By Dave Moore
Cultural commodification is a long-standing capitalist pastime. Every facet of human identity, expression and circumstance can be packaged and used to feed emergent consumer markets. This is not a new phenomena, nor is it particularly unique compared to some of the other permutations of late-stage capitalism. It is May, 2023. In the span of just over five months, approximately 537 anti-trans/LGBT bills have been introduced in statehouses across the country, just about 150 of which center on directly imposing restrictions on and/or accessibility of hormone replacement therapy and gender affirming surgeries. This is while the DHS issues warnings on and off regarding spikes in violence against the LGBT+ community, and entire portions of the United States are rendered intentionally impassable or uninhabitable for trans individuals. Most importantly, of course, Anheuser-Busch has partnered with Dylan Mulvaney, a trans influencer, finally queering Bud Light.
Rainbow washing isn’t new. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a company, much less an alcohol monopoly, mix a pop culture figure into their marketing plan and call it a progressive win. There’s just something naggingly insidious and transparent in comparison to similar recent publicity attempts – maybe it’s the fact that Anheuser-Busch has thrown millions of dollars into lobbying for conservative parties across the country, with many representatives advancing the 500+ bills being members of those very same parties. Maybe it’s the fact that Anheuser-Busch specifically chose a woman who is digestible to liberals, that is to say a woman who has built the bulk of her career by highlighting her adjacency to ‘real’ women. Mulvaney does not challenge vote blue versions of transphobia and more specifically transmisogyny, making her a great fit for selling a product to the same self-identified ‘allies’ that definitely aren’t transphobic because they believe in gay marriage and watch RuPaul. Maybe I’m bitter once again seeing a market be built off of the suffering and deaths of people in my community, the trans community, while proponents of the legislation resulting in this bloodshed get richer. Maybe this would feel a bit better if Dylan Mulvaney at the very least partnered with a beer brand that isn’t known for tasting like watered down spit.
Anheuser-Busch knew what they were doing – they knew that by appealing publicly to liberal markets, going against their historic red-blooded American market, they would be able to expand profit potential: liberals will start picking up Bud Light and the opposite side of reactionary ideologues will pick up Bud Light just to make a show of throwing it out. Either way meant money. They also knew that using Dylan Mulvaney would result in a somehow even higher amount of vitriol being directed at trans women first and foremost and the remaining portion of the trans community by relation, encouraging the advancement of anti-trans legislature. America’s already lost pronouns, public restrooms and Marvel movies. You’re not going to let them come for your beer next are you?
In the hopes of fighting some of the fear-mongering that’s been circling these topics, I think it’s important to say that, like everything else here, this isn’t the first time. This isn’t the first time they’ve come for our lives, this isn’t the first time we’ve been sold something that’s profiting directly off of the death of our community, this isn’t the first time it’s been by a megacorp trying to restore the U.S. to a mythical point of purity, and this isn’t the first time someone’s took a good look at it as a recurring phenomena. The fact that community remains is the important part, and should serve as a comfort and motivator for perseverance.
It is May, 2023. Anheuser-Busch has partnered with Dylan Mulvaney, a trans influencer, finally queering Bud Light. Of the 537 proposed anti-trans/LGBT+ bills in circulation, 97 have failed, with another 120 or so sitting in legal limbo, or being so poorly thought out that they cannot be materially enacted should they be signed. Four states have chosen to expand protections for trans individuals, with Minnesota joining California, New York, Vermont and Washington as a sanctuary state. Another 16 states are on their way to introduce trans refuge state laws. I still don’t like the taste of Bud Light.
The Rainbow Washing of Bud Light: 500 Bills and Counting
By Dave Moore
Cultural commodification is a long-standing capitalist pastime. Every facet of human identity, expression and circumstance can be packaged and used to feed emergent consumer markets. This is not a new phenomena, nor is it particularly unique compared to some of the other permutations of late-stage capitalism. It is May, 2023. In the span of just over five months, approximately 537 anti-trans/LGBT bills have been introduced in statehouses across the country, just about 150 of which center on directly imposing restrictions on and/or accessibility of hormone replacement therapy and gender affirming surgeries. This is while the DHS issues warnings on and off regarding spikes in violence against the LGBT+ community, and entire portions of the United States are rendered intentionally impassable or uninhabitable for trans individuals. Most importantly, of course, Anheuser-Busch has partnered with Dylan Mulvaney, a trans influencer, finally queering Bud Light.
Rainbow washing isn’t new. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a company, much less an alcohol monopoly, mix a pop culture figure into their marketing plan and call it a progressive win. There’s just something naggingly insidious and transparent in comparison to similar recent publicity attempts – maybe it’s the fact that Anheuser-Busch has thrown millions of dollars into lobbying for conservative parties across the country, with many representatives advancing the 500+ bills being members of those very same parties. Maybe it’s the fact that Anheuser-Busch specifically chose a woman who is digestible to liberals, that is to say a woman who has built the bulk of her career by highlighting her adjacency to ‘real’ women. Mulvaney does not challenge vote blue versions of transphobia and more specifically transmisogyny, making her a great fit for selling a product to the same self-identified ‘allies’ that definitely aren’t transphobic because they believe in gay marriage and watch RuPaul. Maybe I’m bitter once again seeing a market be built off of the suffering and deaths of people in my community, the trans community, while proponents of the legislation resulting in this bloodshed get richer. Maybe this would feel a bit better if Dylan Mulvaney at the very least partnered with a beer brand that isn’t known for tasting like watered down spit.
Anheuser-Busch knew what they were doing – they knew that by appealing publicly to liberal markets, going against their historic red-blooded American market, they would be able to expand profit potential: liberals will start picking up Bud Light and the opposite side of reactionary ideologues will pick up Bud Light just to make a show of throwing it out. Either way meant money. They also knew that using Dylan Mulvaney would result in a somehow even higher amount of vitriol being directed at trans women first and foremost and the remaining portion of the trans community by relation, encouraging the advancement of anti-trans legislature. America’s already lost pronouns, public restrooms and Marvel movies. You’re not going to let them come for your beer next are you?
In the hopes of fighting some of the fear-mongering that’s been circling these topics, I think it’s important to say that, like everything else here, this isn’t the first time. This isn’t the first time they’ve come for our lives, this isn’t the first time we’ve been sold something that’s profiting directly off of the death of our community, this isn’t the first time it’s been by a megacorp trying to restore the U.S. to a mythical point of purity, and this isn’t the first time someone’s took a good look at it as a recurring phenomena. The fact that community remains is the important part, and should serve as a comfort and motivator for perseverance.
It is May, 2023. Anheuser-Busch has partnered with Dylan Mulvaney, a trans influencer, finally queering Bud Light. Of the 537 proposed anti-trans/LGBT+ bills in circulation, 97 have failed, with another 120 or so sitting in legal limbo, or being so poorly thought out that they cannot be materially enacted should they be signed. Four states have chosen to expand protections for trans individuals, with Minnesota joining California, New York, Vermont and Washington as a sanctuary state. Another 16 states are on their way to introduce trans refuge state laws. I still don’t like the taste of Bud Light.
