Lifestyle

Listerine releases rainbow mouthwash and LGBT people aren’t impressed

  • May 23 2019
  • Written by Lydia Smith

Listerine has launched a rainbow bottle (Listerine)

The mouthwash brand Listerine has released a rainbow-coloured bottle and the LGBT community isn’t here for it.

The product is part of Johnson & Johnson’s Care With Pride range and is covered in rainbow stripes and words including “healing” and “harmony”.

The scheme donates funds to LGBT+ groups such as PFLAG and the Trevor Project, a non-profit organisation and confidential suicide hotline for LGBT+ youth.

Each year, brands attempt to show solidarity with the LGBT+ community by launching rainbow-themed products.

But earlier this month, there was a debate over whether an M&S “LGBT sandwich” – lettuce, guacamole, bacon and tomato in rainbow packaging – was a step too far.

And people have a lot to say about the Listerine bottle.

One person wrote: “Only the gay who has mastered all seven of these Listerine spirits shall be our next supreme.”

“We as gay people, we get to choose how we freshen our breath,” another added.

Pointing to rainbow-themed products by the hair care brand OGX, another joked: “Can’t wait to drink my cold brew absolutely stinking of tea tree and Listerine. ‘Gay rights!'”

One wrote on social media: “I’m so f*****g tired of companies just chucking a rainbow on their s***e to sell to us as if it means something.”

After M&S launched their Pride-themed sandwich, social media users debated whether or not they agree with it.

The supermarket released the BLT-plus-guacamole sandwich to raise money for the Albert Kennedy Trust, a charity dedicated to helping homeless LGBT+ youth.

The retailer says it has donated £10,000 to the charity, and will be making a further £1,000 donation to another charity called BeLong to Youth Services in Ireland.

Despite the supermarket’s charitable intentions, however, some social media users suggested members of the LGBT+ community should steal the product from shelves.

“Calling all LGBTs”, a Twitter user called Aaron wrote, “get yourselves down [to] Marks and Spencer and help yourself to a free gay sandwich,” he wrote.

“No need to pay babe, just walk in and take this trash off the shelves,” the tweet read.

“Equating us to a sandwich?,” another tweet said, “I can’t imagine them doing this with other marginalised groups.”

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