Panel Discussion: Rainbow Capitalism and the dichotomy of queer existence

1. Queer Theory is general understanding:

What exactly is Queer identity? Its beyond LGBTQIAAP- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer,
Indecisive/intersex, Asexual, Aromantic and Pansexual. By dictionary definition, Queer means something
unusual, something beyond the norm. Queer identities are generally like that only, something which
defies the heteronormative and cis-gendered norm. Before we begin, I’d like to explain what exactly cis-
gender and heteronormative means. One of the most basic building blocks that we have to acknowledge is
the fact that biological sex or the sex you’re assigned to at birth is a completely different phenomenon
than gender, the social construction of gender in a way which installs a hierarchy and sexuality, sexual
attraction towards a specific or more gender identity. WHO recognizes gender as, ‘characteristics of
women, men, girls and boys that are socially constructed. This includes norms, behaviours and roles
associated with being a woman, man, girl or boy, as well as relationships with each other. As a social
construct, gender varies from society to society and can change over time.’. Continued with, ‘Gender
interacts with but is different from sex, which refers to the different biological and physiological
characteristics of females, males and intersex persons, such as chromosomes, hormones and reproductive
organs. Gender and sex are related to but different from gender identity. Gender identity refers to a
person’s deeply felt, internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond to
the person’s physiology or designated sex at birth.’. Therefore, it becomes important to understand that
the sex that a person is assigned to at birth is quite different from the gender identity a person might want
to express. Now coming to cis-gender and trans-gender. Cis gender means one who feel comfortable in
the body they are in, sex wise and connect to the corresponding gender identity whereas trans-gender
means the one who corresponds to some other gender identity which does not correspond to the sex
they’re assigned at birth. American philosopher Judith Butler equates gender to a performative act which
is ingrained into a human being socially and culturally right from birth. It’s interesting to look at gender
as a form of conditioning done by society in the form of roles, responsibilities, etc. Finally coming to
sexuality, it simply means who you’re attracted to. There are many complexities in the queer community,
simply stating, if we go on to define the queer, it would be impossible because the community is ever
evolving. And that is for a reason. The queer community is not about quantifying people in the already
existing or newly formed boxes, it is about liberation, liberation from the binary or polar construct of
gender. Before we begin talking about various other aspects of gender, I should first like to talk about
heteronormativity. Heteronormativity is the socio-historical construct of prioritizing the heterosexual
identity because of the primitive understanding of reproduction to the point of marginalizing other
communities who do not form the heteronormative structures. Now, I know may people who have a
problem with the “hundreds of genders” which are evolving or the pronouns one might use. It thus
becomes crucial to understand the kind of space that is provided to the queer community in the cis-
heteronormative social structures. Language for example, let’s take English, he is for a “man” and she is
for a “woman”, now these are binaries, something which become opposite or the equal and opposite
reaction if I may. But what about the people who do not want to associate with this binary aspect of their
identity. There is no space for them. Therefore, the discussion of pronouns is their way of reclaiming the
space that language took away from the queer community. The new gender identities which are being
“formed” are actually the act of self-identification not definition because once again, the queer
community goes against quantification or categorization. With this I’d like to move on to the next, much
shorter segment,
 2. Rainbow Capitalism and it’s effects on the Queer Community:
Ok so I’m going to assume that everyone here knows about Capitalism as well as the Pride Month. So
Rainbow Capitalism is, ‘the action of companies pushing more LGBT-related products in order to profit
more.’ According to the Collins Dictionary. Pretty self-explanatory if we actually look at it from the
surface and sounds harmless but the problem with rainbow capitalism is that it goes on to capitalize the
Pride Month just for the sake of profits with rainbow logos, colourful ads, etc. Versus on ground level,
queer employees are discriminated against in the same companies, they’re refrained from being
appointed, etc. Some brands like CVS or Target or Amazon or Google, etc have sponsored/donated
millions to politicians who go on to make specific anti-trans, anti-same-sex-marriage, etc laws.
(Guardian-2021) In fact, the problem doesn’t end there, it begins there. If the sole purpose of a company
is profit so they will definitely grab every opportunity but with that comes an issue that the opportunity
might actually be dehumanizing to the marginalized communities. Moreover, a good amount of
companies who wear a rainbow coloured sash during pride month go onto produce a culture of workplace
harassment. In a survey, taken from Employment Discrimination against LGBT People: Existence and
Impact, Brad Sears and Christy Mallory point out that:
1. out of the 7.1% gay employees, 0% are out at work and 9.2% not out.
2. In 2010, 52 percent of transgender respondents from Colorado reported that they had
experienced discrimination in employment.22
3. Of Massachusetts residents who responded to the 2011 national survey of transgender people,
76 percent experienced harassment, mistreatment, or discrimination in employment. More
specifically, 20 percent had lost a job, 39 percent were not hired for positions they had
applied for, and 17 percent were denied promotions.24
4. 8 to 17 percent reported that they were fired or denied employment based on their sexual
orientation.
5. 10 to 28 percent reported that they were denied a promotion or given negative
performance evaluations.
6. 7 to 41 percent reported that they were verbally/physically abused or had their
workspace vandalized.
7. 10 to 19 percent reported receiving unequal pay or benefits.

