The Dystopian "Wokeness" of Rainbow Capitalism

Let’s look at pinkwashing, godzilla, dylan mulvaney, and corporate queerbaiting - not necessarily in that order! Thank you to Ritual for sponsoring this video. Get 40% OFF your first month go to ritual.com/row...
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[@HeyRowanEllis]

On a scale of 1-10 how much did you want to disconnect Corporate Karen's internet connection during that first section 😇 Thank you to Ritual for sponsoring this video. To get 40% OFF your first month go to ritual.com/rowanellis40

[@kezia8027]

As someone who personally dealt with a couple of "corporate karens" when I came out at my old workplace... You were absolutely awful. Good work lol

[@Socioromanticism]

I'm still tapping "End Meeting" reflexively.

[@poenpotzu2865]

Oh god how did you force yourself to do that zoom skit and for how long!?

[@HeyRowanEllis]

my friend sparkles was working across the desk and his stifled giggles were very encouraging haha

[@sharkofjoy]

She'd just reschedule. Better to get it over with while being extremely catty in the private slack.

[@the_bandcamp_one]

the she/her-ing of someone called moon whilst telling them to put their pronouns physically pained me

[@besupaaa]

That was so spot on.

[@thalmorbiznitch4028]

It really is so so spot on. As a transmasc nonbinary person, it's so hard to get away from the "woman-lite" light "progressive" people view me in.

[@the_bandcamp_one]

@@thalmorbiznitch4028 and the way cis people don't even consider that someone might be trans is wild

[@whitneym.9358]

And then later, she/her-ing someone named Caleb. (Not saying you Can't be named Caleb with she/her pronouns, but, like with the name Moon, there's connotations that I believe were intentional here).

[@NitroIndigo]

​@@whitneym.9358What are the connotations of Moon?

[@katszulga1888]

Every hesitation in LGBTQIA is genuis comedy, having to sit through these meetings is exactly that painful. And the acknowledge only to dismiss messages in the chat was spot on. I am crying and laughing.

[@GLAASJEMELC]

That was my fave part. LG.B..TQ(yesss got it) communityyy 😊

[@LunaBoo12]

Listening to uncomfortable straight/cis people try to get through "LGBTQIA+" is one of the funniest things in the world, and this is incredible acting. It's so realistic, you can feel the cringe.

[@dawnmoore9122]

@@GLAASJEMELC AND SHE USUALLY GOT IT WRONG, TOO!!

[@AtomikNY]

And how she sometimes looks at the screen as if reading the acronym (13:28) 🤣

[@saeedrazavi4428]

This is a really engaging and creative format! I loved this video! Edit: As a nonbinary person, "our LGBTQIA+ brothers and sisters" made me chortle heartily. Too accurate

[@thedragonsunicorn]

the irony of the term "brothers and sisters" fitting the binary. always forgetting the t in lgbt+.

[@NicoleDelvilleBurke]

@irisjoves7419 nonbinary identities fall under the trans umbrella. "Brothers and Sisters" completely excludes that part of the trans community.

[@Anu90421]

yeah

[@Wanettepoems]

Yep, yep, fellow enby reporting in a reaction at that too XD While only 14 minutes in yet, all the "I see what you did there" moments thus far are just... 10/10.

[@RangersGirlJackie99]

