A 50p ‘pride coin’? What are LGBT+ people supposed to do with that?

Pride month is just around the corner, and with its impending arrival comes a plethora of products, supposedly supporting the LGBT+ community. Unfortunately, as many of us know all too well, this is far from the truth.

Rainbow decorated commodities simply pay lip service, and brands pretend to be allies to make a profit. During the month of June, our identities often become nothing more than a means to make a quick buck. But nothing embodies this hypocrisy quite so poignantly as the new Pride 50p coin.

Announced on 18 May, its unveiling has prompted a range of responses. Some welcome this unique commemorative “celebration”, designed by artist and LGBT+ activist Dominique Holmes – but more see it for what it is: a falsity.

Ben Pechey, queer activist and author of The Book of Non-Binary Joy, says: “The pride 50p coin is a classic piece of virtue signalling that the community did not ask for. The fact that it is not legal tender and has to be purchased shows the offhand manner in which the government and institutions wish to engage with the LGBT+ community currently.”

This coin is meant to be a symbol of the LGBT+ legacy over the last 50 years of Pride UK, and the words pride, protest, unity, visibility, and equality are its key features. How ironic then that this item is made for a nation that has fallen off the list of top 10 friendliest LGBT+ countries for the first time in years.

Back in 2014, the UK was at the top of the list and regarded as beacon of queer hope across Europe. How quickly the tables have turned, with us now ranking 14th within only four years.

As LGBTQIA+ presenter and podcaster Jack Remmington explains, there is a great irony about the word “protest” featuring on the coin, “whilst the Home Office is doing all they can to outlaw even the most peaceful of protests”.

As if that wasn’t insulting enough, there’s also the ongoing issue of conversion therapy here in the UK, with the government never fully committing to what needs to be done. Not only will they allow therapy as long as there’s consent (which can be coerced), they also refuse to recognise the dangers of trans conversion therapy. How can we believe our history is being celebrated when all the factors that actually matter – our rights, our input, our place in society – aren’t honoured?

Jack continues: “It’s not lost on me also that the government has actively acknowledged the dangers of conversion therapy and is set to make it illegal for LGB people but not for trans folk. As such, I take no pleasure in seeing a coin seeking to ‘celebrate’ our diverse community whilst actively stripping it of its rights.”

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Ben, Jack, and myself aren’t the only ones feeling this way. When I asked for those within the queer community to share their thoughts, dozens replied, all of them saying the same thing. They felt mocked; treated like a doll, so easily picked up when the occasion calls for it, but so easily misplaced once playtime is over. When it’s election time, politicians are quick to pledge their support – but actions speak louder than campaigning.

Even the Royal Mint’s pledge to donate £40,000 to London LGBT Community Pride doesn’t ease concerns, as money, while invaluable for any charity, doesn’t address matters of policy and important conversations that need to be had. Money doesn’t buy us a seat at the table, nor does a commemorative coin.

Podcaster Spencer Cooper agrees: “To cut funding in key areas that support the LGBT+ community but then print a rainbow on the currency seems a little bit backwards to me. In a time where the government is showing less and less support for LGBT+ people and pushing our rights and our fight lower down the priority list, it’s exhausting to see anything even remotely performative.”

It appears that Royal Mint, a government-owned company, would like us to spend money we no longer have (thanks to the cost of living crisis), to own a coin that’s apparently meaningless. They must think us easily swayed by the hint of a rainbow – but rainbows don’t cover up injustices.