June is ‘LGBT Pride Month ‘ . Festivals and protests by LGBT people are also concentrated during this period. However, recently, marketing efforts by companies trying to jump on the bandwagon of sexual minorities have been met with backlash one after another. In addition, a soccer player who refused to wear a rainbow number in support of sexual minorities appeared. In South Korea, holding an LGBTQ rally at Seoul Plaza next month was blocked.
Bud Light in transgender sponsorship controversy
Anheuser-Busch ( ABI ), a giant American beer company, is in trouble after being embroiled in a controversy over sponsoring a transgender social media star (influencer).
Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney and a can of Bud Light beer. Photo courtesy of Dylan Mulvaney’s Instagram. yunhap news
ABI , the world’s largest beer maker based in St. Louis, Missouri, last month celebrated the first anniversary of the podcast “Days of Girlhood ” by comedian Mulvaney, who is in the process of transitioning from male to female, with a special Bud featuring his face. I sent a light can product as a gift. Mulvaney’s TikTok followers reached 10.8 million last month.
Mulvaney dressed up like Audrey Hepburn in the ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ movie on the podcast, and it’s been a year since I became a woman and Bud Light sent me the best gift,” boasting a Bud Light can with his face engraved on it.
The marketing was met with backlash from conservative consumers, and retailers pulled Bud Light off their shelves in response, with Bud Light sales plummeting 26 percent in the third week of last month, local news outlet St. Louis Dispatch reported . As the stock price plummeted, the market value plummeted by $5 billion (about 6.6 trillion won) in just a few weeks.ABI said,
” Mulvaney is just one of hundreds of influencers with whom we have partnered.” It was never intended to cause a stir,” and two senior marketing executives were placed on leave
.As the side draws a line like this, LGBTQ advocates and businesses based on them are protesting again. It’s like you’re in a quandary.
Adidas faces trouble for male models in female swimsuits
Global sports fashion brand Adidas’ swimsuits for sexual minorities are also causing controversy.
According to the New York Post on the 17th, Adidas recently released a swimsuit under the name of ‘Pride 2023’. It is attracting attention by promoting the product by using a male-looking model in the swimsuit photo in the women’s section.
Adidas’ Pride 2023 collection women’s swimsuit released on the 17th. Photo captured from Adidas website
One swimsuit, which sells for $70, is worn by a man. The form is a traditional female swimsuit. But her breasts are flat, and her groin area bulges out.
Adidas Pride 2023 Swimsuit. photo internet capture
On social media ( SNS ), a boycott against Adidas, which used a male-looking model in a female swimsuit advertisement, is developing. A sign banning the Adidas logo reads, “Erasing women has these consequences.” photo twitter capture
In a video on the adidas website, the model also showed chest hair on a model wearing a one-piece. It is unclear whether the model is male or transgender.
Relay Gaines, a female swimmer, said, “I don’t know why companies advertise like this for LGBTQ people. They don’t even say unisex. Women are gone,” she criticizes. Another consumer protested, saying, “Sell in the LGBT category, not the women’s category.”
On social media , even the hash tag ‘ Boycott Adidas’, which says that they will not buy Adidas products in the future, is trending.
French soccer player rejects rainbow-colored jersey number
A fine was imposed on Muhammad Mustafa, an Egyptian player who refused to participate in the first division of the French professional soccer league, saying that he would not wear a rainbow number.
On the 14th, the International Day Against Homophobia of LGBTQ, League 1 held a game with rainbow-colored numbers on their team’s uniforms to show support for the LGBTQ community.
Nantes released a statement saying, “Nantes striker Muhammad Mustafa refused to play in the match against Toulouse for personal reasons.”
As the criticism poured out on Mustafa, the club emphasized that Mustafa should not be subjected to a ‘trial by public opinion’, saying, “We strongly condemn the threat to Mustafa and his family before and after the game.”
Citizens’ Committee bans LGBTI gatherings at Seoul Plaza
In Korea, the Queer Festival, held every June at Seoul Plaza, was blocked this year.
Activists of the 2023 International Day Against Homophobia and Homophobia continue to speak at a press conference declaring the struggle week for the International Day Against Homophobia and Homophobia held at Gwanghwamun Plaza in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 17th. On International Day Against Homophobia against LGBTQ, they announced that they would continue the struggle week calling for the elimination of discrimination against LGBTI people that still exist in society. news 1
The Seoul Queer Culture Festival Organizing Committee and the CTS Cultural Foundation, a Christian organization, applied for the use of Seoul Plaza on the same day, from June 30 to July 1. The city of Seoul promoted schedule adjustments on both sides메이저놀이터, but when adjustments were not made, they submitted their applications to the City Open Plaza Operation Citizens Committee (Citizens Committee). At a meeting on the 3rd of this month, the Citizens’ Committee accepted the CTS Cultural Foundation’s application for use.
Accordingly, on the morning of the 12th, 20 organizations from 10 universities, including the Seoul National University Student and Minority Human Rights Committee and Kyunghee University’s LGBTQ community Aqua, held the ‘Seoul Queer Parade’ in Changcheon-dong, Seodaemun-gu, to condemn the use of Seoul Plaza.