That the lady in the Bank can't catch the Gay ?

[MrsGaryLightbody]

Well that was a fun trip to the Bank.
Lady in front of me was obviously complaining but I only caught second half when I had started to feel itchy that I'd miss my bus .
Apparently the bank teller had personally changed her phone app to the rainbow flag and she didn't like it as she didn't want to catch The Gay .. I listened and admired the teller explain patiently that she hadn't done that personally but it was to celebrate pride. Customer then says well I'm not gay so take it off NOW ... pushing her mobile through the gap ... I so want to know how that ended but they opened another booth.. aibu to call bank and ask lol 😂

i've got a small rainbow tattoo on my arm had it done years ago, so doing my bit !

I felt a bit pissed off at the over commercialisation of pride too. But then I thought about it. Maybe if I had seen rainbows everywhere when I was a teenager, if everyone had been falling over themselves to attract gay customers, to show acceptance etc, maybe I wouldn’t have self harmed, refused to accept my sexuality and eventually tried to kill myself. It took a long time for me to come to terms with who I was because I was so scared of other people’s perceptions. I’m glad kids today are growing up to see rainbows everywhere.

Mrs Gary- are you assuming she was homophobic because she didn't like the rainbow change, or did she actually say homophobic things? More than "I'm not gay, I do t want my app to be rainbowed".

@Fibbke Yes. How many openly-gay newsreaders can you name? How many dramas led by a lesbian actor or character? Did you know that last year in the 220 most popular TV shows, three quarters of LGBT roles were played by non-LGBT actors? Or that the majority of LGBT people feel that portrayals of LGBT characters on television and in films are based on stereotypes and not representative of their lived experience?

It's a lot better than it used to be, and there are many other areas where more representation is needed too (older women, disabled people) but it's still not there.

cold

Wonder what would happen if gay people had their benefits cut just like thousands of disabled people. At the present.

But homophobia in the workplace is discriminatory. In law. Oh, well, it definitely doesn't happen then. Except it does. www.stonewall.org.uk/lgbt-britain-work-report
www.personneltoday.com/hr/seven-in-10-lgbt-staff-sexually-harassed-at-work/

As a member of the LGBT+ community, I absolutely hate all the rainbow flags everywhere. Lots of these are international companies, what are they actually doing in these countries for the community?

Fuck all is the likely answer. They’re just jumping on the rainbow bandwagon because they think the gays will flock to them.

Oh, don't be silly, @peachgreen. Remember all of the gays are camp men doing comedy and the panto, and they're represented 110% of the time. Lesbians are practically a myth, and you couldn't risk a queer reading the news - no one would take it seriously.

It’s still not as easy as it should be to be a young, gay teenager. Rainbows plastered everywhere are extremely encouraging to my dd13. I have lost my cynicism towards the corporations that do this as I see her feel heartened and supported by it.

Obviously the woman in the bank was a twit.

But the Barclays app is a rainbow at the moment and I just find it totally corny and blatant bandwagon jumping.

Not keen on what the rainbow is coming to symbolise, either. Seems to be a lot of wokety woke trans, non-binary, gender fluid nonsense rather than original LGB message.

As an LGBTQIA+ disabled person, I'm pleased organisations are making a big deal out of this.

When people are still attacked and killed for loving who they love, this sort of thing is important.

That lady was ridiculous. It's just the app logo.

Actually, although I’ve lost my cynicism, I haven’t lost my outrage. How Barclays have got the brass neck to sponsor Pride when they do so much business in the Middle East, where homosexuals is illegal, I really don’t know.

They were discussing this on GMB this morning, how so many corporations were jumping on the bandwagon and adding rainbows to their products to be trendy or to sell more products. It would be interesting to learn how many of these companies are actually supporting Pride properly and handing over a donation from their huge profits rather than just paying lip service.

I work for a shop that put up a big rainbow flag and all that for Pride. Did they stop selling goods from countries that punish people for being gay? Did they 'eck. Just virtue signalling imo.

@SarahAndQuack Silly me, you're so right. As for bisexuals, everybody knows we're actually just gay people in denial, so they don't need to be represented on telly at all.

But homophobia in the workplace is discriminatory. In law.

Oh well then it can't possibly exist. Just like there's no gender pay gap, right? And people don't bias applications towards nice middle-class white names? Lols

Of course. Unless they're there so you can do a nice bit of girl-on-girl before the proper love story takes off. Bisexual men don't exist, obvs.

Did you know that last year in the 220 most popular TV shows, three quarters of LGBT roles were played by non-LGBT actors?

Should gay actors not be allowed to play LGBT roles? That would be pretty unfair. Maybe Sheldon shouldn't play that part in The Big Bang Theory? What about Neil Patrick Harris in How I Met Your Mother? James Dreyfus in Thin Blue Line? David Pierce in Frasier?

I don't understand why people aren't getting the OP.
This ^^. Patently obvious to me.

"Apparently the bank teller had personally changed her phone app to the rainbow flag and she didn't like it as she didn't want to catch The Gay

"She wanted the teller to take it off her phone NOW, as she wasn't gay, didn't like gay people or rainbows!

Are you sure you heard correctly, or have you perhaps embellished the story a tiny bit?

@Juells Don't be obtuse. There's a massive difference between LGBT actors (who have less opportunities) playing non-LGBT roles (of which there are many more) and non-LGBT actors (who have loads more roles open to them) taking one of the limited number of LGBT roles.

Oh I'd have wanted to know how that ended too @MrsGaryLightbody. I was once listening to a lady's life story on a bus. We were only half way through and got to my stop. I seriously considered just staying on, even though it would have added about an hour to my journey time.

The use of a rainbow in their branding in no way proves that they are a progressive organisation any more than it shows that they have a savvy marketing department.

I tend to agree with this. I work for big corporates in financial services.

I don't think it's quite as cynical as some have said in that there are genuinely good intentions but it's not followed up where it really matters.

A couple of years ago someone told me they overheard a couple of guys at work during Pride week complaining about how "gays made them feel sick" and they should "keep it to themselves" and not be putting up posters about it.

Apparently very loudly and went unchallenged by the manager.

Interestingly there's been a move towards alternative marches which aren't affiliated with Pride, because there is a growing backlash against corporate sponsorship and rainbow-washing.

In the UK there are also growing numbers of gay, lesbian and bi people who are disillusioned with Stonewall's current mission statements and aims, as they feel that these are incompatible with homosexuality and bisexuality.

It's easy for a firm to change the colourways on its corporate logo. Not so easy for that same firm to ensure real diversity, representation, equity and fair pay for all. But the rainbow flag ticks such a nice box on the corporate and social responsibility report.