Ceritawan.id – Setiap Juni, kampanye Pride kembali mengisi ruang publik dan feed media sosial. Banyak merek mengangkat tema representasi, inklusi, dan dukungan terhadap komunitas LGBTQIA+, namun pertanyaan yang sama terus muncul: bagaimana komitmen itu berlanjut setelah bulan perayaan usai?
Perdebatan kini tidak lagi soal apakah merek ikut serta di Juni, melainkan apakah langkah itu berbuah pada kebijakan internal, praktik perekrutan, dan keterlibatan berkelanjutan. Kritik terhadap dukungan yang terasa sesaat semakin lantang di kalangan kreator dan aktivis queer.
Contoh inisiatif dan klaim jangka panjang
Beberapa perusahaan mengklaim upaya yang melampaui momen satu bulan. Daniel Kim, SVP Tinder Asia, Match Group, menegaskan: “At Tinder, Pride Month is an important moment to celebrate and amplify LGBTQIA+ voices, but our commitment to inclusivity extends far beyond Pride season.” Perusahaan itu menunjuk pada program seperti Tinder Queer Made Weekend yang berjalan selama lima tahun serta fitur produk yang menyediakan pilihan lebih dari 50 identitas gender dan sembilan orientasi seksual. Kim menambahkan: “While Pride Month helps bring visibility to these conversations, our focus is on ensuring they are not limited to a single moment in the calendar.”
Pemeran di sektor hiburan juga menunjukkan pendekatan berbasis budaya. Gautam Dutta, CEO Revenue & Operations PVR INOX Limited, menyatakan: “At PVR INOX, our commitment to inclusivity is not a seasonal trend; it is a core ethos that we have actively done for a long time, most notably through specialized cultural platforms like our Pride Film Festival.” Tahun ini, perusahaan menggelar pertunjukan langsung dengan Sushant Divgikr, yang dikenal sebagai Rani KoHEnur, dan mengarahkan hasilnya untuk inisiatif komunitas.
Kritik dari komunitas soal konsistensi
Bagi banyak aktivis dan pasangan queer, hadirnya pelangi di materi promosi tidak cukup. Pasangan queer dari Bengaluru, Sougata Basu dan Mayank Kalra, mengingatkan: “A disconnect between Pride Month messaging and year-round action can make inclusion feel performative rather than genuine.” Mereka menambahkan: “While increasing visibility in June is valuable, LGBTQIA+ identities and experiences exist throughout the year. When brands remain silent for the remaining eleven months, it can weaken trust and raise questions about their commitment to the community.”
Pasangan itu juga menekankan perbedaan sekadar representasi dan partisipasi nyata: “Authentic inclusion means consistently representing LGBTQIA+ people in campaigns, workplaces, products, and decision-making throughout the year. It involves hiring inclusively, amplifying queer voices, supporting meaningful initiatives, and featuring real stories rather than relying on token gestures.”
Kesenjangan kredibilitas dan penilaian ahli
Banyak pengamat merek menilai konsistensi sebagai tolok ukur kredibilitas. Manish Poonam, aktor dan kreator, menyatakan: “For me, when brands suddenly get loud in June and disappear for the rest of the year, it signals performative allyship more than real care. It feels like visibility without responsibility.” Dia memperingatkan bahwa konsekuensinya bukan sekadar komentar negatif di media sosial: “The community becomes a campaign moment instead of a lived reality. That gap slowly breaks trust because queer people can sense when they are being celebrated versus when they are being used.” Poonam lalu merumuskan visi inklusi yang nyata: “Authentic inclusion, for me, is quiet, consistent, and value driven. It shows up in hiring, safe workplaces, fair policies, queer voices in decision making, and storytelling that is not just limited to Pride Month.”
Pengaruh influencer turut menguatkan pandangan itu. Sujal Thakkar menyederhanakan kritik: “For me, it’s pretty simple: if your support only shows up when the rainbow logo does, people notice.” Sementara itu, Nisha Sampath dari Bright Angles Consulting menekankan perlunya bukti tindakan: “A brand can participate in Pride Month without speaking about LGBTQIA+ issues year-round. But the credibility of that participation depends on whether it is backed by real action.” Dia menambahkan: “If Pride communication is limited to a rainbow logo or a one-month campaign, with no evidence of inclusive hiring, employee support or community partnerships, it reads as opportunistic.”
Skeptisisme terhadap motif awal kampanye juga muncul dari Hamsini Shivkumar, yang menilai banyak merek sebelumnya hanyalah mengikuti tren: “I don’t think most brands that were earlier participating in Pride month were doing it out of conviction about the cause. They just jumped on the ‘Woke’ bandwagon because it came from the USA and they wanted to appear cool and with it.” Dia menegaskan: “So most of the support so far has been opportunistic bandwagoning.”
Diskusi ini mempertegas bahwa dukungan sesaat pada Juni kini diuji dengan ukuran tindakan nyata sepanjang tahun. Untuk banyak pihak, kepercayaan hanya akan tumbuh bila janji inklusi diterjemahkan ke kebijakan, rekrutmen, dan keterlibatan kontinu yang terlihat dalam praktik sehari-hari merek.