Hey pals! It’s Mel Woods, Xtra’s news writer, coming to you from Vancouver. I’m knee-deep in this weird Canadian federal election, and coping by binge-watching the original L Word for the first time (wow, Jenny sucks!).
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What’s the buzz 🐝?
Sometimes a “main character” emerges on Twitter. Whether it’s an account or a person or a news event, every now and then, something captures the attention of a certain segment of the social media platform. Think of bean dad or that time a right-wing Canadian columnist used dog shampoo.
The main character of queer Twitter this week was the new banking start-up Daylight, which promises to be “Banking for LGBT+ people, by LGBT+ people.”
Daylight’s been easing into its launch since earlier this year, complete with finance workshops hosted by Canada’s Drag Race eliminees. But a viral tweet on Monday calling out the start-up blew up on social media. The ensuing criticism, jokes and call-outs were swift, with many users pointing out the irony of a literal rainbow bank when that’s something we joke about at Pride every year.
For their part, Daylight responded with some classic anthropomorphized brand social media account humour.
But within a day, that response and pretty much all of the bank’s interaction with online criticism was deleted. Head to their timeline now, and the feed is pretty much sunshine and rainbows. It turns out, it’s actually pretty easy to dunk on a gay bank.
It’s all Twitter drama that no one in the outside world should actually care about, right? Not exactly. The whole ordeal raises the larger question of whether or not we should have a “gay bank” backed by USD$5 million in seed capital in the first place.
What were we thinking 🤑?
I’ll fully admit that I participate in some good ol’ rainbow capitalism. When a local coffee shop puts out a rainbow donut for Pride, you better believe I’m buying it. I shop at IKEA, where yes, their pledge to support LGBTQ2S+ equality was printed on a literal closet (and that’s saying nothing of the couches of it all). I participated in a lavish PR trip organized by a hotel chain trying to prove that they’re queer allies.
But something about a bank tokenizing and using queer and trans people to promote their brand feels extra icky. And it turns out that a banking start-up doesn’t just benevolently appear with the sole purpose of making queer lives better—frequent Xtra contributor Niko Stratis pointed out that there’s a lot more to this venture than meets the eye.
Yes, the gay bank is literally funded by notable straight bank/corporate Pride sponsor Citi, among other traditional financial institutions. Citi in itself offers many of the services Daylight is promising, like correct names on banking cards. And other diligent queers were quick to dig up some more dirt.
These institutions and structures actively harming queer people shouldn’t be able to co-opt our images and our identities for their material gain. And yes, that includes a seemingly well-meaning gay bank.
The problems that Daylight aims to solve are real. Trans people deserve to have their correct names on bank cards. Supporting LGBTQ2S+ businesses is a good thing to do. And as I reported literally last week, there is a very real LGBTQ2S+ wealth gap.
But a banking start-up with $5 million in seed capital isn’t going to fix any of that. This entire situation leaves behind the same sour taste as U.S. immigrations and customs enforcement (which has directly contributed to the deaths of queer and trans people) wishing us a happy Pride, or rainbow decals on cop cars. When proposing solutions to or support for what queer and trans people are asking for, it reads as hella tone-deaf.
Daylight also, in its app-based “yas queen” start-up model, evokes memories of Solace, a “trans health” app that really just sold products like bluetooth breast implants or Starbucks giftcards for non-binary people (because if there’s anything that’s going to help my non-binary trans-masc transition, it’s a pumpkin spice latte).
If you ask me, queer liberation isn’t about having a “gay version” of the capitalist structures around us. The solution to alienation won’t come from an app. The rainbow banks won’t save us—especially in a world where, during a Canadian federal election, the major parties have barely mentioned vital issues, like trans health care access; where abortion access is being cut-off; and where, over the past year, there has been a sharp increase in hate crimes against trans people.
Anyways, the gay bank’s gonna be a no from me, dawg.
In other Xtra news 🌎
👉Senior editor Erica Lenti’s long-read is a captivating look into how a small team of queer and trans investigators are seeking justice for unidentified “Trans Doe” victims.
👉Can Beyoncé keep ruling the world after 40? Thomas and Tranna break it down.
👉It turns out that watching reality TV like Vanderpump Rules is the perfect way to sort out your own drama.
👉Editor Paul Gallant has a preview of 19 books you’ll want for your shelves this fall.
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