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LGBT people are an interesting target group, which should be on the radar of (almost) every company, and therefore every marketer, as part of “Diversity”. But who are we talking about here, and what do we call them?

Personal pronouns

How do you address your customers, or rather how do you talk about them? Adding to the alphabet soup confusion and rainbow variations are the personal pronouns. I am me and you are you. But who are she and he? Because if someone does not feel like a he, but also not a she: what then? This usually concerns people who are non-binary, also called non-cisgender – but it can also be transgender people. The percentage of non-binary people varies from 0.1 to 2% of the population, but realistically speaking is 0.4%. We are therefore talking about a very small group of the population – but they still count.

In Sweden this was solved by introducing a new word. Swedish has long known “hon” (she) and “han” (he). Then in 2012, the gender-neutral pronoun “hun” was added. This has since become a regular part of the Swedish language, according to experts — and according to recent psychological research, it has changed the way people think. Nice is not it?

But not in English. There it was decided to also make the plural forms “they” available as an option as a gender-neutral singular. Not so handy, not easy to use either. Someone reassured me: you ask and remember someone’s name, then you can also remember their chosen pronoun? uh… no.

A while ago LinkedIn added the option to add your “preferred pronouns” to your profile. To everyone, because of 0.4% of their members. Redheads are about 5 times more common, but no one is talking about that. I’m kidding now (before I get threatened), and a redhead might not want to add this to their LinkedIn profile, but I think the whole preferred pronoun thing is a thing. Business magazine Forbes added to the discussion by stating that there is nothing “preferred” about it: it is not a food choice or sporting activity – it “is”. So even LinkedIn’s action wasn’t good enough.

Explanation?

Posture Media’s film What’s in a Pronoun was shown at the Cannes Festival to illustrate the situations the fellow human beings involved can face. However, you also see that the choice for a pronoun is not limited to he, she or they, but that someone can also choose multiple forms. So you see Richard commits all three words to himself. Does this make it clearer?

So it’s really confusing. Note: this is not about addressing someone, but talking about someone. Although the waiter who addresses the group with “Ladies” is an example of Oops, but that has nothing to do with the pronouns.

Conclusion

It is commercially (and socially) interesting to focus on the LGBT+ community, or at least include it in your marketing and communications. But there are quite a few pitfalls, which are also created by the community itself. So be careful with the choices you make – and your language.

Alfred Verhoeven is a marketer and is in the final phase of his PhD research Marketing the Rainbow. He previously wrote for ILOVEGAY about Alphabet Soup, M&M’s causes Chinese supremacy and lesbian invasion,  Marketing the Rainbow: the process and all that came before it, Sport and (un)sportmanship,  Why you need a supplier diversity program, BeNeLux LGBTIQ+ Business Chamber (BGLBC), From B2C and B2B to B2G and G2G (oh, and G2C), The Men from Atlantis, The other kind of cruising, Booking.com, Home Deco, Haters and trolls: the ‘letter to the editor’ of the 21st century, 5 Bizarre LGBT Videos, TRANSparency, Transgender persons as a target group, Matchmaking, 5 videos that went viral, From Representation To Respect, Cultural sensitivities and social involvement in marketing, 4 reasons to practice diversity and The Rules of Market Segmentation.