Jennie Knight (She/Her/Hers)’s Post

When I was first coming out as a queer, I couldn’t wait to attend my first Pride parade. It was like a rite of passage, some kind of official ritual I needed to go through to be a true, card-carrying member of the LGBTQ+ community. Years later, as I started to understand my gender identity and came out as transgender, Pride month lost its sheen for me. Especially as I learned firsthand that, just because something is queer-friendly, doesn’t mean it is trans-friendly. I shied away from dancing in the streets with my friends and opted for smaller, more personal celebrations of Pride. Some years I didn’t celebrate at all. After all, Pride for me was every day. I didn’t need a month to celebrate it, I was finally living it. My safety became the number one concern for me. It seemed as if more and more protestors were showing up at Pride events. Their signs larger, their megaphones louder, and their hate bolder. Pride feels different now. As anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-transgender legislation has loomed in the past few years and the eradication of our community has become a political platform, I often have to choose whether I want to be safe or I want to be visible and free. That is a question I ask myself every time I step outside my house, not just in June. My relationship with Pride is complicated, but what isn’t complicated is the feelings of pride I experience every day as my authentic self. I often think back to my first Pride, where I was who I am unabashedly for the first time, in front of thousands of strangers, without a care in the world. -- SJ Janjua, https://lnkd.in/eztvAu-Y On The Inclusion Solution blog, we're exploring the question: What does Pride mean to you? 💬 Comment below with a few words of what Pride means to you, and follow along on theinclusionsolution.com as we continue to feature voices from the LGBTQIA2S+ community.

In respect for Pride Month, toth shop is recognizing friends and collaborators, stories and insightful words among those in the LGBTQ+ communities. We are proud to share your voices with our toth shop community. Some 101 today: How, when & where did the word and brand 'Pride' originate? Craig Schoonmaker, a longtime activist and member of the New York planning committee for the first Pride Parade held in June 1970, didn’t fully realize how much of an impact his words would have when he proposed “Pride” as the event’s slogan. In an interview years later, he reflected on why he chose that specific word: “The poison was shame, and the antidote was pride.” Today, Pride is embraced by millions across the globe. It’s a time to celebrate and commemorate the contributions made by the LGBTQ+ community to history, society, and cultures worldwide. For business owners, it’s a time to re-evaluate your own words and how you are communicating with your customers through copy & content. Here’s an easy start - prioritize inclusive language. Our language has the ability to normalize the ideas or beliefs of a society, and it only requires micro shifts: + Use gender neutral pronouns  + Use people-first phrases  + Not using phrases rooted in homophobia, racism, sexism, etc.   + Learn the appropriate, modern descriptors for groups For more tips, check out this blog about “writing copy in the era of conscious consumerism” penned by Steph Nagl. A link to Steph's piece is linked in comments below. 

Celebrate Pride By Creating Change, It's more than just a celebration!!! You might have seen rainbow flags everywhere, in web series or just around you. Because it's Pride Month! It's a time to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community, but it's also about creating a world where everyone feels like they belong, especially LGBTQ+ people. It's not something for just one month rather it's about an effort to create a lifelong change. You don't need to make extraordinary efforts, it's from small things we can do at our end to create a real difference- Be a Safe Space: Let your friends, family, and colleagues know you're an LGBTQIA+ ally. This can be as simple as using inclusive language (like they/them pronouns for someone who uses them). Educate Yourself: Take the time to learn about LGBTQ+ identities and experiences. There are tons of resources available online and in libraries. Take the initiative to become a well-informed ally. Challenge Assumptions: We all have unconscious biases. If you hear someone make a homophobic, transphobic, or biphobic comment, don't stay silent. Speak up in a respectful way and explain why their words are hurtful. Remember, allyship is a journey, not a destination. Be patient with yourself, keep learning, and celebrate the progress. Every action, big or small, adds up to a more inclusive and vibrant world for everyone. Happy Pride!