​@@NicoleDelvilleBurke [dead thread, but] I'm gonna say it. I don't understand why nonbinary people don't have a separate letter. Nonbinary people aren't the same as trans people. Though-to be fair-I think most 'trans' people aren't really 'trans', either, but rather are GNC in a way that happens to be binary. The acronym should look something along the lines of LGBTGNCQIA+ or LGBTGnc or LGBTGncN (where gender non-conforming and nonbinary are separated, too). Nonbinary and general gender non-conforming people commandeering the clinical diagnosis of 'trans'[sexualism] is unbelievably harmful to trans people, and trans children, especially. NB and GNC people do not have a well-established underlying neurological, genetic, and endocrine disorder the way trans people do, and, therefore, do not experience gender dysphoria like trans people do. There are innumerable social, psychological, endocrine, neurological, and physical tells which can reinforce a trans person's diagnosis of GID/gender dysphoria-e.g., 2D:4D ratio, below average height and weight for mtfs, pre-HRT cortical thickness and white matter tissue/WM micro-structures (this one literally just demonstrated a few months ago) and so on-in addition to the obvious pre-puberty cross-sex preferences, crossdressing, etc. People who do not share a common experience should not have to share a label; there are plenty of letters in the alphabet left for them. The conflation of the medical diagnosis of trans with the vague 'transgender' umbrella (which I also don't like: I've always been a woman; I'm not transing my gender, I'm transing my sex to match the brain I was born with) over the past decade or so has done irreparable damage to the general public's understanding of what being trans means, what gender dysphoria is, and the reasons why people who are trans _always_ have gender dysphoria. I'm in no way whatsoever saying that you shouldn't be allowed to present NB or GNC, or that NB and GNC people shouldn't be allowed to access affirming healthcare _as adults_ when they decide they want to, but it's just that: _adults_ who _want_ to utilize GAC, and who may decide that it was a mistake because it is just a want, not a need. Trans people do not _want_ trans healthcare, we _need_ it. It's a matter of life and death. Some may go slower than others, but there is no such thing as a nonbinary or non-op trans person. I used to shy away from being vocal about this for fear of being labeled 'transmedicalist' (god forbid we treat a neurological condition as a neurological condition, diagnose and treat it as such, and discern it from things which are not neurological conditions), but I live in a state where it's now illegal for trans kids to access the care they need, and I'm done being quiet. Continuing to lump NBs and GNCs in under the same label as trans people is fucking dangerous. Not only that, but the grouping of NBs and GNCs with trans people has drastically slowed research into transsexualism as a condition in favor of just throwing our hands up and saying "oh gender is a social construct, see: you can be whatever you want!" when trans people can't just decide to stop being trans. Research into the condition is massively beneficial to trans people, and throwing out said research and getting rid of diagnoses is also very harmful. At the very least, it's taking away a powerful tool in trans peoples' unending war with insurance. For instance, early onset GD in trans women is fairly well understood as a medical condition: we have brains which diverge strongly towards a female morphology, but it hasn't been researched deeply enough to determine the exact kind of androgen insensitivity or endocrine 'miscommunication' (both assumed to be some combination of unique genetic conditions and prenatal androgen/estrogen/progesterone levels) which causes this in utero. Similarly, late onset GD in trans women is well understood up to the fact that they have mostly male brain structures, but a handful (which aren't normally sexually dimorphic) diverge from normal development at some point (likely during puberty or later in life).

[@M_M_ODonnell]

"Ethical brand from an optics point of view" is exactly the sort of dystopian thing I could imagine some of my former managers saying unironically.

[@Sableagle]

I think we call that letting the mask slip. Stuff I heard from former colleagues was more like offering up the mask as burnt offering to a little Austrian guy and his friends. I'll spare you the examples, unless you _really_ want them.

[@sadpowie]

i want them ! i want them !

[@Apes_are_monkeys]

​@@Sableagleseconded, I wanna hear those examples

[@emilyrln]

Yes, please!!!!

[@marieseaman7855]

​@@Sableagle29:58 29:59

[@cyclingknitter2070]

That zoom meeting was a PERFORMANCE. Also, as a queer disabled, I loved how you remembered disability as a marginalised group. It's definitely been my observation its one of the more frequently unremembered ones.

[@LighthoofDryden]

The subtle details in the writing and performance are killing me This is diversity training, weaponized

[@RishaBond]

Yes. The "slide" from Corporate Responsibility is perfection.

[@Minecraft2331]

This comment killed me, diversity training weaponized is hilarious

[@orfeassiozos1575]

Lmao yess like saying "our LGBTQIA+ brothers and sisters" instead of siblings. At this point I'm not even sure if all of these were on purpose, although knowing what thought goes into these videos I wouldn't be surprised if they were all planned out!

[@gillipop1]

pride week

[@gillipop1]

L...😵‍💫 BG😗T🤔

[@Pencilfiend241]

I loved how they used pronouns in the beginning as a 'fun holiday tradition' rather than the actual thing they are. Amazing commentary on commercialism and whatnot

[@avedic]

*_"...a very ethical brand...from an optics point of view....which we love."_* Honestly, this entire video is Jonathan Swift levels of modern satire....which we love. :} But really...this is somehow both nuanced AND critical. Sure to fly over the heads of many. Sure to land with many. Well done!

[@shadow81818]

"An equal society" made me audibly gasp. Plus describing themselves as a "family", the air quotes around terms Karen is uncomfortable with, and the constant misspeaking of the acronym. This was such an incredbly well written, awful character.

[@andriypredmyrskyy7791]

Can't get over her never saying the acronym the same way twice

[@emilyrln]

Absolutely astounding 😂

[@esmeraldagamgeetook2454]

I chose Ikea's ad as a casestudy for a school assignment about 10 years ago. I remember getting really emotional hearing how they stood by their ad. They refused to take it down when the backlash started. And even when they did take it down because of repeated bomb threats, they kept their time slot in the TV ad break but showed nothing so people had to sit through a black screen and no audio.

