The Daily Show: Ears Edition - The Evolution of Pride

Episode Date: June 1, 2023

Pride hasn't always been a parade of corporate sponsors. Desi Lydic, Dulcé Sloan, and Jaboukie Young-White take a look at how corporations have rejected and capitalized on Pride over the years, as well as the origins of the celebration and how Queer communities today are taking back Pride. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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be, because just like all queer people, June has a coming out story of its own. You could say Pride's roots go back to the 60s, with Philly's Reminder Day pickets. Reminder Day was like the precursor to what Pride is now, in the same way that Madonna was the precursor to Lady Gaga. And if you don't get that reference, you should probably stop watching now, because this is a pride segment and you're a terrible ally. The 60s also saw protests all over America. the the to in LA, and a protest at the White House demanding equal employment opportunities for gay people. That's right, it used to be legal to fire people just for being gay,

which makes no sense. Who you have sex with should have no bearing on whether you get to keep your job, unless you do it on the copy machine. Well known fact, that is how most paper jams get started. I learned the hard way. But then, of course, came Stonewall in 69 when police raided a gay bar in New York City called the Stonewall Inn, and the queer community fought back. It was such a significant moment in America's gay rights movement

that to this day, that whole block is now a historic site visited by people from all over the world. The only way that corner of Christopher Street would attract more gay people is if Brittany had a residency there. Stonewall was the big turning point. Though they still faced so much discrimination, the LGBTQ community finally felt empowered enough to hold big public celebrations. The first ever official gay pride parade was held in Chicago in 1970.

But one day later, New York held an entire Pride week. During this seven-day celebration, the community marched from the village to Central Park, with slogans like Gay, Gay, Gay All the Way, and Gay Power, which isn't just a good slogan. It's also the energy source that keeps the lights running on Broadway. Of course, we can't talk about pride without the symbol of it. No, not your grandparents Googling what is scissoring. I'm talking about the rainbow flag, which was designed in 1978 by Gilbert Baker. He called himself the gay Betsy Ross, which makes sense. Not only did they both design iconic flags, but they also belonged to communities where wigs were very popular. One of the coolest

things about Gilbert Baker was that he refused to trademark the pride flag., the the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to th. to to to to to the to to the to to to to the, the to to to to to to to to to the, to the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, th. I, th. I, th. I, th. I, th. I, th. I, th. I, th. I, th. I, th. I, th. I, th. I, the, the, the, thr--a, thr-a, the toge, toge, today, the today, toe, toe, tol-a, the the tol-a, the the the the thr Gilbert Baker was that he refused to trademark the Pride flag. He wanted everyone to be able to share it and reinterpret it, which is why today, the flag has become as fluid as sexuality itself. By the time we reached the 80s, the AIDS crisis came to the forefront, and Pride took on a new mission. It wasn't just aboutizing and promoting public health, which was especially important because the federal government pretty much just pretended AIDS didn't exist, like what Tom Hanks does with Chet. Once we made it to the 90s, Pride was even more mainstream than ever before, and in 1999, President Bill Clinton signed the executive order officially recognizing June as Pride Month for the first time.

Yeah, if two people of the same gender wanted to have sexual relations, that was fine with him th th th th th th th th th thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the thi, thi, thi, thi, th, th, th, pretty th, pretty th, pretty th, pretty th, pretty pretty pretty pretty th, pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty the pretty pretty pretty pretty the pretty the pretty the pretty the pretty the pretty thi the pretty the pretty the the the thi the thi, people of the same gender wanted to have sexual relations, that was fine with him, even if he didn't totally understand the definition of sexual relations. I did not have... Clinton's executive order referred to June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. Then in 2009, President Obama changed it to Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month. Then President Trump dialed it back a little and just called it LGBT Pride Month, which makes sense. No big words, and it's less scary for Mike Pence. But these days, the Biden administration extended the name again

to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Pride Month, making it, as of now, the only thing that's been built back better. But whatever you call it, Pride has truly become a global phenomenon. It's celebrated everywhere. Manila, South Africa, Brazil, Madrid. Pride's gone to so many places. If it had an Instagram, you'd have to mute their stories. We get it, Pride. You had fun in Spain. Stop making the rest of us feel so boring.

So this month, don't forget the the the the the the thofi thoe thofi tho the tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho tho where pride came from and all the people who fought to make it a reality. The LGBTQ community still faces many challenges but it's also experienced a lot of progress and if you ask me that's worth celebrating. Hello hello hello hello told you Paul's back from vacation early. Let enough outside to not be sexy. But in America, we know June also means Gay Pride Month! So I want to wish everyone a happy pride, and I'm not the only one. This year it feels like every damn company with the logo is going full rainbow.

