by: Mx. Rahi Tea

It seems the general “mainstream left” is fiiiiiinaaaaaly having critical conversations about pink-washing and rainbow-capitalism. The corporate and state-sanctioned messaging that presents the facade of support for the queer community but at its core, only serves its own ends. Turns out there is only so much you can pink-wash a genocide.

Who else has been let in on the joke? OwningClass/Cis/White/Gay$ with US citizenship and (often) wallets full of cold/hard, double-male-income-earning-household CA$H. Yes, hunny! They are finally starting to recognize that corporations engage in symbolic, performative advertising campaigns as a way to co-opt, exploit and profit off of their struggles with homophobia and heretosexism! They’re beginning to see the ways their gay identities have been tokenized and manipulated for corporate gain, and they will not be swindled any longer!

Now that the shame-spotlights have made the rounds about Fortune 500 companies selling Pride merchandise while actively funding anti-LGBTQ politicians and legislation, we are all finally outraged…especially about pink-washing and the Zionist tourism industry!

By relying on age-old colonial-propaganda tactics rooted in Civil/Savage bullshit, so-called I$rael has saturated the global tourist market for the past 20 years, presenting itself as the modern champion of gay rights in the so-called “Middle East”. This has largely been achieved by the ethno-state positing itself in hyperbolic, commercial opposition to Palestinian society (which they depict as violently and irredeemably homophobic). As such, international gay tourism has been a multi-million dollar industry there, with a week-long, reoccurring Tel Aviv Pride celebration often having attracted over 250,000 attendees from across the globe annually.

The sad truth though, is that for class-privileged gay tourists in the west to land how insidious and fucked up life under occupation is, the zionist nation-state needed to SHOW ITS WHOLE ASS by broadcasting an almost satirical act of “militarized saviorism” on social media in 2023. For reals! It took hitting western Gay$ over the head with the image of a grinning IDF soldier amidst a pile of rubble waving a Pride flag, accompanied with a government issued Instagram caption that read, “The first ever pride flag raised in Gaza,” to make them uncomfortable enough to react.

Gay rights organizations in the US argue it was in this moment, when the IDF used the rainbow flag as a tool of colonial acquisition in such a heavy-handed way, that liberals could no longer pretend these campaigns were harmless marketing strategies for cis-gay, white tourists. They say this was the moment I$raeli pink-washing propaganda “lost efficacy.” LGBT media analysts in the west currently say the state of I$rael has nothing to gain by using pink-washing as a messaging strategy anymore, as the only companies relying on these tactics are overtly Zionist LGBTQIA+ organizations (who most #CompassionateConsumers know to avoid by now). Stephanie Westbrook (PACBI) says No Pride in Genocide has become a global queer slogan,” touting that “Thousands of queer artists have pledged not to perform in Israel. Pride organizations are adopting ethical policies excluding sponsors and participants complicit in Israel’s crimes against Palestinians!”

So praise HighHolyHell with TheGayestHallalujias! Congrats on this major progress, Queens! Oh, and #deathtorainbowcapitalism + #fuckcaitlilnjenner am I right lol?! Happy Pride!

As we continue to slog through the current landscape of corporate pride celebrations in the west, its true that we are seeing pushback more frequently from the general gay populous against international pink-washing campaigns, with Pride Week Tel Aviv having had record-low attendance over the past few years. But here is when liberal western consumers shift from outrage and embarrassment, to self-congratulatory smugness about having had a hand in progress….

Meanwhile, what? Queer Palestinians are wiping their tears w/ the bloody rainbow scraps of a colonizer’s flag, grateful that the Israeli tourist economy is facing an economic deficit?

Yikes, friends.

While these tactics of zionist commodification and exploitation might be losing appeal with international tourist Gay$, we’re still out here missing the point. Why? Because in typical settler-colonial fashion, our conversations lack the wisdom and perspectives of the people most actively impacted by the harm.