Authenticity is a core value for me. I envision a world where marginalized individuals can truly show up as themselves. However, capitalism often stands in the way of this authenticity. It pushes businesses and corporations to take shortcuts, opting for the easiest or quickest sales tactics rather than genuinely engaging with people and communities. This issue is apparent year-round but becomes especially blatant during Pride Month. It’s time we bring authenticity back to corporate Pride Month celebrations. While many businesses look to Pride Month as a time for flashy campaigns and communications, it’s more effective to: 💡Stay Grounded in the Origins of Pride: Never forget, Pride started as a rebellion against police brutality and abuse. The Stonewall Uprising catapulted LGBTQ+ activism into mainstream attention, but the activism of queer & trans people existed long before then. Pride’s origins can teach us to craft DEI strategies that proactively meet the needs of LGBTQ+ people. Before you hang up that Pride Flag, consider how many trans people have worked at your organization. The trans population has an unemployment rate twice that of the population as a whole. How have you proactively recruited and retained trans employees? 💡See Pride as a Value, Not a Month: Pride Month is something to celebrate from the inside out, aligning values of equity, inclusion, and dignity with external communications. A great place to start is looking at your health insurance packages. Does the company insurance plan cover gender-affirming treatments and procedures, such as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and gender-affirming surgeries? Does your health insurance plan cover fertility treatments, including in vitro fertilization (IVF), for LGBTQIA+ individuals and couples who wish to have children? 💡Acknowledge the Anti-Blackness in Pride Month: Black liberation and queer liberation are inextricably linked. Addressing both anti-Black racism and homophobia and how the two intersect can lead to greater inclusion of the Black LGBTQ+ people on your team. Black LGBTQ+ people exist and often experience multilayered oppression in the workplace. Ensure you are thoughtful about the intersections and holistically support Black LGBTQ+ people. For example, if you have ERGs or affinity spaces, ensure the Black and LGBTQ+ spaces do not meet simultaneously. Most importantly, talk to your LGBTQ+ employees and learn how to better support them. Check out the full piece now! https://lnkd.in/eAzwnQGh

We posted an image to our social media much like the one below, as we always do for the month of June. And like we always do, we received some hate mail and disturbing comments. A common theme in them is that because we support the LGBTQ community, environmental conservation, and better wages and conditions for farm workers, that we have gone “woke.” I hear things like this ad nauseam - “get woke, go broke.” Whatever. But here’s the thing. I don’t believe there is such a thing as “woke.” It’s a stupid moniker that ignorant people slap on anyone who disagrees with them. Instead of - ya know - having a civil dialogue or respectfully disagreeing and going on with life. Another thing is that if we did go “woke” we haven’t gone broke yet, and our sales have never been adversely impacted by our support of the LGBTQ community, etc. So for us, making statements of support for the things we care about has only strengthened customer loyalty. There is no substitute for focusing on your product, and I get that. But our business has a double bottom line and is committed to being a force for good. I live in a state where queer people are being discriminated against as a matter of government policy. I think it’s wrong, and have no problem saying so. The LGBTQ community has always supported us, and we want the World to know that absolutely everyone is welcome at Yaupon Brothers American Tea regardless of who you are and who you love. We’re sticking to that philosophy no matter how many ridiculous pearl-clutching emails we get.

Pride Month starts today, and I have some thoughts to share. It’s very easy to think that we’ve made significant progress, that equality has been achieved, with pride month a time for rainbows, glitter and ABBA. Unfortunately, it took only a few scrolls of a local shopping park’s pride month post to make it abundantly clear that there is still so much to fight for. Three years ago I participated in a Pride video for Network Rail titled “Do I Offend You” and three years later unfortunately I think my existence along with my other LGBTQ+ family still offends others. We are still told not to shove it down throats, that we should keep our queerness “to ourselves” or “at home”, or asked with sly smiles when straight pride month is. As a queer person during pride month I ask my allies to of course enjoy and support a pride parade. However please don’t just participate in the fun consumerist parts of pride. Please reflect on your allyship in a time where our rights are being constantly threatened. The UK has dropped to its lowest ever rating on the ILGA-Europe map over the last theee years, due to the limitations on gender affirming care and failures to deliver on the banning of conversion practices. All too often the LGBTQ+ community, particularly the Trans community, are used as political cannon fodder, despite making up 5% and 0.5% of the population respectively. This has resulted in hate crimes increasing by over 100% to the LGBTQ+ community over the last five years. And lastly, we are not free until we are all free. Intersectionality is fundamental and critical to achieving true equality, equity, diversity and inclusion. Sometimes that requires decentering ourselves from the conversation which can be challenging however is necessary to be better and make real change. Think on how you can make space for marginalised voices in your workplaces and communities. And I’ll leave it at that along with a link to Stonewall who continue to do great work and have some must have reading for Pride Month. Remember, Equality is not a pie, there is plenty to go around. Happy Pride 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈 https://lnkd.in/eAhDMm-w