You've probably seen these ads, like Burger King offering woppers with two top buns and two bottom buns. Listen. It, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it, th, th, th, but, but, th, but, th, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, th, but, but, but, but, but, th, but, but, th, but, but in, but in, th, but in, but in, in, but in, but in, but, in thi, but in thi, but in thi, but in thi, but in thi, but in thi, but in th th. But, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, th. But, th. But, th. But, in, in, in th. But, in th. But, in th. th. thi, in thi, in thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi offering whoppers with two top buns and two bottom buns. Listen, it's still bread. And every gay man I know is not eating bread in the summer. They're doing keto and crunches until October. But don't forget, companies weren't always jumping on the pride float, looking like a Lisa Frank trapper keeper. When the gay rights movement first began in 1969, most companies were too afraid to advertise

the gay people. They didn't want to offend the rest of America, especially religious conservatives. They were so uptight they thought pretzels are too sexy. All those twists. Oh, it's so sinful. So companies kept their distance, except for Absolute Vodka. Absolute was one of the first big companies to market to the queer community.. the. the. the. the. the. the. their distance, except for Absolute vodka. Absolute was one of the first big companies to market to the queer community, because those Swedes don't give us shit about the religious right.

They were like, who cares if the right doesn't like us? All they drink is milk. So thanks to Absolute for being a true ally. It's a good year. I didn't drink the whole thing because I got a work meeting after this and they said I gotta be sober this time. Anyway, as gay people became more visible in society, some advertisers slowly started reaching out into the community until the AIDS epidemic blew up. That set companies flame for the hills again.

Oh no, what if the gays look at our ads? Like, is that how you get AIDS? But you know what company doubled down on their advertising during the AIDS crisis? That's right. Absolute vodka. Mmm. A second half got a kick. Damn, all right. Where was I? Right.

By the 1990s the queer community had once again fought its way into greater acceptance. So brands once again tried to dip their toes into the pool party, but they were still too nervous to jump all the pool party, but they were still too nervous to jump all the way in. So American advertising entered a phase now known as gay, vague. Which sounds a lot like being in a fraternity. Basically it was companies hinting at possible homosexuality. Like this Volkswagen ad where two dudes are driving in a car and then pick up this dirty-ass chair off the sidewalk.

So the ad leaves it open to interpretation. Are they roommates? Are they lovers? Are they roommate lovers? Because that's the worst kind of hookup. You gotta wait for them to text you back and finish up in the bathroom. Now a few times during this era, a brand try to make, a brand, a brand, a to make, a brand, a brand, a to make, a to make, a brand, to make, to make, to make, to make, to make, to make an outright gay ad, like Beneton and IKEA. And the ad completely won over the religious right and they apologized for everything! Ha ha ha ha!

Sik! One IKEA in Long Island even got a bomb threat! What is wrong with these religious fanatics? They know the furniture isn't gay, right? Plus if there's one place that can reassemble after a bombing, it's an IKEA! Unfortunately for the religious right, but luckily for everyone else, their time was ending. Over the next two decades, Americans started to realize that gay people were just the same as everyone else, except with better abs.

And as popular opinion improved, companies finally felt it was safe enough to take gay money. And this time it was major brands. Amazon started advertising to their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their else else, their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their else, their else, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, but, their else, their else, their else, their else, their else. But. But. Luckily their else. Luckily their else. Luckily theirlucluclucluclucluclucluceecklucecklucecklucecklucecklucecklucecklucecklucecklucecklucecklucinglucingecklucingecklucingecklucing else. But enough to take gay money. And this time it was major brands. Amazon started advertising to gay people. Coca-Cola aired a commercial with two dads during the Super Bowl. And just salad even had a big gay salad, which, come on. That was just a regular salad. At least saw some glitter in it. And that brings us to today, when practically every company does Pride Month marketing.

But just because every June a business acts like they're auditioning for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, it doesn't mean their values line up with their tweets. Take AT&T, for example. They love to show everyone how much they support Pride, while also giving $1 million to anti-LGBTQ politicians and PECs, or how retailers like H&M are launching Pride Collections, with items made in countries that criminalize homosexuality, which is another reason wherein this ugly-ass top should be a crime. And they aren't the only hypocrites donating to anti-queer causes. But hey, why go through

all the trouble of listing them here? I'm no hater. Oh, and that one too. Okay. Are we done? Let's listen. This is making me say it. The point is, enjoy all those gay whoppers and pink Toyotas,

but don't forget what this month is about. Pride is the time to celebrate the right to love who you want and to honor the people who fought to give us that right, back when no brand was on their side. Except for... Absolute! Mmm. You know, one of those gay whopper sounds real good about now, though. I'm dizzy.

