingly about monetization techniques, DLC, and microtransactions, and less about about the things that drew you to gaming in the first place?
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/13/cops-out-of-pride-lgbt-police

Romulox28 posted...

hyperpsycho posted...

This is gross:
https://www.eater.com/2019/6/24/18700836/jetblue-logo-stonewall-inn-new-york

its funny how people are getting upset over brands attaching to gay pride, as if corporate brands dont 100% control the entire culture in the US already.

But that's on a historical landmark. Why are they putting ads on a landmark?
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Welcome to every other holiday/parade LGBT folks. This is in a way really nice that they've achieved equality in this aspect.
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Godnorgosh posted...

Queer liberation, not rainbow capitalism.

What do queer people need to be liberated from?
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Antifar posted...

To put this in terms some less radical folks might understand: you know the sense you have that video games nowadays are increasingly about monetization techniques, DLC, and microtransactions, and less about about the things that drew you to gaming in the first place?

What a wonderful comparison
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Hop103 posted...

Commercialization is probably the best bet for pride parades in the West, it would cut back on the degeneracy

Something tells me you don't share the concerns of the LGBTQ community
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Jiek_Fafn posted...

Welcome to every other holiday/parade LGBT folks. This is in a way really nice that they've achieved equality in this aspect.

True, look at black history month and how quickly corporations and television shows start running shows and episodes of existing shows that focus on black people and history more often.
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hyperpsycho posted...

This is gross:
https://www.eater.com/2019/6/24/18700836/jetblue-logo-stonewall-inn-new-york

I had no idea. You'd think the people organizing would have intervened hardcore to prevent this kind of tastelessness. But I sincerely don't think it even occurred to them that this was crossing a line.
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Antifar posted...

To put this in terms some less radical folks might understand: you know the sense you have that video games nowadays are increasingly about monetization techniques, DLC, and microtransactions, and less about about the things that drew you to gaming in the first place?

highly offensive suggesting lgbt+ know the day to day suffering of gamers
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That's cool. It'd be nice if more groups around the country would stand up to being overly corporatized like this.
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stoltenberg11 posted...

That's cool. It'd be nice if more groups around the country would stand up to being overly corporatized like this.

Why?
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friendbuddypal posted...

stoltenberg11 posted...

That's cool. It'd be nice if more groups around the country would stand up to being overly corporatized like this.

Why?

It's just kinda lame seeing once fun things getting lost in all the corporatization nowadays.
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Antifar posted...

Hop103 posted...

Commercialization is probably the best bet for pride parades in the West, it would cut back on the degeneracy

Something tells me you don't share the concerns of the LGBTQ community

I have him tagged as anti-LGBT so you're right.
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https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/06/9-pride-celebrating-companies-donated-millions-anti-gay-congress-members/

hyperpsycho posted...

But that's on a historical landmark. Why are they putting ads on a landmark?

stonewall is a landmark in the sense that it's a historical location but it's also still a business
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friendbuddypal posted...

Godnorgosh posted...

Queer liberation, not rainbow capitalism.

What do queer people need to be liberated from?

For starters the not-so-subtle homophobia of people who use terms like 'degeneracy' to refer to the LGBTQ community. This ain't the 40's. That euphemism is beyond dead. Some of y'all need to update your vocab.

But while we're on the topic, housing and employment discrimination in the US is still going on. Strong government backed policies (or even amendments) outlawing discrimination is needed. It needs to be federal, 'state's rights' isn't just a dogwhistle for homophobic and racist legislation happening in some of these states, it's also the tool they use to defend policies like the 'religious freedom' laws passing around the south which are broadly worded to allow private institutions to discriminate against members of the LGBTQ community.

Gay liberation isn't just about legal protection, but a push to expose the attitudes and dismantle the social conditions that prop up societal inequality.
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TalesofMedz posted...

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/06/9-pride-celebrating-companies-donated-millions-anti-gay-congress-members/

God forbid they try to make amends.
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TalesofMedz posted...

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/06/9-pride-celebrating-companies-donated-millions-anti-gay-congress-members/

Pinkwashing.

And I need to stop giving the HRC my money. I almost quit my donations after it came out that they were basically leaving trans issues to the triage to focus on marriage equality, part of the pie, yes, and a concern that's mostly symbolic to all but a certain collection of members within the community.

friendbuddypal posted...

TalesofMedz posted...

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2019/06/9-pride-celebrating-companies-donated-millions-anti-gay-congress-members/

God forbid they try to make amends.

HRC is constantly getting caught up in mess and they never seem to learn anything from the backlash.
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Damn the guy complaining about "degeneracy" got modded. Sweet.
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This is why I don't like corporations getting involved in any political or social issues. Corporations are master manipulators, they pretend to care about all this for marketing purposes only, and to make the people they pander to forget all of the other shady shit that they do (like Google and their "pride forever" garbage while harvesting your information and treating their employees like trash).

Good for this group for splintering off and wanting to retain the original message without corporate influence.