Gender-Inclusive examples expand

Historically our non-binary and trans communities have been completely overlooked and under-catered. While this continues to be a significant issue today the number of examples of brands addressing these groups is a (while slow to grow) positive sign.

ENTERTAINMENT

Sending the right message to even the teeniest of tots Disney Junior recently aired an episode of Muppet Babies called Gonzo-rella. In the episode the group are playing "royal ball" and Piggy tells Gonzo they must dress as a knight. The episode has a very lovely resolution however:

HOSPITALITY

Starbucks, a cafe where your name is always required, played off this element with a Cannes Award winning campaign. Many people in the trans community continuously struggle with documentation that contains their old name. In one of Brazil's São Paulo stores on the National day of Trans Visibility Starbucks made it possible for anyone to come in and legally rectify their names in a safe environment, handled with dignity and respect.

I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING

FASHION

Converse recently came together with Minus18 to create a LGBTQIA+ capsule collection. The shoe brand hosted an open table discussion with 10 queer 'All Stars', with each then able to submit a shoe design from which one winner would be chosen. Samuel Beatty, a trans artist from Bidjigal (NSW) ended up having his shoe design created into a limited edition range.

The shoe includes the phrase ‘Hold space for yourself’ on one side, and ‘Hold space for others’ on the other. The shift between demanding a space for queer people within the greater community, to demanding a space for queer people within the queer community is an important one. It’s a reflection of the unfortunately toxic minority within the community that requires one to be ‘gay enough’ to go to queer events. Samuel also explains another important part of the shoe’s design, which is the image of a person, with top surgery scars, surrounded by stars, planets and squiggly forms. Samuel explains how these forms were representations of the fluidity of gender and “how identities change and shift over time”. This addresses yet another toxic minority within the community (but also very much society as a whole), which devalues and discredits someone’s identity because they ‘changed their mind’

These are just three recent examples but I personally can't wait to see more inclusive representation in upcoming product, brand and entertainment releases.

Zara Cooper