Salt Lake City, Utah — June is Pride Month, which was created to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall Riots. Pride Month celebrates the LGBTQ+ community, which has been underrepresented and discriminated against throughout history.
This month has become the latest hot-bottom topic in the culture wars, as some people have tried to engage in cancel culture to nix pride events. This led to a battle in the comments section of one Utah ski resort’s Instagram post.
On Friday, May 31st, Solitude Mountain Resort announced that they were participating in the annual Pride Parade. They participated with Brighton in the parade, and Snowbird also participated with a separate float. This is nothing new, as Solitude participated in the Pride parade in prior years.
Utah, which is among the most conservative places in the United States, definitely has a segment of people who don’t like Pride Month. This was shown by hundreds of comments on their Instagram posts.
Comments were unsurprisingly pretty visceral, with people resorting to whataboutism:
- “What in the hell does this have to do with skiing or snowboarding[?]”
- “Where was your veterans float? Priorities to what is most important noted [Solitude responded to this comment, noting that they support veterans in a variety of ways]”
- “I didn’t realize snow needed a political agenda. But I’m glad to know how the mountain really feels- will be pulling all three of my children out of your teams. I want focus on skiing not sexual orientation. Happy to take my money to another mountain.”
- “These lunatics aren’t your core customers who makes you money!😂”
- “🤣🤣 Bud Light II hope it doesn’t affect sales next season! Anyone seen a parade honoring Vets? 1st Responders? Teachers? Anything else?? This is whats most important to represent about Snow Bird? Im struggling with the significant connection here? Doesnt bother me I just dont get it?? The need to advertise sexuality? One’s sexual preferences and tie it to a Ski Resort?? To each their own but I must be missing something here??”
To answer the hecklers above, there are various reasons why celebrating pride is important. For one, engaging in activities during Pride Month helps remove stigmas and stereotypes in the community. Secondly, participating in the parade promotes advocacy, which is important in Utah, as there has been a rise in laws that have been against the interests of the LGBTQ+ community in recent years (even if it’s better than in other parts of the country). For more reasons why celebrating pride is important, check out this article by Michigan Tech’s Office Of Diversity and Inclusion.
For the ski industry, inclusion for the LGBTQ+ community is also important. Historically, skiing has been a sport for the wealthy. So, being inclusive of more communities outside of the straight white male demographic is ultimately vital to the continued success of the ski industry. Secondly, it’s important for Solitude to support community members, whether that be employees or guests.
With a rise in hateful comments towards the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month (see basically any social media post where a company/sports team wishes a Happy Pride), it’s important for a ski resort like Solitude to step up for members of its community.
Here’s one of the more reasonable comments:
“All the hateful comments just show why pride is important. Glad to see the resorts showing they support people’s right to be themselves. Being in the mountains should be a place where everyone can come together and have fun!”
Image/Video Credits: Solitude Mountain Resort
