This is pride month.
You might have noticed that from the brands that are capitalizing on it.
On social media, you can find many examples of supportive messages and rainbow imagery from your favorite and least favorite companies.
And you probably have thoughts about that.
In many cases, a lot of the pride messaging strikes me as opportunist.
A way to garner attention and put out the right sentiments without actually doing anything of real substance.
In some cases, it strikes me as crass.
Because some of those companies that are putting out those messages of support are anything but supportive beyond their social media posts and ads.
They want to court a demographic while, at the same time, working against it.
And that makes me cynical.
If your company has ever given money to a politician who has actively pursued legislation that seeks to impose limits on or punitive measures against the LGBTQ+ community, you shouldn't be posting Pride-related content.
The same goes for any company that does not have policies in place to advance or uphold the rights of its LGBTQ+ employees.
It's an empty gesture.
An attempt to pass yourself off as an ally without doing any of the work that goes along with it.
And all of that to be relevant or generate revenue.
That is not to say that a company that has supported adversarial politicians or policies cannot change and speak to the importance of Pride.
But it has to be real, visible, substantive change that has an impact.
Otherwise, any attempt to participate in Pride month is just shameless.