gay

It's Pride month, and we all know what that means. The world is celebrating the  LGBTQ+ community - and brands are bending over backwards trying to show their solidarity. While some companies opt to create rainbow versions of their logos (ahem, Raytheon), others color-fy their home pages or offer special editions of their food products. Apparently - for the second year in a row - Skittles has joined the latter group, re-issuing their "pride packs" of gray candies. The depressing-looking bags claim that "only one rainbow matters during pride" and that Skittles "gives up" its rainbow in support of the month. 

??? What the f*ck lmao pic.twitter.com/qJc0LII4io

— jack "gray skittles" gross (@_jackary) June 1, 2021

We're not sure if we blocked the PR stunt out of our minds last year, or if they fell under the radar - but we're not alone in our surprise regarding color being drained from the fruity, chewy candy. Twitter user @jackary (who happens to be gay) shared his disbelief at the gray bags yesterday, which happened to be the first day of Pride month. Though it's undoubtedly important to show support for the LGBTQ+ community, many people  on the internet think this is laughable act of cringeytheatrics. And they're not afraid to say it. Though this may be one of the silliest shows of support from a corporation, it's only June 2nd. There's a lot more time for pandering. And a lot more time to make fun of it. 

It's almost June, and most cities are gearing up for what is bound to be a raucous post-Covid celebration around the world. At this point, we know what to expect: lots of rainbows, free condoms, happy dancing, and a whole lot of brands making shallow attempts to market to queer people. The annual and obvious pandering is so blatant that it's inspired its own set of memes regarding how quickly corporations seem to remember (and then forget) the LGBT community. This year, the first brand-mocking callouts hail from Twitter, and are coming in much earlier than usual.  

Brands marketing My gay
to gays: friends: pic.twitter.com/nl0PujFl3y

— kewlshrek (@kewlshrek) May 16, 2021

Instead of focusing merely on cringey brands, the Twitter meme (the brainchild of @kewlshrek) contrasts how marketers portray gay people with how gay people - and gay friends - actually look and behave. Where adverts tell you that gay people are flamboyant, loud, and decked our in rainbows, these Twitter users want the world to know that their friends are generally represented by people who are just a bit more complex. In some of the memes, that means goths and vampires. In others? Ethereal elves and even characters from Recess. We appreciate that the memes and funny and ring true. But it's also just good to see reductive depictions get the meme treatment - while also giving people who don't fit into those stereotypes a little more representation. 

If you love gay content, you'll definitely be into these homoerotic memes and jokes that take the piss out of stereotypes perpetuated by straights. These are the sort of memes that would make any insecure straight homophobe very uncomfortable. You know, the kind of of dude who is so self-conscious about his masculinity, that he thinks it's 'gay' to have feelings for a woman. Wherever you are on the gay-straight spectrum, have fun scrolling through these hilarious memes about things that were either intentionally or accidentally gay. 

We're all familiar with the story of Mulanfrom the classic '90s Disneymovie, but what you probably didn't know is the lesser-known tale of Captain Li Shang questioning his sexuality. Being the '90s and all, people weren't as comfortable talking about different sexual orientations as we are now, but the story is finally coming out of the closet! (sorry.)

All jokes aside, please enjoy this hilarious retold version of Mulan!

Sometimes all the memes and tweets about heteronormative problems can get a bit tiresome (we get it, you're cishet). That's why we've filled this list with spicy and relatable memes about LGBTQ+ life and jokes by gays for gays. 

In honor of Pride month, Nickelodeon just announced that Spongebob identifies as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Fans, however, are having heated debates over this. While many agree with Nickelodeon's announcement, saying that it's been obvious that Spongebob was gay from day one, others are accusing Nickelodeon of virtue signalling. Some have even pointed out that the show's creator Stephen Hillenburg meant for Spongebob to be asexual. There are a lot of valid points being made in this heated debate, and of course, some excellent meme-age, so go ahead and get scrolling!

For the past few years, nearly every brand has been quick to incorporate the Pride flag into its logo as soon as June 1st rolls around, and then just as quickly abandon it once we hit July. 

One could probably make the argument that many companies only show their support for Pride because it's good for business and not necessarily because they care about the LGBTQ community, and that's exactly what these memes are making fun of!

Lil Nas X, of "Old Town Road" and "Panini" fame, came out as gay in a series of cryptic messages on the last day of Pride month. The genre-defying rapper tweeted last night that people should listen more closely to "C7osure." The lyrics are decidedly bent on living ones truth, and make a whole lot of sense now that the rapper has opened up about his sexuality.

"Ain't no more actin', man that forecast say I should just let me grow
No more red light for me, baby, only green, I gotta go
Pack my past up in the back, oh, let my future take a hold
This is what I gotta do, can't be regretting when I'm old"

In addition to demystifying the lyrics of "C7osure," Lil Nas X pointed out the cover artwork for his EP "7" in a tweet that reads "deadass thought i made it obvious." The rainbow-centric artwork makes a lot of sense now. 

The response to the liberating announcement has been overwhelmingly positive, with fans and allies tweeting enthusiastic support for Lil Nas X. People are even roasting anyone that would have an issue with his coming out. We're 100% with the star and can't wait to see how he continues to be a walking argument for individuality. 

If you've been living under a rock for the past few years, then you may not have noticed large corporations and their tendencies to adorn absolutely everything in their power with rainbows and sparkles during Pride month. 

These brands are being criticized for only hopping on the marriage-equality wagon after strong evidence that it helps to sell more products. Aside from that, the move is just straight-up cringey and kind of reminds us of the "How Do You Do, Fellow Kids" meme.

JK Rowling, the queen of drawing out random details of the Harry Potter franchise, is back in the limelight for, well...drawing out random details of the Harry Potter franchise - details that absolutely no one asked for, of course. 

She told Radio Times last week that Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald had an "intense and passionate" relationship that had a "sexual dimension to it." Of course, her actual statements got twisted in subsequent reports, but the roasts and parody tweets that have come from it are absolutely still valid!