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Ditch the other hiring sites and let Zip Recruiter find what you're looking for, the needle in the haystack. Four out of five employers who post on Zip Recruiter within the first day. Try it for free at this exclusive web address.ziprecruiter.com slash zip. Again that's zip recruiter.com slash zip. Ziprecruiter the smartest way to hire. Hi I'm Jabuki Young White. The Daily Show's senior Rust Boat correspondent. J.K. I'm gay. and so is Pittsburgh. It's Pride Month. An equality march is the original Pittsburgh Pride.

It has bikers, pups, pups, furries, queens, twiunks, tops, bears, and fish creatures. But there's one group that not everyone is happy about. A lot of corporations are capitalizing off pride and off LGBTQIA plus like merch. I don't know, they're just making a lot of money off this. That's what the Q and LGBTQQIA stands for, corporations. Okay. But surely discriminating against our pride-loving corporations can't be the answer. Pittsburgh Pride Equality March is for everybody.

It doesn't matter who you are, where you work, or who you love. And just so you know, we love corporations, Viacom, you're great, keep doing what you do. We're really big fans here at the Daily Show via com. M-Wah, love you. So the answer is obviously to hug these corporations close. And corporations are hugging right back. Google KPMG, Et Aetna, Lyft, not Chick-flay, and here comes the true sleigh Queen, Walmart. Is Walmart gay? Walmart does take pride in their gay associates. As a company, I don't think you can label a company with their sexual orientation.

Walmart seems like a top to me. I would agree with that. Yeah. I think it's amazing that so many th th so many th th th that so many th th th th th th the that so many the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the their the the the the th th the a top to me. I would agree with that. Yeah. I think it's amazing that so many people could come out and just live their truth as a marketable demographic. For sure, and they really made it like a safe place for everybody, I think for us too. Yeah, yeah, 100% it's like, here I am. I'm queer.

I have a debit card. Right. So queer capitalism is totally chill? Actually, there is a specific issue with corporate sponsorship in Pittsburgh and it involves the F word. No, not that. Fracking. There's a lot of corporations that are seemingly buying last year this march was called the EQT equality march. EQT doesn't stand for equality, it stands for they're a fracking company. Do you think that it's appropriate that a fracking company is a sponsor for Pittsburgh Pride? Law, I think that it is completely inappropriate that a fracking company is a sponsor for anything. EQT doesn't just shoot hot liquid deep into holes in the ground. They also swing both ways by supporting pride and various anti-gay politicians. So what are people supposed to do?

Have a separate pride without corporate sponsors? Some say frac-yes. This pride event represents the people. Non-corporational pride, something that centers our T-LGBCQ communities of Pittsburgh. Do you think corporations can be gay people? No, corporations cannot be gay people. The people's pride is non-corporate, has more color in its rainbow, and I found someone who

can keep up with my moves. But are they turning their back on progress? Don't you think it's beautiful that queer people have been able to come out and live their truth as a marketable, capitalizing, demographic? No. I would think it would be beautiful if those actions were genuine. They want to be a part of what's trending right now. Right now, being gay is trendy, you know, poses out, and there are lots of gay celebrities now. Could you name a couple? Yeah. So I top of my head right now, Big Frida.

There's DeShan-Diaz. and Leomy Maldonado. They don't even want my brand, this is where I draw the line. There has to be some way for corporations like EQT to prove that they're really committed and not just experimenting. Like maybe they just need to show that they're really about queer subculture in like a more inventive, creative way. So... I'm afraid where you're going with this. I thought that maybe this could really get the the the the tha tha tha tha tha tha tha tha the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the to to to to to to to to to be theate. I's to be a to be a to be to be to bea. I's to bea. I's toe. I'm toe. I'm toe. I'm toe. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. I's t. I's t. I's t. I's te. I's te. I's te. I's te. I'm te. I'm te. I'ma. I'ma. te.I.I.I.I.I.A.I.I.A.I.A.I.A.I.I.A.A.A.A.A.A.A.A.A.A you're going with this. I thought that maybe this could really get across the message of what EQT stands for. It's like drilling but also with a with a... But just slow it down and just oh... Maybe that. That's right. Progress takes time.

50 years ago, corporations wouldn't touch the gay community and now they can't wait to show their love in public. And what better way to reciprocate to to th th th th th th th th th th th th th the the the the the the the the the the the the their the the their their their their their their the the the their their their their their their their their their their their their their the their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their te. teq. teq. teq. teq.eateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateateate. teate. teate. te. touch the gay community. And now, they can't wait to show their love in public. And what better way to reciprocate that love than with the EQT very speed deep fracking drill down. Brought to you by EQT. Explore more shows from the Daily Show podcast universe by searching the Daily Show, wherever you get your podcast. Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and stream full episodes anytime on Fairmount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central podcast.