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Ariana Baio
Jun 02, 2022
5 LGBTQ+ Books to Read for Pride Month
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On social media, people noticed that corporations with accounts in the Middle East had different logos celebrating Pride month compared to the US.
Every June, many corporations change their logos to celebrate Pride month. Which is dedicated to honoring successes, advocating for people, and educating others about the LGBTQ+ community.
This June was no different with companies like BP, BMW, Visa, and more adding a Pride flag to their logo or cover photo. But people noticed that companies with social media accounts in the Middle East did not have the same change.
One Twitter user, Alana Mastrangelo, posted a photo comparing the logos from the US and the Middle East side-by-side to show the difference.
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BMW's profile photo featured a rainbow gradient around its logo but BMW Middle East did not.
Cisco added rainbow colors to their logo but Cisco Middle East did not.
This trend continued for companies like Bethesda, BP, Mercedes Benz, Visa, and more.
\u201cLmao\u201d— Alana Mastrangelo (@Alana Mastrangelo) 1654103567
It's no surprise many Middle East-based accounts did not jump at the chance to celebrate Pride month. Nearly half of the countries that make up the Middle East have outlawed homosexuality due to the strong cultural and religious influence Islam has.
Egypt, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE, and the Gaza Strip of Palestine have made homosexuality illegal.
In April, Saudi Arabia's supervisor of cinema asked Disney to cut a scene in Doctor Strange 2 because it included a reference to a gay character.
\u201cmy favorite part of pride month is when all the brands change their accounts to be those cute little rainbow logos. well, all except their specific middle eastern account logos\u201d— chad, chaotic cutie (@chad, chaotic cutie) 1654089223
In response to the different logos, people on social media criticized the decision not to include the Pride flag in the profile of Middle Eastern-based accounts.
"Weird these companies aren’t embracing PRIDE month in the Middle East," Tyler wrote on Twitter.
"Marketing 101: know your audience," Melissa replied to Tyler.
"A picture is worth 1,000 words. Notice the difference? Corporations can take their rainbow virtue signaling and stuff it," Brad wrote.
\u201cDear companies, posting about pride month and updating your profile picture/ banner to a rainbow flag is nice, but don't act like you're actually progressive unless you actively do stuff in the IRL too. Also, update your accounts that cater to the Middle East with pride stuff.\u201d— \ud83c\udf31\ud83d\udda4Hero Rofocale\ud83d\udda4 | \ud83d\udc96\ud83e\udd0d\ud83d\udc9c\ud83d\udda4\ud83d\udc99 (@\ud83c\udf31\ud83d\udda4Hero Rofocale\ud83d\udda4 | \ud83d\udc96\ud83e\udd0d\ud83d\udc9c\ud83d\udda4\ud83d\udc99) 1654018416
Companies that celebrate Pride for the month of June have come under criticism from people who believe they are only pandering toward the LGBTQ+ community for marketing and economic purposes.
Other accounts represented by their own profile like BP UK and Cisco UK & Ireland did not feature the Pride colors in their logo or cover photos either.
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