Writing an LGBTQ+ perspective to this trend report is a curious thing. ‘Trend’ is used as a slur against the queer community; suggesting something temporary, faddy and fleeting. It’s the same as dismissively labelling someone’s identity or sexuality as ‘a phase’. There’s even an anti-LGBTQ+ lobby group, Transgender Trend, that has the ear of the government. Instead, I'm defining ‘trend’ in relation to the LGBTQ+ community as an enduring shift.

I want to discuss the increase in gender nonconformity within advertising and how important authentic representation is to trans liberation. A GLAAD study reported that 15 major brands ran inclusive ads during the Super Bowl in 2020 and 2021 – representation was minimal in previous years. We’re seeing brands respond to a shift on both sides of the Atlantic.

In 2018, YouGov found that 56% of UK 18–24-year-olds don’t identify as completely heterosexual. Remarkably, that’s the majority of young people. Ipsos found globally that 2% of Millennials and 4% of the Gen Z population identified in a way other than cis male or female. Young people are more comfortable rejecting hetero- and cisnormativity than previous generations. And their peers appear supportive too; the7stars’ found that 75% of Gen Z are more likely to believe in gender fluidity than previous generations.

Yet, with heightened trans visibility comes heightened hostility and increased anti-trans rhetoric. The UK’s press regulator found that trans news stories have grown 400% since 2010 and have become more ‘heated’. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe identified the UK as a country notable for ‘extensive and often virulent attacks on the rights of LGBTQ+ people.’ There’s a mainstreaming and legitimisation of anti-trans views. Notably, the Harry Potter author’s obsession with trans women broadcast to 14m Twitter followers, trans hate group the LGB Alliance awarded charity status, and the Prime Minister’s dismissal of trans people attempting to isolate them from the LGBTQ+ community.

Brands can and should play an important role in trans liberation. Ipsos found that, globally, 47% support companies actively promoting equality for LGBTQ+ people while only 19% oppose it. Kantar Milward Brown found 3 out of 4 tested LGBTQ+-themed ads outperform generic ads in driving brand recall. But it’s important to get representation right, research from Simpson Carpenter shows that 40% of the UK LGBTQ+ community feel that marketing portrays people of different gender identities poorly.

Notable recent trans-inclusion campaigns include Starbucks’ #WhatsYourName campaign, which celebrated a trans person trialling their chosen name while they ordered coffee. Or Gillette showing a trans man shaving for the first time. But while these are largely positive portrayals, they are focused through a prism of cis-lensed fascination with transition.

Trans is not a trend. The trend is that of acceptance and celebration of self, a willingness to express ourselves wholly and authentically in the face of hostility. That’s a trend brands must embrace; to portray gender diverse individuals as whole human beings with multi-dimensional personalities - not as one-dimensional entertainers or activists.