We’ve arrived at the end of pride month and as usual we have seen many “pride collections”, consisting of companies stamping rainbows on products and claiming to be “allies”. In most cases, these collections are publicity stunts to capitalise off the pride season. There is nothing meaningful by just using a rainbow to sell more clothes. Companies such as Primark and New Look have a limited collection of rainbow clothes and give a small portion of profits to organisations that don’t even contribute to pride. The cherry on top is that the clothes are made in countries where being LGBTQ+ is usually illegal. They clearly have no desire to assist with LGBTQ+ causes, and instead only seek profit.

And then there’s Cards Against Humanity (CAH), a vulgar/crude card game designed for teenagers and “horrible people”. The creators have published many extra booster packets, and June 2018 saw the release of a pride pack; 30 LGBTQ+ themed cards. It was the pride collection that stood out the most. They released a few statements about the new additions, and not only did it make me laugh, they struck me as more meaningful than other companies. CAH are known for their crazy publicity stunts. On Black Friday 2016, they started digging a hole based on donations; as long as people continued to donate, the hole would continue to be dug. In 2014, they sold “boxes of bullshit” to customers with all proceeds being donated to charity. It is therefore not shocking that they had one of the most significant pride collections.

On their website is a list of frequently asked questions; comedic statements about the booster pack. Unlike Primark, New Look and other companies, CAH’s meta humour acknowledges the capitalisation off the pride bandwagon.

The downright and carefree acknowledgement of the publicity stunt ridicules other companies, showing the surface level concern that most organisations have for the community. There is a very gay nature to the response “YASSSSSSSSSSSS QUEEN!!!”, epitomising their lack of care to maintain a professional and straight attitude. Instead they want to embrace gay culture. They are obviously on side of the LGBTQ+ community, rather than trying to please everyone.

This response impressed me the most, by hiring LGBTQ+ members, not only do they produce a relevant and high quality product, they also support the community. It is common for LGBTQ+ people to experience discrimination in employment, Stonewall published a study in January that found 25% of trans people have experienced homeless. This hints at the huge LGBTQ+ homelessness crisis facing the UK and US. By employing LGBTQ+ individuals, CAH is showing that their pride collection is much more than a surface level publicity stunt. They are clearly demonstrating genuine respect towards the community.

Unlike Urban outfitters or Primark who only donate a small proportion to charities, CAH are giving all proceeds to Howard Brown Health. They are not trying to capitalise or profit off the pride cause, instead they are trying to support it. This is the only statement without humour showing that they are able to maintain a serious outlook when referring to crises such as LGBTQ+ homelessness.

The company is also able to make light of the homophobia that exists in the world. They outline the oppressive straight nature of our society, turning it into something darkly funny; a typical trait of Cards Against Humanity.

Through the frequently asked questions and pride pack, Cards Against Humanity are making worthwhile statements about pride and the LGBTQ+ experience. A mixture of dark humour, gay culture, and serious concern for the community, is the pride collection LGBTQ+ people have been waiting for, (rather than manufactured rainbows).