It’s pride month and the rainbows are out again. 🌈
Lots of brands switch their profile picture or their logo with a colourful rainbow flag for the whole month, and I keep asking myself: is one month a year enough to support human rights? Is it true allyship with the LGBTQI+ community or just marketing? How bad is “rainbow-washing”?
I have to confess that when I see my favourite brands and agencies unfolding their digital pride flag on social media it makes me happy and gives me hope. I see the positive side (possibly in a naive way): everyone – united – to support diversity and fight injustice towards a wide range of sexual orientations and gender expressions.
Does it really matter if a brand puts their rainbow out even though they’re doing nothing else to address the problem?
I don’t think it does.
More rainbows = more conversations. I see it this way.
We need to educate ourselves and educate others. If we feel that June is the right month to wake up, then let’s wake up in June.
An opportunity to learn
Diverse reproductive or sexual anatomy, gender identities and sexual orientations are not a new thing. They’ve always been there. Our society has just actively chosen to look away from them for centuries.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and pansexual persons still face obstacles when it comes to accessing many of their rights, but do we even know that those words mean? I can’t even remember the whole acronym (or alphabet soup).
Let’s start from the basics, hopefully this will help us understand¹:
- Lesbian and Gay are sexual orientations. Lesbian and gay people are attracted by the same sex they identify with, while Bisexuals and Pansexuals are attracted by all sex and genders;
- Transgender is a person who was assigned the wrong gender at birth (the gender they identify with doesn’t match the gender that was assigned to them)²;
- Queer or Questioning is an umbrella term for anyone who is non-cisgender³ or heterosexual;
- Intersex people are born with physical or biological sex characteristics that don’t fit the typical definitions of female or male;
- Asexual is a sexual orientation characterized by not feeling sexual attraction or sexual desire towards anyone. This doesn’t necessarily mean lack of romantic or emotional attraction⁴.
I’m still confused. What should I do?
Many people get confused all the time. You don’t have to remember the right acronym or even the meaning of those terms. You can be respectful, inclusive and supportive just by keeping your mind open and ask questions if you’re confused.
- Ask. Be curious. If you know or meet a non-binary person, use that opportunity to learn. Showing authentic curiosity is never a lack of respect. Quite the opposite;
- Remember that it’s not easy to be a complex shape and not fit into the “traditional” two slots that some white guy or some religion decided to shape society around. Show empathy and help people facing these challenges, they might be struggling with their mental health;
- Never—ever–be passive and let heterosexism or discrimination happen in front of your eyes without doing anything. Act and educate. Disrespectful behaviours are always fueled by ignorance;
- Watch insightful and authentic shows such as You Can’t Ask That (I love that show 🙃);
- Model the language a person uses for themselves. Make the biggest effort to use the right pronouns; it’s a form of respect that can dramatically decrease suicide attempts and improve mental health for people struggling in a limiting society or closed-minded family;
- Be inclusive and add your pronouns to your email signature and social media accounts. Invite your colleagues and family to do the same.
Let’s avoid rainbow fatigue and let’s keep the conversation going. 🌈
¹ Just so you know, I’m far from being an expert in this matter. All the information in this article is the product of some basic research and some meaningful conversations. Sources: UCSF, Social Protection & Human Rights, Wikipedia, You Can’t Ask That (ABC iview).
² The transgender umbrella includes transsexual, transvestite, genderqueer, genderfluid, non-binary, genderfuck, genderless, agender, non-gendered, third gender, two-spirit, bigender, and trans man and trans woman.
³ Cisgender (pronounced sis-gender) is a gender identity that a person, or society, deems to match the sex that a doctor assigned them at birth. In other words, someone who does not identify as transgender.
⁴ Lack of romantic attraction = Aromantic.
