HRC Foundation: Though Most People Are Supportive of Transgender Rights, How Stories are Framed--and What Stories They Hear--Matters.

Today, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization released a new report on transgender visibility in the United States using analyzing data from a Civis Analytics poll. The report, Trans Lives & Positive Visibility: How News & Media Can Positively Cover Trans and Non-Binary Stories, gives new insight on how media coverage and broader “visibility” can both affect society’s perception of the transgender community as well as transgender individuals. The report finds that a plurality of adults (33%) are very (17%) or somewhat (16%) unfamiliar with topics and issues about the transgender and non-binary community, while a majority (52%) said their news and media did not mention trans or non-binary people in the last week. Despite this relative lack of familiarity with the community and its social issues, 72% of adults said they strongly (51%) or somewhat (21%) agree that “transgender people should have equal rights and be able to live free of violence and discrimination.”

The report further identifies how media sources may either intentionally, or inadvertently, perpetuate the stigmatization of trans and non-binary people in the stories that they cover and the way they cover them.

“In recent years, visibility for transgender and non-binary people has increased in politics, in the media, and beyond. Increased visibility and corresponding misinformation, especially from right-leaning media outlets, have underlined the need for representation in all areas to be not only numerous, but authentic to the lives and stories of transgender and non-binary people,” said Jay Brown, HRC Senior Vice President of Programs, Research, and Training. “The data shows that the media must be more inclusive of members of the transgender and non-binary to assist in the development of positive and open-minded opinions for audiences everywhere, especially the large number of people who know nothing about trans people and their lives.”

Furthermore, the report finds how other media sources can ignore transgender and non-binary people altogether, perpetrating invisibility, cultural marginalization and erasure that can have ramifications beyond news and media. And worse, news and media sources such as Fox News, Breitbart, The Daily Wire, Life Site, One America News and Newsmax especially contribute to the cultural marginalization, invisibility and erasure of trans and non-binary people, deepening the stigma the community faces.

When respondents did see depictions of transgender and non-binary people in the news, they were not necessarily positive. Not many say they see positive stories or representations of transgender and non-binary people in their usual news and media, such as trans and non-binary people living everyday lives or how trans and non-binary people are just like one’s own family,

• Many adults are very or somewhat unfamiliar (33%) with topics and issues about the transgender and non-binary community.
• A majority (52%) said their news and media did not mention trans or non-binary people in the last week.
• A small plurality (37%) of adults either somewhat or strongly agreed that the news and media they usually consume shows “transgender people living everyday lives.”

Adults in the United States overwhelmingly agree that trans and non-binary people should have equal rights and be able to live free of violence and discrimination.

• 72% of adults said they strongly (51%) or somewhat (21%) agree that “transgender people should have equal rights and be able to live free of violence and discrimination.”
• Two-thirds (66%) of adults strongly or somewhat agree that “any transgender person deserves support and healthcare that helps them to live as their authentic gender.”
• A plurality (42%) said they strongly or somewhat disagreed that “we would better serve transgender people by helping them to live as the sex they were born,” or their sex assigned at birth.

Analysis from the HRC Foundation suggests that media must be more inclusive of and more accurately cover trans and non-binary people in news stories and coverage. Right-leaning news and media sources, in particular, contribute in an outsized way to how the public develops negative opinions about transgender and non-binary people, and perpetuate misinformation about trans lives and their health care needs.

• A majority of adults (58%) who do not usually get any of their news from right-leaning sources strongly agree that “transgender people seek equal treatment under the law.”
• Among respondents who only consume right-leaning sources, that percentage falls by about half to 31% of adults.
• Roughly three-quarters (76%) of adults who usually only consume media that does not include any right-leaning sources say “any transgender person deserves support and healthcare that helps them to live as their authentic gender.”
• A majority (51%) of adults who only consume right-leaning sources say “we would better serve transgender people by helping them to live as the sex they were born”

News and media that are not right-leaning can help many in the public to see trans and non-binary people, though with different experiences in some cases, deserve the same rights and dignity as everyone else. The findings of this research serve as a call to action for all news, media and content creators to produce positive coverage of trans people that can change lives, hearts and minds. These revelations are outlined into the below sections.

• Understanding Trans Visibility;
• Cultural Marginalization, Invisibility & Stigma;
• What the Public Sees in Media;
• How the Public Views the Trans and Non-binary Community;
• and How News and Media Leaning Shapes Public Opinion on Trans and Non-binary People.

Human Rights Campaign Foundation Releases Business Guide for Supporting Employees in Texas and Beyond

Today, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization launched a guide for businesses in Texas and around the country on how to support transgender and other LGBTQ+ employees during recent waves of anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-transgender legislative attacks.

The new resource is called “An Employer Guide to Supporting Employees in Texas and Beyond.” The resource shares best practices that companies can implement to foster a safe and affirming workplace environment for employees living in states currently considering, or which have previously passed, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.

 

“During a time that has left many businesses asking what they can do to help, this guide is an invaluable resource to help businesses support their employees—not only to create an inclusive workplace but publicly condemn harmful, discriminatory political actions” said Keisha Williams, Director of Workplace Equality at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. “We are seeing all over the country, not just in Texas, that transgender and LGBTQ+ employees, as well as transgender children, have been under relentless attacks, and now is the tipping-point for businesses to step-up and take meaningful action—this guide seeks to be a roadmap to businesses leaders ready to take the first-step.”

 

The resource is divided into six sections that gives guidance and recommendations to companies in order to provide support to their LGBTQ+ employees. The six sections are:

• Stay Up to Date: How businesses can remain engaged in the public policy that impacts their employees, customers and business.
• Use the Power of Your Voice: How businesses can leverage their public platform to uplift LGBTQ+ equality and the actions businesses can take that show their actions are aligned with their messaging.
• Leverage Your Financial Power: A challenge for companies to assess whether their corporate giving aligns with their company’s values.
• Engage Your Employees: Methods businesses can use internally to support and encourage their LGBTQ+ employees.
• Provide Options and Resources to Employees: How companies can help employees who are threatened by anti-LGBTQ+ state laws—from allowing employee relocation to expanding remote statuses.
• Think About the Bigger Picture: A challenge for companies to think beyond a one-off communication to consistently show up for their LGBTQ+ employees.

Last week, HRC and 60+ businesses released a sign-on letter, published as a full page ad in the Dallas Morning News, calling on Governor Abbott and public leaders across the country to abandon anti-LGBTQ+ efforts to write discrimination into law and policy. Apple, Capital One, Google, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Meta, Microsoft, Salesforce and Unilever are among the more than 60 businesses that signed the open letter condemning hateful attacks from Texas elected leaders, led by Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton.

 

While significant progress in the fight for LGBTQ+ equality has been made, there is still work to be done to ensure every workplace has inclusive policies and practices in place. Non-discrimination policies, benefits and other practices that include LGBTQ+ workers are essential for businesses as they compete for talent and customers. Through pioneering tools like the Corporate Equality Index, HRC works to provide employers the resources they need to improve and promote fairness in the workplace.