How Do You Shift Your Inclusion Efforts From Moderate to Intentional?

When was the last time you were somewhere you felt you truly belonged?

As a queer and trans person who is frequently in spaces that are intended for the LGBTQ+ community, it’s interesting for me to notice the times where I feel I truly belong versus the times where my identity feels like an afterthought.

A couple of months ago, I was on the SPIN podcast where I discussed creating intentional spaces for the TGX+ community. In that conversation, I talked about the difference between moderately inclusive and intentionally inclusive spaces.

Moderately inclusive spaces are those that say they’re inclusive or welcoming but still create environments subject to frequent microaggressions and behaviors of exclusion.

Intentionally inclusive spaces are those that are thoughtfully curated with TGX+ folks in mind, considering the TGX+ experience every step of the way and creating systems to ensure their belonging.

So, what does this look like?

Let’s use pronoun inclusion in an event space as an example. The difference might look like this:

Moderately inclusive

• An event that allows folks to designate pronouns as an option on their name tags.

Intentionally inclusive

• An event that allows folks to designate pronouns on their name tags, including an option for neopronouns or specifying if the individual goes only by their name.

• Event attendees are provided with education ahead of the event about pronouns and pronoun culture and are given the option of practicing pronouns ahead of time with other event attendees.

• Pronouns are included in promotional materials about hosts, speakers, and presenters.

• Event moderators and presenters receive ample education about TGX+ inclusion to ensure they use appropriate pronouns for anyone they call on or interact with. Moderators introduce themselves with their pronouns and use welcome statements such as “Welcome Honored Guests!” rather than “Ladies & Gentleman…”

The difference between being moderately inclusive and intentionally inclusive is the difference between saying, “Sure, anyone’s welcome!” and saying, “This space is intentionally created to ensure TGX+ individuals know that they are not only welcome here, but that they belong here.”

As a TGX+ person, I can tell you this makes a huge difference in my experience.

When I’m in moderately inclusive spaces, I experience frequent misgendering and people asking inappropriate questions about my identity. There also tend to be fewer TGX+ folks there since events that don’t communicate the active inclusion of TGX+ folks can be risky for those in our community.

However, when I’m in intentionally inclusive spaces, I can relax knowing that I don’t have to over-explain my identity or pronouns, can connect with other TGX+ folks in the space, and feel comfortable correcting folks who might make a mistake with my pronouns since a culture of pronoun inclusion has been so clearly established.

Intentional inclusion allows me to focus on enjoying the event, rather than questioning whether I am meant to be there in the first place.

Do you have a question about how to shift your inclusion efforts from moderate to intentional? Join our monthly TGX+ Inclusion Roundtable for HR, DEI, and ERG leaders. You can register here!

Bring your questions and real-world scenarios for us to explore them together. And feel free to share with others in your network who want to learn more about intentional TGX+ inclusion.