At Crumb, We Are Proud To Represent An Incredible Roster Of Queer Talent And With Our Ethos Of ‘affecting Change For The Better Within The Fashion And Advertising Industries’, It Is Of Paramount Importance That All Our Talent Are Treated With Dignity, Respect And Compassion.

Taking Some Time To Understand More About The Lgbtqia Community Is An Easy Way To Show Your Support, Allegiance, And Will Help Ensure That Campaigns, Sets And Conversations Are Welcoming, Inclusive And Tonally Correct. It Is Okay To Have Questions And To Be Unsure How To Approach New Terms And Ways Of Addressing Differing Identities, Such As Pronouns, Terms And Best Practice; But We Hope This Document Will Answer Some Of Those Questions And Ensure Both The Happiness Of Our Talent And The Success Of Your Campaigns.

This Is A Friendly Guide Written By The Team At Crumb Agency To Offer You Support And Information Of How Best To Work Alongside Queer Talent.

It’s Here To Ensure Working Relationships Are Grounded In A Sense Of Care And Respect Whilst Also Offering A Deeper Understanding Of How To Work With The Queer Community Authentically Whilst Building Strong And Long Lasting Relationships Between Commercial Brands And Queer Talent.

We Ask That You Take A Moment To Read Through This Document, Take It Onboard, Share With Your Team And Hopefully Keep It To Hand If Any Questions Arise In The Future.

We Believe That The Future Of Advertising Depends On Inclusivity And Equal Representation Of All Marginalised Communities, And That Global Brands Can Work With Queer Talent To Set A Precedent On How It Should, And Can Be Done.

Glossary

CISGENDER OR CIS : Someone Whose Gender Identity Is The Same As The Sex They Were Assigned At Birth.

DEADNAMING : Calling Someone By Their Birth Name After They Have Changed Their Name. This Term Is Often Associated With Trans People Who Have Changed Their Name As Part Of Their Transition.

FEMME : A Term Used In Lgbtqia Culture To Describe Someone Who Expresses Themselves In A Typically Feminine Way. There Are Other Identities Within The Scope Of Femme, Such As ‘low Femme’, ‘high Femme’, And ‘hard Femme’. You Shouldn’t Use These Terms About Someone Unless You Know They Identify With Them.

GNC/Gender Non-Conforming : Where One's Gender Norms Or Gender Expression Do Not Match The Male/female Traits Expected By Society. ("Trans*" Or "Transgender" Is Sometimes Used Interchangeably With Gnc, But More Often Refers To One's Gender Expression Or Identity Being Inconsistent With The One Assigned At One's Birth.)

GENDER : Often Expressed In Terms Of Masculinity And Femininity, Gender Is Largely Culturally Determined And Is Assumed From The Sex Assigned At Birth.

GENDER IDENTITY : A Person’s Innate Sense Of Their Own Gender, Whether Male, Female Or Something Else (See Non-binary Below), Which May Or May Not Correspond To The Sex Assigned At Birth And Change Over Time.

LGBTQIA : The Acronym For Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Queer, Intersex, Asexual

NON-BINARY : An Umbrella Term For People Whose Gender Identity Doesn’t Sit Comfortably With ‘man’ Or ‘woman’. Non-binary Identities Are Varied And Can Include People Who Identify With Some Aspects Of Binary Identities, While Others Reject Them Entirely.

PRONOUN : Words We Use To Refer To People’s Gender In Conversation –
For Example, ‘he’ Or ‘she’. Some People May Prefer Others To Refer To Them In Gender Neutral Language And Use Pronouns Such As ‘they/theirs’.

QUEER : Queer Is A Term Used By Those Wanting To Reject Specific Labels Of Romantic Orientation, Sexual Orientation And/or Gender Identity.

TRANS : An Umbrella Term To Describe People Whose Gender Is Not The Same As, Or Does Not Sit Comfortably With, The Sex They Were Assigned At Birth. Trans People May Describe Themselves Using One Or More Of A Wide Variety Of Terms, Including (But Not Limited To) Transgender, Transsexual, Gender-queer (Gq), Gender-fluid, Non-binary.

TRANSGENDER MAN : A Term Used To Describe Someone Who Is Assigned Female At Birth But Identifies And Lives As A Man. This May Be Shortened To Trans Man, Or Ftm, An Abbreviation For Female-to-male.

TRANSGENDER WOMAN : Term Used To Describe Someone Who Is Assigned Male At Birth But Identifies And Lives As A Woman. This May Be Shortened To Trans Woman, Or Mtf, An Abbreviation For Male-to-female.

TRANSITIONING : The Steps A Trans Person May Take To Live In The Gender With Which They Identify. Each Person’s Transition Will Involve Different Things. For Some This Involves Medical Intervention, Such As Hormone Therapy And Surgeries, But Not All Trans People Want Or Are Able To Have This. Transitioning Also Might Involve Things Such As Telling Friends And Family, Dressing Differently And Changing Official Documents.