[@lucylu2927]

Bomb threats? Wtaf? No idea what this ad was but anyone who sends bomb threats does not deserve a voice. This is not the way to win hearts and minds

[@Byeuji]

New to this channel, but my company has announced internally they're doing a fully funded Pride marketing campaign in 2024, and as a trans person, leader in the LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group, and marketing employee, I'm intensely curious how they're thinking about that campaign -- and so I thought this video would be very funny, but I'm pretty sure I just lost 10 years of my life. Every time Karen struggled with the acronym, I could feel my life force fading away. It's remarkable how accurate this presentation was... like truly remarkable. I feel like I just sat through a Lunch & Learn 8 hours after I left work...

[@vaska00762]

My personal experience from finance/management consultancy contexts is that most of the marketing around pride is pretty... um... low key. The biggest thing is that everyone wants to be in the corporate float at pride, but beyond that, radio silence. In my own experience, the big problem my own workplace started having is that the LGBT+ network realised no one, other than the same 5-6 gay men actually ever turned up to "socials" (that is, a corporate night out at a pub or bar). To respond to requests for non-drinking events, they started up a monthly breakfast in the office on the first Monday of each month. But my own team wants me to be in the office on different days of the week, and worse, turnout is also pretty bad as this breakfast happens to be scheduled during the hour of the day when most teams are having their "morning huddle". It's a borderline disaster. I found myself in a wider group chat for trans employees, but it's basically just 4 really, really senior managers and then just 2 others, myself included, who are basically at the bottom of the pay grades. It's hard to relate to someone on four times your income on issues like the private health insurance not including trans healthcare, or alternatively, talking to someone twice your age, at least, about trans subculture (think activism and DIY stuff). At this rate, I've just decided to just try my best to just "stealth" as much as possible now. I've increasingly come to conclude that your work is what you do to pay the bills. Don't waste your effort trying to socialise with people who make their lives all about work, when there's plenty of other opportunities available outside of work.

[@munstify]

My brother/sister/human in Christ, I need you to put a trigger warning before you throw the words "Lunch & Learn" out there like that all willy nilly. Crushed my whole vibe I had going

[@ashleyanne929]

The way you capture corporate "politeness" covering clear homophobia is absolutely haunting, incredible

[@bigmanmccheez5342]

Wouldn't say it's covering homophobia, more covering ignorance

[@asongfromunderthefloorboards]

@@bigmanmccheez5342 The "LGBTQIA+" part stumbling was deliberate, which was called out in the "chat". It's the same idea as intentionally pronouncing foreign or uncommon names wrong.

[@rhaenatargaryen8061]

my favorite part of the meeting was all the graphics with rainbows and the occasional bi flag but no lesbian flag in sight. 100% authentic no creative liberties taken or needed

[@HeyRowanEllis]

this was a legitimate preexisting canva template i am not kidding

[@dinosaysrawr]

The devil was in the details, and the details were ::::chef's kiss:::: right on the money.

[@cookkeh]

marketing zoom call jumpscare!! lol it's almost painful in how relatable it is

[@pitchlag1502]

Painfully accurate too, not from job experience nor was the topic the same, but I got flashbacks to one very frustrating.... product design?? course at uni where the lecturer spoke exactly like that. Marketing people make me viscerally uncomfortable

[@isaw9969]

"part of a campaign that included.. 'other types' of people" felt so innocently dehumanizating omg

[@andromeda7758]

Don't work in a corporation per say, but do experience that blah 9-5 cubicle office life and its always so funny watching a straight/cis person leading a teams/zoom meeting on queer representation. My work partner and I just pee our pants laughing on mute

[@GilTheDragon]

The way you adopt corpospeak & manerisms is terrifying As a gay guy that has somehow ended up in a few suchlike spaces ... i am wanting to leave my body & that is so true to life

[@fardareismai4495]

The dissociation is real man...

[@glowinggrenade]

I have a job, I like this job. But it's clear that my boss has no interest in making the work accommodating. I had a uniformed proud boy enter the workplace, I was told "we have no policy to discriminate based on clothing", so I asked for a dress code. Nothing happened. Before we had a manager it was an incredibly diverse venue. Now that diversity is decreasing dramatically. I wore accessories in addition to the uniform to make myself be gendered more appropriately. I was informed it was in violation of the uniform code.

[@Vahlee-A]

How do you violate a dress code that doesn't actually exist ...

