Harley-Davidson Is Getting Called "Woke" by Some Right-Wing Influencers

Few companies have come to represent a certain kind of American masculinity more fully than Harley-Davidson. The motorcycle company is more than 100 years old, and for much of that time, it's catered to a primarily male audience, many of whom probably lean Republican in our modern politics.

Now, though, there are some on the right who are ready to give up their Harleys for good, leading many to wonder what happened to the well-known motorcycle maker. Here's what we know.

The controversy over Harley-Davidson began after music video director Robby Strickland suggested that it had "gone woke." Namely, he suggested that Harley-Davidson was now engaged in DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) efforts, which are pretty common across companies and are mostly just efforts to ensure that companies hire a diverse pool of employees, which is good both for the individual companies and for the world more generally.

Nevertheless, there are many on the right who take offense at these efforts, suggesting that they promote some sort of "reverse racism" by discriminating against the white men who have controlled the levers of American power for generations.

In a post on Twitter, Robby wrote, “If you love America you won’t want a Harley." Robby went on to write that the company's CEO Jochen Zeitz had made the company "totally woke."

Robby then listed an extensive range of things that he thought his followers would find offensive, including explaining that Harley-Davidson had a 90/100 score from the Human Rights Council, which exists to promote and protect human rights around the world. I'll let the reader make of that what they will. What seems clear, though, is that Robby wants his followers to boycott Harley-Davidson until they decide to be much less woke than they are now.

Although the allegations being made my Robby may seem a little silly to some, there's no doubt that they have resonated with others who feel like the companies they once loved are suddenly embracing LGBTQ+ people and supporting policies they disagree with.

Previous boycotts that started online, including one of Bud Light after the company partnered with a trans influencer during pride month, have been remarkably effective.

That has been especially true when the company in question pulls large conservative customers. Harley-Davidson has yet to offer any concrete response to calls to boycott its brand, but this kind of boycott may be more difficult simply because motorcycle sales are not as high as something like beer sales. You buy only a couple of bikes over the course of your life, which means yearly sales are a lot lower.

What remains true, though, is that the vast majority of companies have implemented some sort of DEI initiative so they can attract as many qualified employees as possible. DEI initiatives may have some political messaging value, but they're also just smart business for companies that are competing both for customers and for employees.