Messaging Matters: Advocating for LGBTQ+ Rights
We often wonder why it is that people don’t understand an issue the same way we do. This is a question we need to ask ourselves, now more than ever. To us, it’s just common sense. And therein lies the rub: common sense is subjective. What is common sense to one individual is based on that individual’s experiences and context. People who have had similar experiences and find themselves in similar contexts are more likely to see that individual’s stance on issues and ideas as common sensical, and thus, easier to accept and support. People with different perspectives and experiences, on the contrary, are more likely to question that individual’s ideas. Take, for example, the issue of gun ownership. People who grew up in the relative security of the suburbs and with parents who didn’t own guns, and whose grandparents didn’t own guns, are more likely to share the view that guns should be highly controlled and regulated by the government. Someone who grew up in a rural area and/or with family members who owned guns are less likely to support restrictions on gun ownership.
Understanding that we don’t all have the same frameworks through which we view the world is extremely important in thinking about tactics for talking about issues relevant to the LGBTQ+ community. The goal is not to “preach to the choir”; rather, the goal is to engage in dialogue with people who may hold alternate views or who may be undecided on the issue at hand. To do that, we have to build the case in a way that is commonsensical to them, which typically involves appealing to basic, core values.
Take, for example, the case of same-sex marriage. A tremendous amount of effort over decades went into the acceptance of marriage equality, but for this discussion, we are going to focus on the tipping point of the 2010s. In the late 2000s, according to Kevin Nix, who served as communications director for Freedom to Marry, they set out to address the communication problems they were having using qualitative and quantitative research. The focus on legal arguments about benefits and rights that had guided this research was often viewed as sterile and lacking connection with individual’s experiences and had little impact on attitudes. This insight resulted in shifting the emphasis away from legal arguments about benefits and rights. (The average person doesn’t view marriage as a set of benefits, after all!). The focus became the “moveable middle”; that is, people who were uncomfortable with the idea but who were also uncomfortable with discriminating. The goal was to understand their reservations and how those reservations were shaped by their worldviews.
Their research showed that people resonated with talking about how same-sex couples might love and want to commit to their partners, just like anyone else. Message campaigns focused on slogans such as “Love is Love” and conveying messages of the Golden Rule and freedom (traditionally Conservative values). Examples of one individual within a same-sex couple being in the hospital and their partner being unable to visit because they didn’t have “spousal privileges” were widely shared. Also important to the strategy was the messenger: same-sex couples from all walks of life, supportive parents of individuals in same-sex relationships, and individuals with “star power.”
Of course, messaging wasn’t the only tactic used to push toward a majority, but it was an incredibly important component. Gallup poll data show that views on the validity of same-sex couples being recognized by law increased to more than 50% in 2013. By 2014, more states had laws legalizing gay marriage than banning it, and in 2015, the U.S Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal throughout the United States. The change in public opinion proceeded most changes in state law and the federal legalization of same-sex marriage. Importantly, these efforts fueled similar movements around the world with considerable success in achieving marriage equality.
Messaging is indeed an important tool for advancing policies and practices that support people who identify as LGBTQ+. To that end, we wanted to share some resources on messaging and advocacy of relevance to the challenges that LGBTQ+ individuals are facing on multiple fronts . We have compiled a non-exhaustive list of resources to help you frame discussion and thinking on these issues. This document includes resources on framing, general LGBTQ+ support and advocacy organizations, and resources to respond to challenges including the provision of gender affirming care, book banning and issues related to the rights of different groups within the LGBTQ+ community and links to organizations actively working on these issues.
Last but not least, while there are several tools out there to help with messaging, we want to leave you with one that we find particularly helpful – the message box. A message box is a visual tool for organizing strategic messaging. It can help us be more nimble and able to respond to questions while staying on message. Although there are a number of ways to organize a message box, we prefer this four-component model, which together, creates a persuasive and comprehensive story. Each part should have a main idea and several specific talking points.
The next time you hear someone say something along the lines of, “Letting people use the pronouns of their choice is just common sense,” we hope that you will reflect on the subjective nature of common sense and the importance of talking about issue you hold dear from as broad a value-based lens as you can. As long as we continue to think that what is common sense to us should be common sense to everyone and that we can simply change people’s worldviews by throwing a few facts at them, the less successful we are going to be. We need to take the lessons from the past and seek to better understand the worldview of others. This will help us frame – tell the story – of our concern from a lens that resonates with their values and experiences.
Want to learn more and get involved in promoting the well-being of sexual and gender minority individuals? We encourage you to get involved in the Global Alliance’s LGBTQ+ task force and to read our article exploring past LGBTQ+ advocacy efforts and making recommendations for future directions.