Are You an LGBTQ+ Ally? Talking Websites, SEO & Marketing

Editor's Notes

1. It’s a big community to ignore… An estimated 1.4 million people aged 16 and over in the UK identified as LGBTQ+ in 2019. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/sexuality/bulletins/sexualidentityuk/2019
2. MEME next slide
3. I am totally fine with you being gay. Have you tried being with a man. I guess you don’t want kids then.
4. Not malicious but…
5. Stonewall is a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights charity in the United Kingdom.  ”To be an LGBTQ+ ally is easy. If you agree in equality and fair treatment in society of people who identify as LGBT then already you are an ally.”
6. Time to hit you with some facts…
7. Half of LGBTQ+ people said they’ve experienced depression
8. 18% of LGBTQ+ have been the target of negative comments or conduct from work colleagues
9. One in ten LGBTQ+ people have experienced anti-LGBTQ+ abuse online directed towards them personally
10. DON’T READ THEM ALL
11. https://genderphotos.vice.com/
12. Here is Kimpton a Hotel and Restaurant chain. On its LGBTQ community page they spell out commitment to diversity. In 2014, they became the first national hotel sponsor for The Trevor Project (the country’s largest organization that works toward crisis and suicide prevention for LGBTQ youth), donating hotel rooms, meeting spaces, and catering, in addition to hosting fundraisers for the organization across the country. https://www.ihg.com/kimptonhotels/content/us/en/about-us/kimpton-cares/inclusiveness
13. Mothers maiden name…
14. First of if you don’t need this data don’t ask it from people. Secondly if you do need it, explain why. What’s going to happen with this data.
15. I’ve also seen ‘other’. This is bad. Stop this. Makes the person feel not important or an after thought. That their category doesn’t really matter.
16. Explain what pronouns are and give an example. This will help ensure the data you are collecting is accurate. Make sure you give people the option to not say. A recent study showed that in transgender youth, using correct pronouns and names reduces depression and suicide risks.
17. Don’t just start selling I don’t know lesbian soup. Hang on…
18. Who remembers the LGBT sandwhich M&S launched. Even though the sandwhich raised money for charity it divided opinion on Twitter: https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/05/02/marks-and-spencer-lgbt-sandwich-dividing-opinion/
19. You should also double check that your firewall does not block words such as “bisexual” and “lesbian”
20. Ask yourself are you getting involved for the right reasons? Are you using pride purely to get more backlinks and sell more products/services? Rainbow washing.
21. QUOTE - The problem with the rainbow flag today is that––despite being a beautiful symbol with a meaningful history––its usage has become so generic and watered down that people and companies can throw up a rainbow flag and claim 'allyship' without addressing or even thinking about the issues that flag represents.
22. In 2020 Starbucks did a social and TV ad campaign called #WhatsYourName. They partnered with trans and gender-diverse youth charity Mermaids to raise awareness of how an everyday experience, such as ordering a coffee to go, can be so significant for those presenting a new name in public. They also raised £100,000 for the charity. They didn’t jump on the bandwagon just because. They decided to do something that had significance. Dad Trans, a popular Twitter account run by the dad of a trans child tweeted, “This is a lovely, authentic story. It will mean a lot to the trans kids who see this. Thank you,”  https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/02/03/starbucks-advert-channel-4-mermaids-cookie-transgender-man-trans/
23. In 2020 Starbucks did a social and TV ad campaign called #WhatsYourName. They partnered with trans and gender-diverse youth charity Mermaids to raise awareness of how an everyday experience, such as ordering a coffee to go, can be so significant for those presenting a new name in public. They also raised £100,000 for the charity. They didn’t jump on the bandwagon just because. They decided to do something that had significance. Dad Trans, a popular Twitter account run by the dad of a trans child tweeted, “This is a lovely, authentic story. It will mean a lot to the trans kids who see this. Thank you,”  https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/02/03/starbucks-advert-channel-4-mermaids-cookie-transgender-man-trans/
24. It’s hard to go to straight venues because if I kiss my partner guys start shouting and staring. Suddenly an act of love becomes a sexual performance for their pleasure. It’s a degrading experience that I do all I can to avoid. These kinds of behaviours are not against the law. You can’t say “arrest him he stared at me” but there is nothing out there challenging this right now.”
25. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2020-to-2021/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2020-to-2021
26. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2020-to-2021/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2020-to-2021