A rhinestone encrusted ATM in Ponsonby, Auckland
A series of paint attacks on New Zealand’s police stations and banks has introduced the concept of pinkwashing to the masses, amid the country’s major rainbow pride festival. Pinkwashing describes when corporations use gay-friendly marketing tactics to increase their grip on the so-called pink dollar. Earlier this month, ANZ bank installed four attention-grabbing ATMs across Wellington and Auckland, with which the bank aimed to promote diversity and understanding. The GAYTM installations followed the successful installation of similar ATMs in Australia last year ahead of the Sydney Mardi Gras.
One of the cash machines, encrusted with 120,000 rhinestones arranged into a lurid floral design and located in the affluent Auckland suburb of Ponsonby, was vandalised late last week. The attack saw the ATM, which was the result of more than 300 hours of work by artist Reuben Paterson, splattered with a pale pink paint the day before the Pride Parade, which is the centrepiece of the festival. Initial reports speculated that the attack came as part of a homophobic outburst, and after discovering the mess ANZ bank Tweeted: “Our Ponsonby GAYTM was vandalised this morning. Sadly some people still ignorant and intolerant”. The reaction to this on was prompt, righteous disgust across social media.
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Interestingly, a previously unknown activist group dubbed Queers Against Injustice claimed to be responsible for the attack. In a written statement, the group said they vandalised the machine and then left a manifesto detailing their motives. However, the note was never publicised in any news reports, a move which the Queers Against Injustice wrote was “probable concealment” by the bank, forcing them to come forward.
In the statement, Queers Against Injustice revealed that they targeted the machine to draw attention to the commercialisation of the Pride Festival. The nearly month-long festival is now in its third year and encompasses events held across the Auckland region to celebrate LGBFQI culture. “As queer subjects, we object to the representation of queer identity in terms of consumptive and wealthy citizens. Associating queer politics with personal banking within a gentrified area reduces the queer subject to a bourgeois, cis-gender, white, male subject, and in doing so reproduces many of the intersecting injustices by which queer subjects are marginalised,” the group wrote. “We sought to draw attention to the lack of representation of bodies that counter the racist, classist and cis-biased nature of Pride”. They also sought to draw attention to the way ANZ is using GAYTMs to to distract attention from the treatment of their workers, while increasing profits with pinkwashing.
The vandalism received a mixed bag of responses. Left-wing blogger Martyn Bradbury welcomed the group’s actions, arguing that they “have hit upon the depoliticisation of NZ culture to the point that even the Queer Community who have struggled and fought for civil rights have now succumbed to it”. Meanwhile, some commentators criticised the protest for lacking a clear message. Steve Gray, an openly gay and outspoken blogger, said it was “sloppy” and the group “should have ensured their message got across on the day, not three days later”.
It seems those criticisms were heard loud and clear. Last night saw two more ANZ branches splattered in a bolder Pepto-Bismol hue of pink, and notes outlining the reasons clearly plastered to the windows. The notes compare pinkwashing to tactics used by Israel to distract from the military occupation of Palestine. As well as the banks, two Auckland police stations have been struck with paint. The police were targeted following a scuffle during the weekend’s Pride Parade where a small group of protesters stood against officers marching in the parade. The protesters were aiming to highlight that the queer, Maori, and Pasifika communities are disproportionately harassed and targeted by police. It was the first time police have been allowed to march in the parade in uniform. During the scuffle a Maori trans woman had her arm broken by security.
The paint attacks do not seem to have blanket support for the queer community, with one gay media outlet calling the move “petty”. It is as yet unclear whether Queers Against Injustice or another group are responsible for the latest round of vandalism on the banks and police buildings. But one thing is clear, the attention has taken the largely undiscussed issue of pinkwashing and put it distinctly into the public forum.
Follow Danielle on Twitter: @danielle_street