[@glowinggrenade]

@@Vahlee-A dress code for customers vs dress code for employees

[@Zectifin]

I remember when I was hired at a subway in the mid 2000s as a guy with long hair. After training I was then told I needed to cut my hair. I asked why I couldn't just keep it in a ponytail like every woman I worked with. I was told "guys can't have long hair." I was so annoyed that I had to cut it. If someone did it nowadays I'd just quit, but I was a teen and needed the job.

[@oldforestsystem]

I worked in a company thats whole thing was colors and rainbows and sold pronoun pins and like 2.5 queer merch year round. Literally found in san francisco in the gay neighborhood. 80% of the staff was not straight or not cis or both. Corporate was a nightmare. The amount of times people got misgendered by Corporate was insane. One time a customer literally called my friend/coworker a slur and misgendered them a whole bunch and we told the higher ups as high as it could go and no one cared. We couldnt even kid that person out of the establishment. Their whole thing was being inclusive and having strong ties to the queer community and they treated us so poorly.

[@MsAirnation]

oh god why is this so accurate. they keep trying to get people to put pronouns on their teams and email, not understanding that it might force people to either come out before they're ready or actively ask for the social dysphoria, and we also got a whole thing about how we couldn't say disabled but instead had to say people with disability, which from what I've heard is very controversial and not well-liked by actual disability activists. that was from the american corporation overlords - a lot of the stuff locally does seem to be genuinely trying, but the constant corporate speak and chatting about DE&I just makes it all seem so shallow, and then they wonder why actual queer people aren't actually getting involved. the leaders of the LGBTQ 'employee group' are literally one cishet white woman and one white cis gay man

[@vaska00762]

DE&I is currently part of the massive culture war being waged by the right. I think as much as they are lip service most of the time, it'd be worse if this wasn't present in a lot of private sector employers.

[@trouty606]

I work in an office, my husband does not. I made him sit down and watch this with me to he too can feel the absolute psychic damage these types of meetings inflict on people, because your recreation of the vibe is absurdly accurate.

[@morbidsearch]

I noticed a couple of people in the comments criticising the Karen portion and I just wanted to say I loved it and it was a nice change of style for the channel.

[@Zectifin]

it was hilarious.

[@ashleyhamman]

I feel that if companies really want to support LGBT+ groups then they should make sure not only to run pride-related stuff year-round, but also to consider if there is an applicable and appropriate way to improve or add to their merchandise to make it more accessible to those groups. For example, I remember a year or two ago around this season that Toms Shoes had pride themed merchandise outside of pride month (though looking now that appears to be largely absent), but most of the real colorful shoes were in the womens category and accordingly didn't come in larger shoe sizes that people like myself would fit in.

[@raistlinmajere7149]

Also they should make sure they're employees get equal opportunities as straight people

[@ArrowOnionbelly]

Me, a trans woman, passing, looking at cute running shoes: "do these come in a 12?" Every shoe store: "No they only go up to 10. Have you tried the website?" Me: "I'm here to physically try on shoes to ensure comfort and support." Shoe person: "I mean have you tried the men's section?" Me: *looks over at men's section, looking like a desaturation filter got thrown on the same shoes I'm in front of; drab, ugly, a wasteland of form without fashion* "LISTEN, if I wanted to wear men's shoes I'd already be in the MEN'S shoe section, wouldn't I?" Shoemeister: "ok but these fit right" Me: "yes and they feel all right. Do they come in purple?" "No just white and black"

[@LunaBoo12]

​@@ArrowOnionbellyIncredible storytelling. Putting on a desaturation filter is the perfect description of looking from the pretty women's shoes to the bland, boring men's shoes. My spouse laments this every time he tries to buy shoes. He loves the bright colorful ones but has size 13 feet.

[@freddie.spaghetti]

the “brothers and sisters” while talking about inclusivity was so funny 💀

[@DarAndStormy]

Amazing. I loved the subtleties of the acting. The hesitation after the word queer was incredible (<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="210">3:30</a> or so) absolutely killed me

[@vaska00762]

I believe it. Even as a trans woman myself, I have a uneasy relationship with the word "queer" - that word was used as a derogative when I was getting beaten up in school for being a "f*g" and "poof". I don't doubt cishet people who only ever knew it as a derogatory term would hesitate to say it too, especially if they worry about an HR investigation.

[@cookiecat7759]

@@vaska00762im so sorry you went through that at school :(( ive never gone through that kind of bullying so Ive never had a stigma around calling myself queer but I would definitely see how that kind of trauma would make you hesitant

[@vaska00762]

@@cookiecat7759 It's not your fault, so don't apologise. I think it's still important to know that "queer" is still used as a slur, and that by trying to adopt it, anyone who isn't up to speed with the concept of reclaiming slurs probably won't get it. One thing I'll say for sure, is that I've been finding terms like "Sexual and Gender Minorities" to be more appropriate, but GSM is probably more normal as a term in Japan/China, where there's very much less acceptance overall for gay and trans people.

