In a fraught political culture, South by Southwest development this season reflected a global decline in assistance for the LGBTQ+ community, particularly trans rights.
According to an analysis by Do the WeRQ, a nonprofit that aims to increase gay representation in marketing and advertising, the number of LGBTQ+-specific modules and lessons at the nine-day event decreased by a second this year, from 20 to 13, from 20 to 13. This was SXSW’s second month combining LGBTQ+ programming into one hub.
Software at SXSW is typically dictated by audiences, who vote for sessions they find most attractive using the show’s PanelPicker system.
There were significantly fewer conversations about transgender rights beyond a program exploring how journalists is report on anti-trans violence, which even changed the type of LGBTQ+ topics covered.
” Last time, we had a number of panels around trans identification, trans experience, how we can create trans- diverse workplaces”, says Deleyla Glass, online media director at GSD&, M.” Then we’re not seeing any of those types of sessions”.
Trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney addressed declining community support in a panel discussion on the role of brands and media in battling hate, without ever mentioning Bud Light by name.
Dylan Mulvaney urges brands to protect talent and celebrate transgender equality in the song” I do n’t want to be the villain.”
Following Mulvaney’s partnership with Bud Light last year, the backlash that resulted highlighted the nation’s growing antagonism toward the trans community. It also resulted in the dissolution of many brands from public LGBTQ+ support and the avoidance of Pride in 2023.
Kate Wolff, co- founder of Do the WeRQ and founder and CEO of Lupine Creative, says Bud Light’s behavior” created insecurities among everybody else”.
“]That insecurity ] is permeating through everything, not just SXSW programming, but in general how people are approaching Pride in June”, she said.
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In the run-up to the presidential election, the Republican Party has become obsessed with trans rights. In the anti-trans movement, Texas has been the state with the most active legislation, including SB14, which prohibits trans Texans under the age of 18 from receiving hormone-, surgery, and puberty-related medical treatments.
Similar to sessions on abortion rights, SXSW’s roots in Texas gave attendees a chance to confront shrinking LGBTQ+ rights in the state head-on. Instead, these issues stayed at the fringes,” creeping into the edges of conversations”, says Graham Nolan, an Austin- based freelance PR and communications consultant and co- founder of Do the WeRQ.
At SXSW, LGBTQ+ programming focuses on fundamental rights
He claims that Austin residents “feel safe in the bubble” of the liberal enclave and do n’t engage in enough discussion about the state’s laws.
According to Keisha Townsend Tait, chief inclusion officer of Austin-based agency GSD&, M., Texas ‘ anti-abortion and anti-LGBT+ laws are affecting business ‘ ability to retain and attract top talent in the state.
” It’s come up with our current employees, and it comes up during our recruitment process”, she says. People who feel less entitled in particular communities or regions are less likely to hold a position.
As the parent of a transgender son, GSD&, M’s Glass has personally witnessed this growing animosity toward the trans community in Texas. Now more than ever, she says the community needs a voice and support from corporations.
” There’s a number of things that are happening in the political space that’s making it so that people are taking a step back a little bit, but obviously, that’s when we would want them to actually lean in a lot more”, she says.
” I want to see brands who are willing to feature families that look like mine: same- sex parents with transgender kids who are happy, who are thriving, who are excited about life, who have futures and plans”, she adds.
Brands may find it easier to support the LGBTQ+ community when it is n’t being attacked, Wolff claims, but that kind of thinking misses the point of being a genuine advocate.
” Our country is currently suffering,” said one member. This is a time where we’re actually in need— not when we’re trending, not when we’re fun, not when we’re being celebrated”, she says. We require companies to appear and carry the line with us. Every day, we adhere to that line.
Most Americans believe that businesses should use their authority to influence positive social change, but many people are no longer interested in entering political waters. Only 41 % of respondents in a 2023 study from Bentley University and Gallup said they think brands should take a public position on current events, compared to 48 % in 2022. However, the outcomes vary significantly depending on the party. Most Democrats ( 62 % ) said they were in favor of businesses taking a stance, compared with just 17 % of Republicans and 36 % of independents.
You can wave a red flag in front of a bull without doing it.
Ad executives anticipate brands to remain silent about the LGBTQ+ community this year, with all the latest “bleak Pride,” as Mulvaney described the 2023 event during her panel session.
Wolff claimed that her agency, which has earned a reputation for producing LGBTQ+-focused activations for businesses like the streaming platform Max, is still struggling with a decline in work as a result of brands “being more insecure”. She claimed that last year, Lupine received half as many RFP requests for Pride as she did in years.
” In this moment, they’re thinking it’s not worth it to be loud”, she says. They can remain silent and support someone or go to nothing until they feel more prepared to show up and in a safer place.
She describes the current state as a “really uncomfortable moment in culture and marketing.”
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While the general public is less vocal, some brands still show their behind-the-scenes support for the community.
Raja Rajamannar, the financial services giant’s chief marketing and communications officer, claims that the company typically” silently works on what we believe in.” While it has run public campaigns for Pride month, such as 2020’s True Name campaign to promote its self- identifying card initiative, the financial company has also long supported the LGBTQ+ community through grants and product design.
In a “divided world”, Rajamannar says communications strategies “have to be smart”.
If you are aware that there is a risk, he says, “you do n’t need to go and wave a red flag in front of a bull.” ” You do n’t talk about it, but you do n’t stop doing good things”.
Running a Pride campaign, in Wolff’s opinion, is as powerful as consistently supporting the community, if not more. Brands who are frightened of backlash can show allyship in other ways, she claims.
According to Townsend Taitt,” there is this misconception that doing nothing is the best thing right now.” Businesses need to understand that being inactive as well as making a statement or taking action are risks.
” It is not hate that is the main enemy, it is uncertainty in our allies that causes stagnation”, adds Nolan.
The development of queer storytelling in movies and television
This year’s SXSW saw a positive impact on the community as film representation increased significantly. This year, twenty-seven queer movies were screened, an increase from three in 2022.
According to Glass, the rise of queer storytelling gives brands an opportunity to connect with the audience without necessarily developing a bold campaign.
Despite all of the political activity that is taking place, she says,” That’s going to be the way for brands to then find easier ways back in to be able to support us.”
Campaign US spoke with SXSW organizers to find out if the lessening LGBTQ+ programming at the event was a result of fewer panel discussions about the community being submitted or chosen by attendees. The company did not respond by time of publication.
