PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC – The Prague Public Transport Company (DPP) is facing criticism from LGBTQ+ organizations after launching a marketing campaign with the slogan, "I identify as a trolleybus." The phrase, displayed on two buses and a tram, was intended to celebrate the 90th anniversary of trolleybus service in the city and promote their reintroduction as a modern, zero-emission transport option.
However, the campaign has been widely condemned for echoing a common transphobic meme used to mock and invalidate the identities of transgender and non-binary individuals.
An 'Upbeat' Message Gone Wrong
According to a company spokesperson, the slogan was meant to be a lighthearted use of personification. The idea was to portray older diesel buses as 'wishing' they were the new, eco-friendly trolleybuses. The vehicles were painted in the purple and white livery of the new fleet to reinforce the concept.
"It is a deliberately upbeat visual and verbal shorthand for the transition from traditional diesel bus services to modern, locally zero-emission trolleybuses," spokesperson Daniel Šabík told local media. He insisted the campaign was "absolutely not intended as a comment on the personal identity of any group of people."
Community and Political Backlash
Despite the company's stated intentions, the response from community advocates was swift. Prague Pride, the city's largest LGBTQ+ organization, issued a statement explaining the harm caused by the slogan.
"The campaign by the Transport Company uses a slogan that (we hope) unintentionally connects to discussions that devalue or ridicule trans and non-binary people," the statement read. "The idea that people identify as ‘objects’ is a myth... Language shapes our perception of the world and it is important to realize that humor has its limits."
The controversy also drew political attention. Zdeněk Hřib, the former Mayor of Prague who now sits on the transport company's supervisory board, publicly called the slogan "inappropriate" and stated he would press the company to address the issue.
The slogan's phrasing is a direct parallel to the "I sexually identify as an attack helicopter" meme, which has been used for years in online spaces to mock gender identity by equating it with an absurd, arbitrary choice. For many in the trans and non-binary community, this form of 'joke' is a frequent and tiresome part of the hostility they face.
The incident serves as a case study in corporate messaging, highlighting how campaigns intended to be humorous can inadvertently cause harm by tapping into sensitive and damaging cultural rhetoric, regardless of the creators' intent.
