Apple Launches New 2018 Pride Band for Apple Watch, Available to Buy Today

[anarchos]

As other people have explained, it’s because we as a community have been told for a veerrrry long time that we should be ashamed of ourselves, and should hide away for the sake of “public decency”. The whole point of the Pride movement is to say that we’re not ashamed of who we are, and we won’t hide any longer.

Except it’s not that easy, even now. I “came out” almost 20 years ago, but I still come into contact with people who don’t realise I’m gay, and say incredibly offensive things *right in front of my damn face* about gay people, without even realising they’re describing me.

And when that happens I have a choice. Confront them about it, and (apparently) “make a big deal” about my sexuality, and face possible escalation of their homophobia. Or let it slide, scurry back into the closet for a while, pretend I didn’t hear anything. I did that once at the start of a new job, and spent the next couple years hiding my sexuality from people at work, so as not to cause a scene, to avoid making things complicated.

And I hated myself for doing that, for letting fear and hesitation win and retreating back to the safety zone of being “normal”. So the reason I, personally, bought last year’s Pride band (and will be buying this year’s too), and enjoy wearing it from time to time, is because it reminds me to not be afraid or ashamed of who I am. It’s a colourful, bright, stripey mark that stops me from shuffling back into the shadows. It’s a symbol of the big extended family I belong to, that I stand with, together, refusing to shut up and go away. And that’s a big deal for us.

Thank you for sharing this. As a closeted gay man, this is incredibly inspiring!

I've just bought the band, partly to support the LGBTQ advocacy organisations. Hope I will muster the courage to actually wear it! =)

 

[RichTF]

Thank you for sharing this. As a closeted gay man, this is incredibly inspiring!

I've just bought the band, partly to support the LGBTQ advocacy organisations. Hope I will muster the courage to actually wear it! =)

Aww, thanks, glad that it helped! It gets better, it really does, pretty much anyone who’s been out for a while will tell you that.

Hope you manage to enjoy Pride season, in whatever way you can. It’s a great time for getting that extra bit of motivation you need. And don’t hesitate to PM me if you need someone to talk to. It’s been a while now, but I can still remember how terrifying it was to be hiding the whole time.

 

[MarkB786]

I know right? The rest of the keynote were just jumbo jumbo, so I’m going to complain the only thing I understand, and for you it’s watch bands. :shrug:

Nah. I don't watch these worthless keynotes anymore. I just decided to complain about the most ridiculous thing out of the string of hopelessly boring and uninspiring announcements. Feels like these Apple events are following the same slow, painful demise of American Idol. Exciting for years, then blah blah blah.

 

[pika2000]

Nah. I don't watch these worthless keynotes anymore. I just decided to complain about the most ridiculous thing out of the string of hopelessly boring and uninspiring announcements. Feels like these Apple events are following the same slow, painful demise of American Idol. Exciting for years, then blah blah blah.

Sure, because like I said, you don’t understand what being presented, which is why it is called DEVELOPER CONFERENCE.

Having no understanding on things yet having plenty to complain about, negates the complaints.

 

[MarkB786]

Sure, because like I said, you don’t understand what being presented, which is why it is called DEVELOPER CONFERENCE.

Having no understanding on things yet having plenty to complain about, negates the complaints.

You do understand that the keynote is a marketing event, right? The rest of the conf might be technical, but think back to the Jobs days. Pure marketing. Apple has almost nothing to talk about these days.

 

[sirozha]

Apple always has something to talk about: new emoji, new watch bands, and new watch faces.

 

[Black Tiger]

You failed to mention a straight white pride. Oh, sorry, that is a racist concept.
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Rainbow was not created to honor gays. It was created for a different purpose, but the beautiful concept and symbol have been hijacked for the “in-your-face”’ gay propaganda. I’m for equal rights for gays but against their aggressive marketing campaign, which is exactly what Cook is shoving down our throats. Maybe we should demand the ISIS flag watch face, the devil worshipper watch face, the confederate flag watch face, the Nazi and Communist watch faces the Black Panther watch face, etc. so that all extreme groups are represented in the Apple stock software, since custom watch faces are not allowed. What do you think?

I think that your heart is full of hate; life is too short to hold onto these kinds of poisonous viewpoints. Accepting and embracing others, even those different from you, leads to greater happiness and fulfillment.
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You do understand that the keynote is a marketing event, right? The rest of the conf might be technical, but think back to the Jobs days. Pure marketing. Apple has almost nothing to talk about these days.

It’s not that Apple doesn’t have anything to talk about. It’s just that Steve propelled the company to such enormous heights that it doesn’t need a keynote to sell its products to the extent that it used to. Steve dedicated entire segments to, among other things, stand-alone computer displays, iPod socks, and switching to new processors. None of these are particularly remarkable, but his delivery made them seem that way. The much underplayed Apple Watch was deemed boring by many due to the absence of the Jobs-like marketing pitch. But it doesn’t change the product itself. The bottom line is that if the keynote is what sold you on a product, then the product couldn’t sell on its own merit. The fact that Apple is selling more products today than it ever did under Jobs suggests that the strategy they are currently using, in fact, works.
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Sure, because like I said, you don’t understand what being presented, which is why it is called DEVELOPER CONFERENCE.

Having no understanding on things yet having plenty to complain about, negates the complaints.

Agreed it’s a developer conference. I think Apple fans get so excited about Apple products, that when there aren’t new ones announced, it’s viewed as a letdown of sorts. Apple is also inconsistent with WWDC. Yes it is a developer conference, but there is a precedent of product announcements at this conference, too, so let’s not pretend like Apple would never announce a new product at WWDC. They have many times. So if people have come to expect new products at WWDC it is Apple’s fault that expectations aren’t met.
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So anyone with pride in anything will buy this band?
Golly. What a money making concept. Or could I be mistaken, and Apple is exhibiting bias?

Would you make the same argument about product red? Apple releases a product with a charitable purpose (product red and the pride band) and makes a donation to those causes, and this is a bad thing? Come on.