Moreover, the LGBT people ought to hide their identity because of the fact that they’ll be one of
the figures in these demographics. And this is the USA, so just imagine the condition of India.
Even take same sex marriage hearings going on right now or the petition for horizontal
reservation for transgender community. What are the companies which are supporting these
causes? Or celebrities. None, it’s the petitioners who are visible. Because it’s actually not about
helping the community, it’s about profits. Yes, a rainbow wrapped around every logo of an uber
cab does strike a conversation regarding awareness but we have to ask, is that enough? Are we
considering that the same corporations are exploiting a multitude of LGBTQI+ communities on a
vaster level? Also I am talking about the condition of the corporate world which is not accessible
to all due to their financial background, familial background or simply exposure. Therefore, this
is the dichotomy of narratives that rainbow capitalism provides, at one hand it says We’re with
you yay and on the other it kicks the Queer individuals into a pit of discrimination as well as
violence (LGBTQIA+ people are the most prone to hate crimes- LGBT people nine times more
likely than non-LGBT people to be victims of violent hate crimes (2022) UCLA).
 3. Advertisements:
One advertisement I’ll talk about is the fem bleach advertisement which was launched in 2021
which showcased a lesbian couple celebrating karwa chauth. Now this advertisement was banned
and dabur had to issue a public apology regarding the same. Now laudable that a company like
dabur is releasing an advertisement to spread awareness regarding the queer feminist issue but
the problem is that it comes with a cost. It is important to acknowledge that Karwa chauth as a
custom is a patriarchal way of subjugating women into submission to their husbands thus
creating a hierarchy. Showcasing 2 women following the same for each other can be interpreted
in 2 ways, first that they are reclaiming the space that was given to them but another way to look
at it is the privilege it showcases while neglecting the majority of aforementioned statistics. Not
many lesbian couples are accepted as who they are in their households, many are married off,
sent to conversion therapy, which is essentially rape, torture both physically and mentally,
disowned, etc. It is important to acknowledge the presence of a maternal figure as well as the
freedom with which is a dream for the majority of population. Not to forget the fact that fem
bleach is cosmetic product which profits off of women’s insecurities. Keeping all these in
account it is important to analyse the presence of advertisement in queer scenario that they
present. Is it really helpful or are they contributing towards hatred by actually not doing anything
when it comes to social issues that the queer community faces? With this I would like to leave
the rest for discussion, a few more advertisements to discuss upon are:
i) Oreo lesbian couple commercial
ii) Free the roads by ralco tyre

Sources used: 1. Employment Discrimination against LGBT People: Existence and Impact, Brad Sears
and Christy Mallory
2. Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory,
Judith Butler
3. https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/press/lgbt-hate-crimes-press-release/
4. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jun/14/corporations-anti-lgbtq-politicians-
donations-study