Embarrassing, I know.

Queer Palestinians living under occupation remind us that this interpretation of pink-washing and its supposed “loss of impact” is flawed, as it centers Zionism rather than the harm it causes queer, gender-nonconforming, and transgender Palestinians. This western oversimplification of pink-washing as merely a messaging strategy meant to legitimize so-called Isr@el, misses the blatant reality that its is a literal weapon designed for and pointed directly at queer Palestinians.

Haneen Maikey, founder of alQaws (a queer/anti-colonial, grassroots group in Palestine), reminds us that the colonial role of pink-washing in occupied Palestine is “to lead queer Palestinians to see themselves as inherent outsiders who, by simply being queer or trans, have betrayed the liberation struggles of their communities. Its meant to strategically inflict harm by turning Palestinians against each other, which is an overt form of colonial violence.” She continues,

Changing the minds of queer Palestinians so they see their colonizer as their savior is one of the most cruel [forms of] violence on earth. Further, Israeli pink-washing campaigns are used to their most devastating extent against occupied communities, psychologically bombarding our LGBTQIA+ community in Palestine with the notion that their society is so homophobic that they ought to identify with their supposedly progressive occupier.

So basically when our conversations in the west revolve around the question of whether Gay$ outside Palestine still believe I$rael is a #ChillGaycacionSpot, or whether we’re just lost in self-aggrandizement, celebrating wins rooted in our own western, consumer-driven reputations…we’re missing the point.

There is no Pink/Rainbow/Unicorn/TriangleShaped door for queer and trans Palestinians to surpass Israeli apartheid walls. Queerness offers no protection from the impacts of Israeli occupation– from being buried in the remains of bombed-out hospitals, or from suffering the manufactured starvation & famine campaigns launched by the state. As Gay$ in the west feel relief about their restored reputations thanks to a few semi-successful boycotts, Israel’s armed forces and intelligence services continue to weaponize queer identities in Palestine, as many people still report being surveilled, abducted, and blackmailed into being informants.

With this in mind (especially if you’re a settler), let us be skeptical of these self-imposed heroisms. Let us not continue to be romanticized by small wins or “progress” that centers our own consumer-driven egos and experiences. May we learn to identify the ways that colonist mentalities show up in our contemporary, everyday lives– and the ways we might be complicit in reaping the benefits of them. May we have more investment in collective liberation beyond moments of feeling personally embarrassed.

Most importantly, may we all be more vigilant in seeking out and listening to voices and perspectives of the most impacted.

Queers in Eugene have been working to re-center these values throughout recent years, holding events in town including Pride was a Riot and Rad Pride, meant to bring focus back to the anniversary of queer ancestors taking the streets outside Stonewall in revolt against the pigs. RWC (Revolutionary Women’s Committee), organizers of previous alt-pride events in Eugene, put out a statement this year opening with a quote from Ka Daisy, a transfemme comrade martyred in 2025 while fighting in the New People’s Army of the Philippines– “As LGBT youth, our role is important in advancing the Revolution. To change society’s perception, we must transform society itself.”

This year, Eugene Pride was told by a city liaison that they should not file for a march and rally permit, and that if an un-permitted march were to happen, EPD would be there to cite people for engaging in disorderly conduct. Luckily, nobody tells these queers where to go and what to do! Folx are mobilizing for a Rad Pride March & Rally on 6/27 at 9am anyways: No permits! No cops!

In addition, a No Pride in Genocide event will be held by local group JAZE (Jewish Anti-Zionists Eugene) to raise funds for a Palestinian family in need of emergency medical evacuation. This event will take place at Blairally Arcade on Sunday, 6/28, from 2-6pm. Organizers hope to complete the family’s Gofundme campaign, as they are only a few thousand dollars from achieving the total. The event’s entry fee is GAYAF, (Give As You Can, Friends), and hunnnies, I Will Be Givingggggg! Hope to see you there.