It’s almost June, dear readers, and you know what that means: It’s almost Pride Month, one of our very favorite times of year!
As an LGBTQ+-owned company, we remain deeply committed to equity and inclusion for LGBTQ+ people — particularly as the legislative onslaught on LGBTQ+ rights in this country continues (here’s a helpful if depressing map of said attacks). And as public health communicators, we remain deeply committed to creating health communications that help our LGBTQ+ audiences feel seen, respected, and included.
It’s that commitment that led us to release our Inclusive Language Playbook: Writing for LGBTQ+ Communities last year (this post has a quick description of the playbook). If you haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, this resource features tips and considerations for writing about and for LGBTQ+ audiences — from in-depth discussions on tricky topics to a table full of recommended language swaps.
As we’ve said before, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to writing about LGBTQ+ people — but we hope this is a good starting point to help health communicators make very intentional language choices in this space. So check it out and share it with your networks! Then you can discuss things like gender-conscious language with your colleagues — or helpfully remind a family member that there’s nothing “preferred” about people’s pronouns. (Special shout-out to the CommunicateHealth LGBTQ+ employee resource group members for their valuable contributions to the playbook.)
It’s also the perfect time to learn about some LGBTQ+ public health heroes from history (we had a great time researching and writing that one!) and to check out a Pride-appropriate documentary (like Disclosure) or TV show (Sex Education, perhaps?). However you celebrate, dear readers, we wish you the happiest Pride — may you have a wonderful month of supporting LGBTQ+ rights, elevating LGBTQ+ voices, and celebrating queer joy.
The bottom line: Happy Pride! We hope yours is filled with inclusive and respectful language choices, support for LGBTQ+ equity and inclusion, and celebration of queer joy.
Copy/paste to share on social (and tag us!): Happy (almost) #PrideMonth! This week, CommunicateHealth revisits the LGBTQ+ #InclusiveLanguage Playbook: https://communicatehealth.com/wehearthealthliteracy/happy-pride-to-all/ #HealthComm #HealthCommunication #HealthLiteracy
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