Is there danger afoot for the LGBTQ+ community? Not threats of physical violence, but more along the lines of many Americans finally pushing back on the peddlers of woke culture, and it’s causing a certain amount of angst for progressives. Has the movement burned out? Peaked? Or is it simply that consumer confidence in Gay Pride merchandise has dwindled? So is the blame to fall on those homophobic straight people who won’t traffic a store with displays of tuck swimsuits for men?
The threat is so pervasive that the Human Rights Campaign has declared – in big, bold letters on its home page – a State of Emergency:
“We have officially declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the United States for the first time following an unprecedented and dangerous spike in anti-LGBTQ+ legislative assaults sweeping state houses this year. More than 75 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been signed into law this year alone, more than doubling last year’s number, which was previously the worst year on record.”
The website doesn’t, however, mention biological men participating in women’s sports or keeping hard-core sexuality out of the third-grade classroom. No legislation prohibits this community from being employed, attending the theater or college, or selecting the dog groomer of choice for the Goldendoodle’s ‘do.
Hard-left online news outlet The American Prospect seems a tad indecisive on whether it supports corporate gay pride or not. “Over the past couple of years, the fascist right has been whipping itself into a progressively more genocidal frenzy of transphobia, which has now evolved into a full-blown homophobic terror campaign.”
Then The Prospect quickly pivots to point out that American corporations are fair-weather friends:
“Here was a tradition founded by downtrodden activists who struggled for decades for dignity and respect when it was quite dangerous to be openly gay or trans. Now it was being colonized by money-grubbing corporations trying to make an easy buck through a gesture at allyship.”
No denying that insight. But it has always been, and will always be, a battle for the Benjamins. If a majority of Americans push back, businesses will regroup and pander to the 99% of consumers.
Pushback on the Pushers
Pride Month is nothing new. The public has accepted – even if slowly at times – that the LGBTQ+ community just wants what everyone else already has: civil rights. The right to marry: done. The right to be parents: done. The right to have a parade: done. Corporate America has highlighted same-sex couples, drag queens, and the like for two decades plus. But something sparked this year – maybe exhaustion, maybe parents not fully supportive of their kids getting a sexy education at a young age – and too much woke seems to be going broke. Most likely because catering to 1% of the American population isn’t good for business.
Dylan Mulvaney (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Bud Light has lost approximately 30% in sales since partnering with trans-activist Dylan Mulvaney. Target moved displays to the back recesses of their vast stores. The winds of change are a-blowin’. A recent online poll by I&I/TIPP found “46% of Americans opposed the trend toward corporate social activism, compared to just 17% who supported it. But a large contingent, 29%, expressed indifference.” As the presidential fracas looms large, it’s clear that the voters who will likely decide the 2024 election, Independents, are somewhat weary of the LGBTQ+ battle for attention. “Some 47% of independents oppose the Diversity Equity Inclusion movement, while 13% support it and 22% take the indifferent stance.”
LGBTQ+ and Those Fascist Homophobes
Corporate America quickly adapts when the bottom line is in question and rarely cares if toes are stomped and feelings hurt. The LGBTQ+ community is reeling from losing the spotlight of Anheuser-Busch and being shoved aside by Target. And a lot of folks are plugging their ears when the howling starts about the audacity to keep public classrooms free from abject sexuality. So let the name-calling begin.
Perhaps that declared the State of Emergency should be directed toward the big brands who have taken advantage of the LGBTQ+ friendship to make a buck. After all, most Americans want their capitalism to be non-political and un-woke.
