When Nissan USA asked if my spouse and I would like to attend an influencer weekend, I said yes—it’s important for us LGBTQ folks to have a seat at the table (or in the vehicle). Come along on our ride to the Catskills, with my musings on corporate allyship!
The Adventure
We were hosted at Autocamp Catskills, a luxury glamping site in upstate New York, near the historic town of Woodstock, location of the 1969 music festival. Our “X Suite” at Autocamp was a boxy but stylish little cabin, a bit larger than their Airstreams, with a bedroom, sitting area, kitchenette, and bathroom with shower. We also had access to the Clubhouse for breakfast, happy hour, and hanging out.
The first night, our group enjoyed a delicious meal by Chef Lonny Geller (courtesy of Tivity, which connects party hosts with great chefs). Chef Lonny’s homemade pizzas, baked in portable Ooni pizza ovens, had perfectly bubbly, slightly charred crusts, with a a variety of great toppings. (Pictured: prosciutto and arugula; pepperoni with Mike’s Hot Honey; margherita.) His eggplant parmigiana was so good I ate it before I got a picture.
The next day, we explored the area, sampled some restaurants, and even took a pottery class at Kingston Ceramics Studio, something we’d both wanted to try. This was the perfect short getaway—and we were having so much fun that we took the back roads home, a decision that the car was happy to accommodate.
The Car
Nissan lent us a 2023 Pathfinder Rock Creek for our three-hour trip. The Rock Creek model of this three-row SUV is a rugged vehicle with intelligent four-wheel-drive, increased clearance, 18″ wheels and all-terrain tires, 6000-pound towing capacity, and tubular roof rack, ready for almost any kind of adventure you can throw at it.
For families, doors that swing extra wide make it easier to get a kid out of a car seat. The push-button Latch and Glide system makes it simple to move the second-row captain’s seats forward to allow kids (or dogs, or the extra three members of your softball team or drag troupe) out of the third row. The deep, removable rubber floor mats also make it easy to clean out whatever crud may accumulate.
The weather in the northeast was unseasonably pleasant, so we didn’t get a chance to test the car in the snow, but it handled surprisingly well on both the highway and on twisting back roads. The ProPILOT Assist combined adaptive cruise control and a system to keep the car centered in its lane, while the Nissan Safety Shield 360 technology gave lane departure and blind-spot warnings, and will even trigger emergency braking if a pedestrian is detected.
While the Pathfinder we drove to the Catskills was a shimmering Glacier White, I actually preferred the Obsidian Green Pearl; the dark green emphasized the vehicle’s tough, outdoorsy vibe. It made me want to throw on a flannel shirt and drive up a mountain (because yes, I am that kind of lesbian). They also showed us one in Scarlet Ember, a glittering red worthy of a drag queen’s nail polish (and there are other colors if none of those suit).
Driving Towards Equality
I don’t work with companies that don’t support the LGBTQ community. The first thing I did when Nissan contacted me was to look up their HRC Corporate Equality Index (CEI) score, a respectable 90/100. While a CEI score is not the only way to assess a company’s LGBTQ-friendliness, it’s a good place to start. Additionally, Nissan USA is based in Tennessee, a state with a history of anti-LGBTQ legislation—but in 2020 and 2021, Nissan signed letters with dozens of other corporations opposing anti-LGBTQ bills.
This year, however, 24 anti-LGBTQ bills are currently advancing in the Tennessee legislature—only five other states also have more than 20. An additional two bills have become law, banning public drag shows or ones where minors are present, and banning gender-affirming healthcare for transgender and nonbinary youth. Some parents of LGBTQ children have already left the state because of anti-LGBTQ laws. There has not been, to the best of my knowledge, a collective letter from Tennessee corporations opposing any of this year’s anti-LGBTQ bills, which seems a grave mistake.
Nissan will, however, be a presenting sponsor of Nashville Pride in 2023 (as it was last year), despite the new anti-drag law. (And if you think there will be Pride without drag, you don’t know drag queens.) Nissan also supports the Oasis Center in Nashville, which provides crisis services to LGBTQ youth. Additionally, they’ve supported Pride and LGBTQ events in many other places, and not only in June. That’s more than many corporations have done.
Nissan USA has shown itself to be an ally. But with the record number of anti-LGBTQ bills across the country this year, our allies must step up more than ever, particularly in states like Tennessee. I hope Nissan senior executives are turning to its LGBTQ employee network, the Gay-Straight Alliance at Nissan (GSAN), among others, for advice on making it clear to politicians that such legislation is lethal to hiring, recruitment, and retention, and generally bad for business (as well as for people).
Such corporate actions can make a difference. In 2016, North Carolina businesses advocated for their employees and customers in the face of the anti-LGBTQ HB2, ultimately leading to a repeal of the law. LGBTQ consumers and our families and friends expect similar efforts from our corporate allies today.
I am grateful to Nissan for the fun weekend, great company, cool car, and for their ongoing support of the LGBTQ community. I have also shared the points above with my contacts there, in the hope that Nissan will do even more at this critical time.
The opportunity is clear: LGBTQ Americans wield more than $1.4 trillion in spending power. An estimated 3.8 million LGBTQ millennials are considering starting or growing their families (which may require a change of vehicle). And we’re notably loyal to brands who truly support us. It’s also just the right thing to do: to help employees and customers live their lives with equality, dignity, and respect.
Like the Pathfinder’s systems that monitor the road and take action to keep passengers safe, active corporate support of LGBTQ equality and rejection of inequality helps protect us and our families so we can focus on enjoying our lives and adventures. It’s thus both a good idea and consistent with the brand—and is needed now more than ever.