[@bigmanmccheez5342]

​@@vaska00762yeah I get that. The word is still strange to me, but I do choose to use it purely for the simplicity of it. Having to explain aroace to someone is harder than saying "I'm queer". Still prefer it to being called "gay" which was much more infuriating for me.

[@vaska00762]

@@bigmanmccheez5342 I get that - but if I'm going to raise my own caveat, depending on who hears that, it might be misinterpreted as a way to rebrand being bi/pan, rather than what it means to you, a way to explain you're not cishet. As much as I can understand the concept behind making "Queer" interchange with LGBT+, there are most certainly a lot of preconceptions that come with the term. Not forgetting the various stereotypes that I feel do so much more harm than good - there is no one monolithic singular way to be gay, a lesbian, trans, non-binary, gender non-conforming or really... anything. We're all still unique individuals at the end of the day, and I think it's valuable to not only live our true lives as ourselves, but also not letting anyone else define who we are. That has been my rant...

[@lovegottaget]

the real dystopia is that in many countries (including mine) it's against law to be queer(any part of community)

[@wen6519]

Capitalism bad. I still am down to hearing it from Rowan. But also... Yeah. Now that you mention it. Dylan got piled on by anybody right from the center-right of the political spectrum. I wish she had gotten support. I live in the States and this year I barely got to make fun of the Pride collections; which they are cringe, but it still matters to me that they exist, not because they are giving us liberation, but because it reminds me that others exist in real life; most of my LGBT community is online, and just seeing a rainbow flag at a major store sometimes reminds me there's othersout there. I shop at the LGBT owned local stores too y'all, i just like that both things exist in this world. I know all the CEOs put their money on the republican party even if there's a Pride collection at their store.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

"which they are cringe, but it still matters to me that they exist" is such a true statement. It's just important to have the big, visible things sometimes.

[@AI7428]

I'm iffy on rainbow capitalism. On one hand, stores can showcase LGBTQ+ designers. On the other hand, the money can be given to people who will use said money to lobby for anti-LGBTQ+ bills.

[@BryanLu0]

​@NotVille_Too obvious, Mr. Troll

[@headphonesaxolotl]

Capitalism bad, everything else even worse"

[@phoenixvance6642]

​@@AI7428It's only semi-practical function is as a barometer for the current social climate. I wouldn't let it sway my purchasing decisions, unless they support charities or something like that

[@annetheelf8174]

I remember my former workplace changing from selling Bud Light to Coors basically overnight and just throwing out the remaining Bud Light cases. Not surprising though because as I would tell my family members and friends "Knott's Berry Farm loves their conservative clientele". I wasn't even allowed to wear my Pride pins

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

"It's not one monster with one brain stomping over a city, watching its own feet trample those below. It's a collective of people pressing one of thousands of buttons in one of hundreds of compartmentalized sections, many of them unaware of the extent of the destruction around them." Okay, is it just me, or would that make an awesome kaiju movie plot?

[@Vahlee-A]

That already IS a movie plot ... of Godzilla v Kong 2021

[@Sasquatch_sightings]

Watching this while on the clock, every time the “new message” sound played, it had me checking my Teams chat to see who was pinging me. I hate that I’ve been Pavloved like this 😅

[@askii2004]

SAME

[@fionafiona1146]

Don't look into how Pavlov made his money. We are in a awkward situation

[@fiercerodent]

You are almost disturbingly good at playing this sort of corporate person. I cracked up whenever you tried to say LGBTQIA+

[@Ellie-zz6er]

it was kind of unavoidable in this video given the zoom call format, but having small words or important details at the bottom-center of a video makes it difficult for closed caption users to see the details or the captions. I usually have to watch, rewind, turn off captions, watch again, and then turn captions back on to avoid missing information. It’s no big deal to do occasionally, but a creator/editor being cognizant of it is so so appreciated!

[@HeyRowanEllis]

Ooo thank you for pointing it out! Will definitely keep in mind!

[@MsVampireFreak123]

you should be able to click and drag the captions to relocate them

[@tiagofariavieira6367]

I think about it all the time, If you are fighting against homophobia, which is a type of injustice. You also have to fight against other injustices such as racism, sexism, all of them together . Because they all came from the same source capitalism✊️🔥

[@oliviastratton2169]

That's right. No one was sexist, racist, or homophobic before the 17th/18th century. If only Adam Smith hadn't argued against tariffs and subsidies and warned that unchecked government debt could enable warmongering. Then we would all live in a socially progressive, mercantalist utopia.