In respect for 🌈 Pride Month, toth shop is recognizing friends and collaborators, stories and insightful words among those in the LGBTQ+ communities. We are proud to share your voices with our toth shop community. Some 101 today: How, when & where did the word and brand 'Pride' originate? Craig Schoonmaker, a longtime activist and member of the New York planning committee for the first Pride Parade held in June 1970, didn’t fully realize how much of an impact his words would have when he proposed “Pride” as the event’s slogan. In an interview years later, he reflected on why he chose that specific word: “The poison was shame, and the antidote was pride.” Today, Pride is embraced by millions across the globe. It’s a time to celebrate and commemorate the contributions made by the LGBTQ+ community to history, society, and cultures worldwide. For business owners, it’s a time to re-evaluate your own words and how you are communicating with your customers through copy & content. Here’s an easy start - prioritize inclusive language. Our language has the ability to normalize the ideas or beliefs of a society, and it only requires micro shifts: 🫶 Use gender neutral pronouns  🫶 Use people-first phrases  🫶 Not using phrases rooted in homophobia, racism, sexism, etc.   Learn the appropriate, modern descriptors 🫶 for groups For more tips, check out this blog about “writing copy in the era of conscious consumerism” penned by Steph Nagl. A link to Steph's piece is linked in comments below. ✌️

Pride Season is here—a time when we come together to celebrate love, diversity, and acceptance. But how do we share these values with those young around us? At (BUM), we believe it’s never too early to start the conversation about inclusivity and kindness. Here’s how you can help the discussion of Pride with the next generation. Why It's Important: Teaching children about Pride helps foster empathy and understanding from a young age. It prepares them to respect others' differences and embrace everyone’s unique identity. How to Start the Conversation: 🏳️🌈 Story Time: Use books with LGBTQ+ characters and themes. Titles like “A Tale of Two Princes”, "And Tango Makes Three" and "A Day In the Life of Marlon Bundo" offer wonderful stories of diversity and acceptance. 🏳️🌈 Celebrate Together: Participate in local Pride events or watch parades and documentaries about the history and significance of Pride. 🏳️🌈 Art and Expression: Encourage children to express what love and inclusivity mean to them through drawings, paintings, or crafts. Family Fun Activities: 🏳️🌈 Craft a Rainbow Flag: Teach them what each color stands for while crafting a flag together. 🏳️🌈 LGBTQ+ Heroes: Share stories of LGBTQ+ advocates and heroes who have championed equality and justice. 🏳️🌈 Questions and Answers: Let them ask questions, and guide them through the answers in a simple, understandable way. Join Us in Supporting LGBTQ+ Families At (BUM), we are committed to supporting LGBTQ+ families. A portion of every purchase from our products, no matter the time of year, go to organizations that make it easier for those in the queer space to become parents. From our family, to your family, for more families, Pat & Carlos Founders, (BUM) Bottoms Up Movement

Happy Pride Month LinkedIn! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 Pride PR campaigns are huge right now, for obvious reasons. Diversity and Inclusion is everything. I’ve drawn up a list of 5 things not to miss, so you don’t have to. 1. Be sincere. Underpin your campaign with concrete actions - such as donating a portion of profit to LGBTQ+ organisations. 🌈 2. Constructive criticism is king! Honest responses are more than just valuable insights - they will take your campaign from good to great. 🌈 3. Avoid misrepresentation and stereotyping. Be sure to do sufficient research and consultation with members of the community so as to authentically represent the LGBTQ+ experience. 🌈 4. Remember what Pride stands for. The LGBTQ+ community is composed of people of all different races, religions, ages, abilities, neurodivergences, ethnicities, heights, weights, gender identities and sexual orientations. Make sure your campaign considers the intersectionality of Pride. 🌈 5. A campaign is not just for Pride Month. Continue your campaign as part of a larger, sustained effort, not a one-time spectacle. I would love to hear your ideas on how to ensure that what Pride stands for remains front and centre of all campaigns. Drop me a message and let’s discuss!