Uber Eats just joined the ranks of bad Pride campaigns.
The food delivery company tweeted out a series of flags representing a different section of the LGBTQ community in honor of Pride Month.
One of its creations? A rainbow pizza flag.
#Pride comes in all colors, flavors, and slices. Did you know there’s more than one flag that represents the LGBTQ+ community? Stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/VI9znuDQoC
— Uber Eats (@UberEats) June 9, 2019
Food flags were created for the Lesbian, Genderqueer, Agender, Bisexual, and Intersex identities, among others.
Olive you, feta. 🖤The black of the #asexual flag signifies asexuality; the gray as asexuality and demisexuality; the white as non-asexual partners and allies; and the purple for community. #Pride2019 pic.twitter.com/PdevKXj4nS
— Uber Eats (@UberEats) June 27, 2019
In response, the company has received a slew of criticism. People are requesting that Uber Eats stop using the identities of human beings as a business strategy and pay its employees a living wage.
“We don’t want you to pander us with rainbows we just want you to pay your drivers,” Twitter user @pr0m37h3um wrote.
https://twitter.com/pr0m37h3um/status/1141157055954399232
While many are still fed up with the corporatization of Pride, they also find Uber Eats’ marketing tactic better than others by spotlighting the lesser-known identities within the LGBTQ community.
“I hate brands taking advantage of queer people as much as the rest of you, but I find these posts heartwarming and educational,” Twitter user @Rikjavic wrote.
https://twitter.com/Rikjavic/status/1140986124417957890
This is awesome! Intersex people don’t get enough recognition! 💜💜💜
— Finch 💖💜💙 (@LadySkyelar) June 20, 2019
The Intersex flag made of French Toast garnered a more positive reaction than some of the other Pride food creations. The Intersex identity is a complex member of the LGBTQ community because many Intersex individuals have specified that their identity should not be conflated with the LGBTQ community by default.
“Intersex people are wonderful,” Twitter user @CrockerCurse wrote. “But they continue to ask us NOT to be added into our community by default. Instead of doing it anyway, maybe LISTEN TO THEM.”
https://twitter.com/CrockerCurse/status/1142120302928912389
https://twitter.com/bbg200/status/1142361572062453761
Although many deem the campaign as decent, that’s only in relation to other more tasteless Pride campaigns. So let’s just stop with the exploitative advertising, people.
READ MORE:
- Anti-rainbow capitalism memes fight back against the corporatization of Pride
- Lyft’s in-app pronoun choices are rainbow capitalism at its worst
- Uber Eats ditches flat-rate delivery fee
- Uber Eats driver still on the run after allegedly shooting, killing customer
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