[@monsterglacier]

No it comes from religion

[@samuelb18]

​@@monsterglacierwhy not both?

[@oliviastratton2169]

@@monsterglacier That’s right. No atheist has ever been sexist, racist, or homophobic. Blaming one societal factor for all human prejudice is so reductive. Humans evolved to be tribal. We're hardwired to form teams and try to distinguish ourselves from other teams. Sometimes those teams are based on innocuous things, like watching Star Trek or listening to Taylor Swift. Other times they're based on divisive things like skin color or gender.

[@marial870]

Inequality doesn't come from capitalism, omg. Have you ever been to some communist countries? Or, read any news about them?

[@matrm5113]

I don’t know why everyone’s hating on Karen, she slayed the wig, outfit and acronyms, now come on

[@ThisIsMaiAccount]

ROWAN GIVE US THE BREAKOUT ROOM

[@JennaGetsCreative]

I love how when she got them back on track to look at companies who are "doing it right," the add was a rainbow handkerchief in a back pocket 🤣 Kinda like Earring Magic Ken right there with the company not realizing what they're saying with symbolism.

[@eloisewatson9489]

"making the community feel seen and heard and valid... as consumers" too real!!

[@kimorourke9988]

As a former corporate drone, this was all unsettlingly accurate.

[@sharkofjoy]

Ok sorry I already commented but I did not see the burger king two bun tops or two bun bottoms at the time and I have to say that is hilarious to me. Am I a bad queer? I mean, I agree, it's absolutely trolling, but I got a chuckle.

[@starryeyes2092]

Rowan is someone who can say "LGBTQIA+" really fast and clearly, like she's Nicki Minaj or smth. The fact that for the bit, she said it stilted and awkward each time rlly shows how committed to it she was. Loved the bit!

[@sharonbaker3007]

I’ve been out of the work force over a decade, and this brought back some wild memories! I worked for a major insurance company 1990-1995, and when I was there we were “allowed” to create a Gay/Lesbian employee group (note the missing members of our community). What a strange experience! And a very long story.😸

[@Kim-iz5fx]

The first section was brilliant and incredibly annoying hahaha ! You play so well i was fascinated

[@tealduckduckgoose]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="640">10:40</a> seeing this ad and knowing about the hanky code is sending me.

[@HeyRowanEllis]

RIGHT?!!!

[@TransDaveStrider]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="632">10:32</a> The handkerchiefs ad took me by surprise. I seriously need to know who made this, I need to ask them what they think the handkerchiefs mean.

[@bosstowndynamics5488]

This is the best criticism of insincere corporate pride culture, both inside and out, that I've ever seen, well done!

[@katiefleece]

There's some wonderful, well-researched content here on YT. If anyone is hesitant to follow Rowan, I promise you won't be disappointed! I can tell how much time and passion is put into each video-it's absolutely palpable! The concept of corporate social responsibility is an incredibly dense subject that has been debated for a long time. I think we're at a point where we should call it a failed experiment when it's so clear that it's always profits>people. Capitalism and social responsibility are like oil and water, but I absolutely prefer the kaiju metaphor.

[@sjc4]

Yup, very little subtlety left in American capitalism. Profit good, employees bad, blah blah blah, our lives are all shit.

[@bosstowndynamics5488]

​@@sjc4There's still room within that structure to extract some small good (we work with what we've got) but in order to do that we need to continue hammering businesses that seek the recognition without doing even the tiniest bit of positive action, and the latter is definitely by far the most common (since that's perceived as yielding similar profit with lower risk).

[@kiarya7939]

Did you just manage to get a recording of the zoom meeting I sat through two weeks ago??? All joking aside, this was SO SPOT ON ❤

[@Eazoon]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="640">10:40</a> "They are also a really ethical brand from an optical point of view, which we love" this is amazing

[@lilyoftheveil666]

As someone who works in a corporate environment (not in marketing, thankfully), that Zoom call was painfully accurate. 10/10 no notes. To your larger point, none of us are free until all of us are free.

[@ImaginaryAlchemist]

The bit about alcohol companies hits quite close to home for me. I had an openly gay cousin who came out when it was still fairly uncommon to do so. Naturally, many family members reacted pretty negatively, including his parents. This rejection contributed to the alcoholism that ended up killing him. It becomes a way to numb the pain, and forget that you're not welcome in your own family. Then there's the fact that alcohol being heavily involved in queer events and ingrained in the community turns many of us away. I personally don't drink because of the damage alcoholism has caused my family. So I feel like I wouldn't fit in most adult queer spaces.

