Why Is Socialism Necessary For Queer Liberation?

By VUW International Socialists (ISO)

Every Pride month, the world becomes swamped with rainbow merchandise and generically queer slogans like ‘love is love’. While some people welcome these affirmations as a show of support, others decry this as rainbow capitalism. But what does rainbow capitalism actually involve, and why do socialists believe it is not conducive to true queer liberation?

Rainbow capitalism (also known as rainbow washing, or ‘pinkwashing’) describes the way corporations use language or symbols associated with the LGBTQ+ movement—like the rainbow flag—to generate profit. Corporations hope that by presenting themselves as allies, they will gain the support of queer and ally communities, and that these communities will become their consumers, primed to buy all kinds of rainbow-themed merchandise. 

Critics point out that this is disingenuous because support for queer people is only extended as far as it is profitable. No corporations will actually risk their profits to support LGBTQIA+ causes; just look at the immediate roll-back of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programmes and support for LGBTQI+ causes among big corporations in the USA under Trump’s administration.

Some people disagree with this criticism and argue that, regardless of their motive, the presentation of corporations as queer allies is still a good thing. After all, the increased representation helps make queer relationships and identities more mainstream. This is all progress towards liberation, right?

Well, this depends on how you view queer liberation. Under capitalism, the movement for LGBTQ+ rights is centred around eliminating the barriers stopping queer people from living as cis-gender, heterosexual people do. Liberation is demonstrated by the achievement of goals like marriage equality and the right for queer couples to adopt children; in other words, by the alignment of queer lifestyles with conventional cis-het lifestyles. 

While it’s important to celebrate all these reforms that make life easier for queer people, true liberation can only happen by recognising, naming and challenging the structures that link together and uphold our current system of capitalism. Otherwise, oppression will always persist in one form or another. For instance, what about non-monogamous queer people, or those who don’t want to live in a nuclear family structure? Furthermore, being cis-gender and heterosexual doesn’t safeguard a person from other forms of oppression or discrimination, like racism, sexism, or ableism. As long as these forms of oppression go unchallenged, queer people will not be free simply by being able to mimic the lives of cis-het people. 

To socialists, queer liberation is not just about individual freedom, but rather the dismantling of all exploitative structures; liberation for one person is not possible without liberation for everyone. This type of liberation cannot be achieved through the disingenuous posturing of rainbow capitalism. Instead, it requires a total re-imagining of social expectations and structures—and radical solidarity between all people to overthrow our capitalist system. What would it look like to live in a truly queer and liberated world? Come along to ISO and join us as we discuss and fight to make this better world a reality.