Shon Faye on how creative work can meaningfully support trans people and other minorities
Shon Faye is a UK-based writer, presenter, editor, journalist and artist known for her commentary on LGBTQ+, women's, and mental health issues. She hosts the podcast Call Me Mother, where she talks to LGBTQ+ elders and unsung trailblazers, and is the author of new book The Transgender Issue: An Argument for Justice. Here, she shares her thoughts on how creativity based on inclusivity can fail or fly, and how this kind of work expands far beyond individual campaigns.
The difference that creative professionals can make to the lives of minorities and marginalised groups has become a greater point of discussion in recent years. In particular, discussions have focussed on balancing the need for brands to make positive interventions to support people who have historically experienced discrimination, with the risk of brands co-opting the experiences and challenges facing minority groups as a shallow PR exercise. In the case of trans people, who are less than 1% of the population and who experience widespread discrimination in public space (for example, in the UK a third of all trans people have been discriminated against because of their gender identity when visiting a café, restaurant, bar or nightclub in the last year) brands have an incredible power to help increase understanding of diversity in society and therefore reduce incidences of harassment, discrimination and intolerance.
The recent True Name campaign, by McCann New York for Mastercard won a D&AD Black Pencil this year and helped force through changes in the US banking system that allowed trans and nonbinary people there to use their chosen name on their bank cards. It is an example of how powerful the creative industry can be in achieving real social change. Restrictions in the US on changing names on bank accounts meant that even trans people who had been living and presenting for years as their true gender, and with a new name, were effectively forced to ‘out’ themselves publicly every time they used a card to pay for anything – essentially exposing themselves to potential hostility on an almost daily basis. A seemingly small change in approach that the campaign had will have had a huge impact on the wellbeing, safety and dignity of many trans people.
"There can be fatigue within these communities at more cynical attempts to use LGBTQ+ people and causes as a way to boost the brand’s own kudos"
It is important to recognise that while ‘representation’ and ‘awareness’ have become buzzwords with brands who want to engage with LGBTQ+ communities in recent years. There can be fatigue within these communities at more cynical attempts to use LGBTQ+ people and causes as a way to boost the brand’s own kudos with little regard for the experiences of those they are claiming to represent. A typical example of this is the recent trends for brands to co-opt the rainbow flag and other LGBTQ+ aesthetics during Pride Month in June and abruptly drop any pretence of interest in trans lives for the rest of the year. Sometimes called ‘pinkwashing’, this practice has rightly come under fire for being exploitative.
True Name, McCann New York
I have experienced it directly in my own career. In 2017 I was a model in a small Pride Month campaign for former UK chain of stores Topshop, and my images were used in the campaign to signal to customers that the brand was an ally to trans people. Two months later, a trans person reported that they were refused access to a Topshop changing room on the basis they were in the ‘wrong’ area. When they complained to the brand on social media (as Topshop’s own policy said all changing rooms were gender neutral) the trans person became the centre of a hostile media storm in the right wing press, and Topshop offered them no support publicly or privately. I felt I had been misled and regretted the whole experience of working with them.
What can creatives and brands do to avoid such pitfalls? The first thing is to take a holistic approach to your own ethics. Who are your clients and what do they stand for? If you are trying to engage meaningfully with trans and other LGBTQ+ people it is important to make sure that you are not also happy to uplift and celebrate uncritically industries and companies whose practices actively harm LGBTQ+ people in the UK and beyond. An example of this would be when I was asked to appear in a television ad for a major airline because of my work as a trans writer and campaigner, despite the fact they also have a contract with the UK government to do deportations of asylum seekers – including trans asylum seekers – back to countries it is claimed they have fled because of violence and persecution. A true commitment to diversity and inclusion for all marginalised people means you cannot give with one hand and take with another.
“True Name campaign arose from a suggestion by associate level trans employee Lucas Crigler”
Another key thing industries should consider is the diversity of their own workforce. It is notable that the True Name campaign arose from a suggestion by associate level trans employee Lucas Crigler. This is testament to the benefits of having a truly inclusive workplace where trans people feel safe to work. According to a survey by Crossland Employment Solicitors, in the UK, one in three employers say they would not hire a trans person. Half of trans and non-binary people have hidden or disguised the fact that they are LGBT at work because they were afraid of discrimination, according to Stonewall’s LGBT in Britain Trans report 2018. One horrifying statistic published by the charity Stonewall in 2017 was that one in eight trans people have been physically attacked while at work.
True Name, McCann New York
All employers and industries should be aware that this climate means that trans workers have an expectation of exclusion, and it is incumbent on those who want to achieve social change to start at home: how can your own industry and workplace become more welcoming? If you want to bring people from minorities on board this also involves paying them properly and treating them with professional respect for their expertise. The benefits of this are obvious: greater diversity means richer ideas, fresh perspectives and new opportunities.
Finally, it is important to recognise that while the creative industries have power to shape culture and signal to the wider population who is welcome and accepted in society, simple goals of representation for its own sake are not enough without giving something back. If you want to run a campaign that includes LGBTQ+ representation, will that campaign have a real life impact on that community? Could it potentially change a discriminatory practice? Or will some of the profits be reinvested and donated to support those organisations working day in day out with marginalised LGBTQ+ trans people? Equality is about collaboration and we all need to be mindful that social justice is a two way street.