[@kayjaysmusic]

The number of flubs on the recitation of “LGBT..A..I…Plus “ was just incredible 😂😂

[@chayse1225]

Khadija with the shades is a whole vibe

[@abrookinthesky7016]

The Zoom part was one of the funniest things I've seen, tbh was kinda disappointed when it stopped cause it was so brilliant. Your analysis in the second half was really informative too

[@SMokkery]

"we are living in an EQUAL society in this country" omg you know the acting is too good because that made me tense up 😂

[@HeyRowanEllis]

next stop, the oscars

[@FloreCreations]

this format was so good! the 'george' and 'amanda' really embodied my thoughts as well, iconic duo

[@HeyRowanEllis]

them going quiet as they swap to dms is iconic very relatable tbh

[@FloreCreations]

@@HeyRowanEllis it really is, those dms must be wild

[@FrozEnbyWolf150]

Reminds me of a Philosophy Tube sketch, in a good way.

[@Kit_astrophe_]

Yeah I could definitely see Karen working for one of Kelly Slaughter's companies lol

[@HeyRowanEllis]

She’s listened to every episode of Kelly’s podcast for sure

[@shawnorthrop2009]

Loved this, how she demonstrates the for-profit nature with on the dime turns is amazing. Like watching a train wreck. Progressively getting worse at saying LGBTQIA Plus really had me lmao

[@tophatturtle6452]

my mom works on the pride network for the starbucks region we live in and that meeting was so fucking accurate. it felt like i was near her office. well done! to clarify: my mom is great, just describing the general vibe of the progressive zoom meeting i overhear every day

[@isaw9969]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="854">14:14</a> "[...] that we want to be seen as" instead of 'as we are' says a LOT

[@cookiecat7759]

this video was so interesting to watch and as soon as she mentioned “exposure” instead of paying teh queer creators money I cringed so hard and alarm bells rang in my head 😭 this was so well made omg

[@UndeadGirlCyber]

Took me a minute to recognize Rowan under the wig XD very pointed satire! I love how you handle these topics with what I would consider maximum amounts of nuance while not losing your points!

[@fardareismai4495]

The simultaneous rage and need to shut down and dissociate until the meeting is over is such an unsettlingly accurate feeling...

[@tiffanymoton704]

this video is too powerful--10 seconds in and youve got the video essay avengers ASSEMBLED

[@victai163]

"SHOWING UP IS 95% OF THE BATTLE" dear god

[@cedarmoss7173]

I loved the messages during the zoom call! “She just realized that queer people have money.”

[@YukaAkemi]

performance art so immersive to the point my eyes glazed over and I kept having to remind myself I’m not actually in a real zoom call while watching, this was too real and makes my blood run cold

[@Zaylana]

I especially loved the way you had Karen light up when saying A+ in LGBTQIA+ because it felt like a genuine way that people like her would remember to say each bit, especially since A has stood for Ally. Extremely clever and well-created!

[@hydraian]

The amount of "..., ok?", that's dedication to the character.

[@HeyRowanEllis]

luckily i did not turn into a method actor for the part

[@Me-dv3pu]

Pitch perfect corporate pride webinar satire - a corporate drone who sat through many of these 👏🏼

[@nazokashii]

That "board meeting" was *so* painful to watch xD such impeccable performance. Such an important topic, and great coverage of it. Thank you so much for this

[@clickhereandsave]

I wish the struggle to say LGBTQ every single time for 25+ times in one meeting wasn't so accurate.

[@bigmanmccheez5342]

The "L" is fine, "GB" is a struggle occasionally, and anything after "T" just goes out the window.

[@Mecharnie_Dobbs]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="807">13:27</a> "... our LGBTQIA+ brothers, sisters, brosters, and non-binary siblings..."

[@jay1603]

The cadence of 'lgb...t..qia...plus' had me genuinely questioning if the g came after the l

[@kkfenrir]

excellent video but..... was listening to this in the background as i was working and the discord notifs were FREAKIN ME OUT!! 💀

[@CascadianBraeden]

Everytime she says LBGTQIA+ she glances down at a queue card to read it. LOL. The nuance makes for the most effective satire.

[@ashmeadowphoenix]

This was such a thorough discussion! I don't know how it is with other countries, but in the United States, it's not just a desire to maximize shareholder profits, it's the law for more than half of publicly held companies that companies must maximize shareholder profits and was first expressed in Dodge v. Ford (1919) (Mich case, but still the law in Delaware where more than 50% of publicly held companies are domiciled). Private companies have a lot more leeway in doing whatever they want. What sucks is that a lot of activist groups will tell you that it easier to pressure companies than to pressure the government, which is real fucked.

