Pride Beyond June: The Importance of Gender-Inclusive Language Year-Round

Language matters. It’s been something that I’ve championed for the last seven years of my career because I’ve directly witnessed the impact that words can have in making a person feel like they are safe, included, and belong. Language is a part of how we shape behaviour in our society — and what we normalize. Of course, actions matter just as much as words do — but the words we choose are often the starting place or the first impression our community gets to have about who we are, what we do, and why we do it.  

Still, sometimes we get stuck. We wonder if we need to change the spaces first to become more inclusive and then change the language once it’s ready — pushing away community members in the interim. Or, we wonder if we should make changes in our language first, hoping that we will quickly follow through with the necessary policies and related action. With the latter, we run the risk of our words acting as performative gestures that signal to our community we are more inclusive than we really are, leaving space for harm for the individuals caught in the in-between of this move toward inclusion.  

And then, of course, there is simply how long it all seems to take.  

As someone who previously came from the world of entrepreneurship, I know that change happens much faster when you’re in control. In contrast, when you have an organizational structure, stakeholders, and processes, it can take much longer than expected — because our systems are simply designed to be that way. It’s why social change always happens so much faster than systems change — because the bureaucracy of our systems inevitably slows everything down, no matter what the intentions are.  

This leaves us at a crossroads: in a world with so much to change, so little time, and what often feels like even fewer resources, how do we show up to make these changes a priority?  

FORA’S CONTEXT  

Fora was founded in 2009 (on the edge of what some would argue was the fourth wave of feminism) in a world where men still clearly dominated most spaces of power. While gender beyond a binary pre-dates the language of it, at the time of our inception, Fora's work centred around elevating the leadership and voices of young (and most often cis) women, who were far too often left out of decision-making spaces.  

As the work of gender equity continued to evolve, so did Fora’s language. In the last 10 years, Fora has followed suit in the social call to acknowledge the distinction between sex and gender and gender-marginalized beyond a binary. (As a note, while academics like Judith Butler have been discussing the distinction of sex and gender and gender expression for well over 30 years, our social knowledge of the terms and distinction, like many things, has been slow to follow).  

That said, as Fora’s language evolved, so has our community. Fora participants, who have always been the loudest advocates of change, reminded us that language like ‘girls’ was often infantilizing to the incredible leaders whom we support and didn’t leave space for individuals under the trans umbrella, including those who are non-binary, gender-queer, or gender-non-confirming — folks who also continue to navigate gender-based barriers.  

In 2021, Fora made a seismic shift to change our organizational name from G(irls)20 to Fora, in an understanding that our gender equity work was about more than just young girls — a process that began in 2019. Over the last five years, Fora's organizational name change was just the start, but effectively kicked into gear a continued evolution of what it means to be an organization that genuinely champions gender equity, rooted in intersectional feminist values. 

 

WHY THIS MATTERS TO PEOPLE LIKE ME 

A point of tension within many non-profit and corporate spaces is the ways in which employees from visibly marginalized communities often put in far more labour—including emotional labour—to drive change in an effort to make spaces more inclusive for the communities we belong to.  

As someone who carries many identities as an individual person, my quiet queerness and relationship with my 2SLGBTQIA+ community are often the most invisible. Instead, it shows up in how I choose to champion conversations of language, gender, and allyship far beyond white feminist agendas. To do this work socially for the last seven years is one thing — but to see the impact of this championing directly result in organizational change is something else.

For inter-organizational change to occur, leadership must be aligned with prioritizing these conversations and changes. As my friend and colleague Cari Siebrits said to me, “It’s the people for whom this is the most personal that makes us who we are as an organization,” and I couldn’t agree more.

So, this is an honourable mention to everyone who is a part of any organization, whose identities and experiences make this work personal, and to those who have created the space for these conversations to be possible. When we, as organizations, choose to have leadership and team members who understand the impact language (and policies) can have, action moves quicker. At the end of the day, it’s not just about making external community members feel valued but about remembering that these identities are everywhere — including amongst staff. When marginalized individuals have the space to show up as their full selves, organizations like Fora benefit from becoming a place of power that is just a little bit safer for us. 

As we celebrate pride month, I’m thinking about all the ways organizations get to be an ally to 2SLGBTQIA+ folks all year round and about the ways queer allyship is inherently tied to gender equity.
— Jenny Jay

As we celebrate pride month, I’m thinking about all the ways organizations get to be an ally to 2SLGBTQIA+ folks all year round and about the ways queer allyship is inherently tied to gender equity. As an organization, Fora won’t always get it right — but as a person within the queer community, Fora’s effort to adapt and be especially mindful of our language (which has continuously been revisited, revised, and amended based on community feedback) is what has felt like true allyship — far more than engaging in performative communications and rainbows during the month of June. Queer folks and their allies inside of an organization can, and will continue to, come and go — but the people who continue to bring their personal identities, allyship, and advocacy to the table are a huge part of making the spaces one that we hope to be proud of tomorrow. 

And, personally? I couldn’t ask for anything more. 


ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jenny Jay (she/her) is a leader in unpacking how we tell stories to create spaces where people truly belong. Driven by her passion for inclusive and ethical storytelling paired with her background in film & creative writing, an educational background in non-fiction multimedia and her lived experiences holding multiple identities, Jenny advocates that spaces of power understand the impact of a story when it’s finally told right.

Jenny actively uses her voice in every space that she enters to challenge intuitional structures, advocate for disability, racial, and queer justice, and to ask that private organizations & companies put their resources where their values claim — including brands like Lululemon, Abercombie & Fitch & Humber College.

In her spare time, Jenny can be found practicing asanas (the physical form of yoga) with her Mom, laughing at memes on the internet, or road-tripping in the Mountains in her camper-converted Jeep.

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