Memers Challenge Gay Stereotypes Just in Time for Pride

It's almost June, and most cities are gearing up for what is bound to be a raucous post-Covid celebration around the world. At this point, we know what to expect: lots of rainbows, free condoms, happy dancing, and a whole lot of brands making shallow attempts to market to queer people. The annual and obvious pandering is so blatant that it's inspired its own set of memes regarding how quickly corporations seem to remember (and then forget) the LGBT community. This year, the first brand-mocking callouts hail from Twitter, and are coming in much earlier than usual.

Brands marketing My gay
to gays: friends: pic.twitter.com/nl0PujFl3y
— kewlshrek (@kewlshrek) May 16, 2021

Instead of focusing merely on cringey brands, the Twitter meme (the brainchild of @kewlshrek) contrasts how marketers portray gay people with how gay people - and gay friends - actually look and behave. Where adverts tell you that gay people are flamboyant, loud, and decked our in rainbows, these Twitter users want the world to know that their friends are generally represented by people who are just a bit more complex. In some of the memes, that means goths and vampires. In others? Ethereal elves and even characters from Recess. We appreciate that the memes and funny and ring true. But it's also just good to see reductive depictions get the meme treatment - while also giving people who don't fit into those stereotypes a little more representation.

Posted by Ada Elder