Pride or Greed? The Double-Sided Nature of Rainbow Capitalism
Time and time again, capitalism, by nature, exploits marginalized communities by transforming them into mere markets, and selling them back to these communities as a commodity. Rainbow capitalism, the innate commercialization of LGBTQ+ movements, cheapens the meaning of pride month and the LGBTQ+ community. Many people are unaware of the hardships queer people of color went through in order to make pride month a reality, though this month is coincidentally meant to commemorate them. It has been found that an estimated 20 to 30 percent of the LGBTQ+ community abuses substances, compared to about 9 percent of the population as a whole and despite this, June is perhaps the biggest promotional season for the alcohol industry (“The LGBTQ Community and Addiction”).