TRANSPHOBIA : The Fear Or Dislike Of Someone Based On The Fact They Are Trans, Including Denying Their Gender Identity Or Refusing To Accept It. Transphobia May Be Targeted At People Who Are, Or Who Are Perceived To Be, Trans.


How Do I Know An Individual's Pronouns?

If You Are Unsure, Just Politely Ask.

‘may I Ask Your Pronouns?’
Many Trans And Non-binary Humans Have Typically Gendered Names That Might Not Match Their Gender Identity. Try Not To Assume An Individual’s Gender, Based On Their Name And Avoid Ignoring Them Because You’re Scared Of Getting It Wrong! Until You Know, Just Refer To Them With Gender Neutral Terms Such As They/them, Or Just Ask.

As An Agency Are Always Happy To Guide You On Our Talents Pronouns, And We Ask That Clients The Follow This Language When Referring To That Individual Across Email, Telephone, In Person Etc.

If You Make A Mistake, Don’t Worry, Just Correct Yourself And Move On Ensuring You Avoid It Happening Again. We All Make Mistakes In Life But Please Try To Learn From It. If You Do Continue To Make A Mistake It’s Very Important To Continue Correcting Yourself Again And Keep Trying.

Tip : Don't Assume Someones Gender From How They Appear And Avoid Using Gender Nuetral Pronouns For Everyone.


How Should I Use Gender Neutral Language?

Quite Simply, It Should Be Used At The Same Points You Would Use Gendered Language Such As He/she. If A Human Is Repeatedly Misgendered Or No Attempt Is Made To Correct A Mistake, It Can Cause Pain, Upset And Real Feelings Of Discomfort. We Can Ensure A Positive Experience For All Parties Involved In The Booking Process If Pronouns Are Acknowledged And Respected.

TIP : Practise Using They/them With Friends Or Colleagues First So It Becomes Second Nature And Avoids Any Missteps When Addressing A Trans Individual.


But What If I Make A Mistake?

It Happens, Quickly Correct Yourself, Move On And Endeavour Not To Make The Mistake Again.

If We At Crumb Feel That Repeated Disregard Has Been Given To One Of Our Queer Talents Pronouns, We Withhold The Right To Decline Working On A Project Or With A Specific Client/agency. We Appreciate That Mistakes Happen, But It’s How Those Mistakes Are Corrected And Learnt From That Matters. It’s Everyone's Responsibility To Ensure Others Are Treated With Respect And Kindness And It’s Imperative That This Is Understood When Booking One Of Our Lgbtqia Humans.

Kindness And Empathy Cost Nothing

How Can I Offer An Environment That Is Welcoming To Talent From The Queer Community?

A Few Key Things You Can Do As A Client/producer :

Make Sure Gender Neutral Toilets/changing Facilities Are Provided

Ensure The Team Involved On The Shoot Day, From Your Client/director To The Hmua Team And Gaffers, Riggers And Runners, Are Aware Of The Talents Pronouns And Understand How To Effectively Use Them

Politely Correct Someone If You Hear Them Misgendering Someone Onset, Or In General

Allocating Budget To Cover Taxis To/from The Location So The Trans/gnc Talent Does Not Have To Be Vulnerable Using Public Transport Late At Night/early Morning

If Shooting Abroad, Ensuring Adequate Research Has Been Done To Understand That Local Areas Views On Lgbtqia Individuals And Adequate Safeguarding Has Been Carried Out To Ensure Their Safety (I.e A Closed Set, Suitable Accommodation And Transport)

Adding Pronouns To Your Call Sheet The Same Way We Provide Contact Number/email Address, So Everyone Who Looks At Call Sheet Is Aware Of How To Address One Another

If You Would Like To Discuss Any Of The Above Points In More Detail, Please Feel Free To Get In Touch With The Team At Crumb

How Can You Ensure Your Pride Campaign Is Authentic And Tonally Correct?

The Key Points From Those Conversations Are Below :

Charitable Donation

Alongside A Pride/queer Campaign, Our Talent Flagged That A One Off Charitable Donation From A Brand To A Queer Focussed Charity Is Key To Show That The Brand Truly Means Working With The Lgbtqia Community, And That They Are Willing To Put Their Money Where Their Mouth Is. It Is Key That Brands Also Show Their Allegiance To The Queer Community, All Year Round, And Not Just At Pride.

Queer Consultancy

As An Agency, We Are Here To Help The Process Of Navigating Commercial Briefs And The Queer Community And Are Always Happy To Advise On Ways To Ensure An Authentic And Positive Relationship With Our Crumb Lgbtqia Talent. Our Crumb Queer Talent Are Available For Consultancy Opportunities; Where They Are Booked To Work Within The Campaign Rather Than Being The Last Piece Of The Puzzle. If You Are Interested In Finding Out More About This And How It Could Benefit Any Pride/queer Campaigns You May Be Working On Please Email Hello@crumbagency.com