[@nihilasta2661]

20 seconds in and omfg Khadija and Rowan in the same video?! It is a good day woooooo

[@bundibird3213]

The way I wanted to tape her mouth shut from about 1.5 minutes in....!!! You absolutely NAILED the voice and speech patterns, woahhh

[@creaturexxii]

Very interesting and informative video! Love the use of kaiju to convey the point, especially with the golden king himself King Ghidorah! 👑👑👑 🐲🐲🐲

[@SMokkery]

"this was a long long time ago, things are a lot better now" was too good omg 😭😭

[@ieatbookz]

putting this on and doing chores it’s just like I’m in a real work zoom meeting

[@nevreiha]

this character is on point, i love all of the aspects you brought to it.

[@naunga9450]

The air quotes around “preferred pronouns” murdered me. Like I had to stop and scream into a pillow.

[@Rayne_Storms]

The beginning was a great illustration of what it's like in a corporate meeting. So close that I had to skip a bunch 😅 too real 😅

[@neivilde.1242]

take a shot every time karen said "okay"

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

no, karen, this is not okay.

[@hailthequeenFM]

I died of alcohol poisoning.

[@transsexual_computer_faery]

"brothers and sisters" aaah yes, peak allyship

[@LMMolnar]

Oh, my heart! I laughed so hard at some of the chat comments in the Karen section. Loved this video! ❤

[@leftygurl]

tbh the corporate karen bit is spot on. i have to listen to my mom do a lot of meetings in a very similar tone, but just louder for some reason. it’s pitch perfect.

[@meaganyoung452]

11/10 banger video, we need more of your character work, that intro was absolutely amazing, how did you DO that

[@lizzymorang8048]

LOVE this format. And as always, an excellently written and researched essay

[@beaglebeard5299]

Having sat through these kinds of corporate diversity meetings hundreds of times, words can't even describe the visceral reaction this is giving me. I hate it. Great work!

[@cholten99]

It's going to be very interesting in a few years time when research starts to come out of the impact of private internal comms platforms like Slack inside big corporations. The ability for staff to connect peer-to-peer and form sometimes very large and active communities without any management oversight has the potential power to be transformative. In addition it allows employees to often give extremely fast feedback on developing situations. Oh course, it relies on people feeling safe to express their opinions and that's very much going to depend on the actual corporate culture (not the alleged one espoused by the top management team).

[@vaska00762]

Slack, Teams and Google Chat are examples I've seen, and let me tell you, a lot of companies still rely heavily on mailing lists and most group chats I see are ghost towns, unless someone is arranging a drinking event at a pub or bar. Idk how it is in the tech sector, but at least in finance/management consultancy, there's way more cliques around, and even if you write to people saying your DMs are open to chat, you'll get radio silence. Not sure if people just get paranoid that whatever they say will be looked at by internal forensics if a regulatory breach of any kind is thought to have happened.

[@munstify]

The "Sashay Away" graphic at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="986">16:26</a> 😂😂😂😂

[@HeyRowanEllis]

the worst thing? this came with the existing canva slideshow template we used asdfghjk

[@poyitjdr]

I’m trans and I was working at a liquor store in the Bible Belt when Bud Light released the ad with Dylan Mulvaney. There was about a week and a half of ‘boycotts’ at my store and it honestly cracked me up because these transphobes were buying different brands of beer ALSO owned by Bud Light. I didn’t tell them because, honestly, I didn’t care about Bud Lights profit. What I did care about was the vast increase in transphobia people thought was appropriate to launch at a random cashier. It increased my dysphoria because it reminded me that most people still read me as my AGAB and these people assumed I’d share in their ignorant hatred. My boss there didn’t do anything about it, but did turn a blind eye when I went off on one particularly hateful customer. So at least there’s that. I hate that I’m grateful for crumbs.

[@MF-vc3vt]

I have to study but I can't help but watch a bit of the video!! Thanks, Rowan!

[@outsideaglass]

I would pay so much money to see a drag show with performances like Rowan's of Corporate Karens! Just so good. And then you'd be at a performance so you could cry and laugh on each other's shoulders. 😂😭

[@catlawyerwilldefendfortrea6038]

it's upsetting how realistic the zoom call meeting is. The way I clenched when you said KPI's. I'm a graphic designer and I've been in way too many meeting like this.

[@savannah9503]

Omg brilliant. Been a fan for awhile but I don't think I've ever seen you do a character, the language / mannerisms / clipart aesthetic were just uncannily real 😂