I've been bitching for years that the HRC (Human Rights Campaign, an national organization fighting for queer rights) has been dominated by wealthy, tux-owning gay men who liked to go to and throw black-tie fundraisers.
Sure, they've raised good money and I figured that even their male-centric efforts helped all queer people to some degree. Every time I received an invite to a $200/plate dinner, I just tossed it. Like we'd drop $400 for a meal, however good the cause.
Well, times are hard. And even the HRC has to broaden its donor base and reach out to the lesbians down here on the ground. I just received this invitation to "Her HRC; A National Night of Celebration for Women." Okay. That's not bad AND they managed to price it for almost everybody: $10.
Now Joe Solomonese (president of HRC) pissed off a lot of people recently with his Democrat bootlicking and lack of criticism of the Obama administration's disappointing inaction on GLBT issues. Yet even in that light, Her HRC seems like a decent gesture.
So, I'm looking at the invite and see that it's sponsored by Tylenol. Tylenol? Oh. It's a woman's event. With women and their womanly parts. And pains. So Tylenol. Sure. The predominant message here is that we need pain relief. That's refreshing.
Then, at the bottom is a plug for a Buying for Equality iPhone application...it starts out with
"Shopping before the event?"
I am well aware that not all lesbians/bisexual women consider khakis their dress-up clothes. Not all lesbians wear ball caps and big ol' plaid shirts. Hell, many of us are not even allergic to nail polish and pumps. But if you are addressing a large group of (large-ish) women who largely do not partake of the girlie-defined world o' shopping, perhaps leading with the next line would be a little less ridiculous "Now you can find companies and products that support equality..."
Shopping before the event...puh-lease.
2 comments:
'Shopping before the event' nonsense is garbage regardless of the direction of one's affection. Just more jargon trying to get women to fritter (not the tasty kind) away our 70% paychecks on crap-ola instead of buying houses or otherwise being financially independent beings.
True that. And so much of that shopping lure is couched in how-badly-you-need-to-purchase-x-so-you-can-catch-you-a-y.
This annoying spiel is actually a symbol of equality, you know. Now marketers sling the same banal message to lesbians, bi and transgendered women as they've been serving up to hetero women for ages. Brain-numbing parity...we've made it!
P.S. "...direction of one's affection." Don't know if that's a catch phrase I've missed or your own creative phrasing but it's lovely.
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