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Now, Happy Pride Month, everyone, or as it's called at Mike Pence's house, June Pride is a celebration of queerness, acceptance and club remixes you can actually dance to. And today I'm here at Rue Paul's private pool to tell you how Pride Month came to 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 sixties 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 sixties also saw protests all over America, like the Black Cat Tavern riot 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, a well known fact that is how most paper jams get started.
I learned the hard way.
But then, of course, came Stonewall in sixty nine, when police raided a gay bar in New York City called the Stonewall In 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 Britney had a residency there.
Stonewall was the big turning point, though they still faced so much discrimination that LGBTQ community finally felt empowered enough to hold big public celebrations. The first ever official gay Pride parade was held in Chicago in nineteen seventy, 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 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 talking about the symbol of it. No, not your grandparents googling what is scissoring. I'm talking about the rainbow flag, which was designed in nineteen seventy eight 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. 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 eighties, the AIDS crisis came to the forefront, and Pride took on a new mission. It wasn't just about visibility and acceptance. It was about destigmatizing 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 nineties, Pride was even more mainstream than ever before, and in nineteen ninety nine, 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, 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 two thousand and nine, 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, Transgender 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. Get it, Pride, you had fun in Spain. Stop making the rest of us feel so boring. So this month, don't forget 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, you palls back from vacation early.
Hello friends. It's June, which means this is the first month of the year where it's just hot enough outside to not be sexy. But in America, we know June also means gay Pride month. So I want to wish everyone I have be pride, and I'm not the only one. This year, it feels like every every damned company with the logo is going full rainbow. You've probably seen these ads like Burger King offering whoppers with two top buns
and two bottom buns. Listen, it's still bread, and every gay band I know is not eating bread in the summer. They're doing keto and crunches until I told for 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 nineteen sixty nine, 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. Huh, 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 because those sweetes don't give a 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 true. Ally, it's a good year. I didn't drink the whole thing because I got a work meaning 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 sick company's flame for the hills again. Oh no, what if the gay is looking at our ads?
Does that how you get ads?
But you know what company doubled down on their advertising during the AIDS crisis, that's right, Absolute Vocal. Hmm, the second half got a kick. Damn all right? Where was I right? By the nineteen nineties, the queer community had once again fought its a 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 way in so American advertising into the phase now known as gay they, which sounds a lot like being in
a fraternity. Basically, it was companies hinting at possible homosexuality, like this Volkswagon ad where two dudes are driving in a car and then pick up this dirty ass heir 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 tried to make an outright gay ad, like Benetton and Nikia, and the ad completely won over the religious right and they apologized for everything. Psych one Ikia and 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 amps, 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 the gay people, Coca Cola aired 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 their auditioning for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Code, it
doesn't mean their values line up with their tweets. Take AT and T, for example, they love to show everyone how much they support Pride while also giving one million dollars to anti LGBTQ politicians and pecks. Or how retailers like H and M are launching Pride collections with items made in countries that criminalize homosexuality, which is another reason where in 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 from that one too. Okay, are we done?
Let's make a mistake.
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.
Hmm, you know what, what are those gay whoppers? Sounds real good about now? I'm dizzy.
Hi, I'm Jibuki Young White, the Daily Show's senior Rustbell correspondent, JK. I'm gay, and so is Pittsburgh. It's Pride month and Equality March is the original Pittsburgh Pride. It has bikers, pups, pups, furries, queens, twunks, drunks, cops, 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 LGBTQ.
I A plus like merch. I don't know if they're just making a lot of money off this. That's what the Q and lgbtqq i A stands for corporations. Okay, yeah, but surely discriminating against our pride loving corporations can't be the answer.
Pittsburgh Pride of Quality 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. Viacom want love you. So the answer is obviously to hug these corporations close. And corporations are hugging right that Google, KPMG, Eetna, Lift, not Chick fil A. And here comes the truthlay Queen. Walmart is Walmart gay.
Walmart does take pride and their gay associates as a company.
I don't think you can label a company with a sexual orientation.
Walmart seems like a top to me.
I would I would agree with that.
Yeah, And I think it's amazing that so many people could come out and just live their truth as a marketable demographic for sure, and literally made it like a safe place for everybody. I think for us to Yeah, yeah, one hundred percent. It's like here, I am, I have a debit cross day as hell now and gay's love money bitch right 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 their fracking company.
Do you think that it's appropriate that a fraking company is a sponsor for Pittsburgh Pride? Low?
I think that 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 frak.
Yes, this Pride event represents the people on corporational pride, something that centers RTLGBTQ 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 as trendy. You know, pos is out and there are lots of gay celebrities. Now could you name a couple, so a lot of the top of my head right now, Big Freida Hider's Dayshaun Wesley and Laom 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 across the message of what EQUT stands for it's like drilling, but also with the I just sew it down to maybe
that that's right. Progress takes time. Fifty 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 that love than with the EQT Very Speed Deep Wracking Drill Deck, brought to you by EQT.
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