26Jun

Horses are not for Pride

I feel like everyone should be on the same side when it comes to this, but apparently not.

I attended Mexico City LGBTQ Pride March yesterday and was dismayed to see horses being ridden along the crowded, noisy parade route.

Then today I woke to the following tweet by comrades SuperVegan:

Shame on you @WellsFargo for forcing horses to endure the heat, crowd and loud music for your #NYCPride marketing.

— SuperVegan (@SuperVegan) June 26, 2016

Yep, it seems that horses are not only being used as a pinkwashing marketing tool by a huge corporation, but are also being forced into distressing situations.

Do I need to list all the things wrong with this? OK, here goes:

Companies such as Wells Fargo should not be in a Pride parade. It is a fucked appropriation of a social movement crucial to the survival of queer people. It is icky and exploitative.
Horses are sensitive animals who can be startled and injured in crowd settings. Traffic, noise, calamity, heat and the general intensity of the streets of NYC is NEVER a good place for a horse.
If you want to make an argument for times gone past when horses pulled carts on farms so it is OK for them to pull wagons on city streets, slap yourself with a sloppy piece of tofu. You need to wake up.
The Wells Fargo horse pulled carriage attraction is called Stagecoach. This is old school romanticising of frontier life that is not a progressive or inclusive way to market in 2016. It’s some wild west, taming-the-savage-landscape type of bullshit that makes the USA look like a place where white people used to be happy in simpler times. It does. Don’t argue with me on this one.

If you are concerned about horses being used as a corporate marketing tool in LGBTQ parades, tweet Wells Fargo here. This attraction is being rolled out at Pride events all over the place. If your Pride event is on the list, tell organisers it is not acceptable.

Even if you don’t give a shit about queer people but still care about the horses, check out this MASSIVE list of upcoming events and parades across the USA where these horses are being forced to appear. Then tweet Wells Fargo. Then get the fuck off my website.

If all of the compounded reasons I list above have you filled with anger and/or despair, share this blog post and start raising awareness in your area.