Week of June 1 | Gender Neutrality

With the ongoing pandemic and protests, there was not much news about gender neutrality this week. Articles about gender-neutral policies were featured this week. Finland is currently changing all gendered figures displayed on road signs to gender-neutral ones. Meanwhile, many have been advocating for the Department of Veteran Affairs to change their motto to a gender-neutral one. The motto is currently an Abraham Lincoln quote that states, “To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan”. One article did some extensive research on the POSH Act and how it does not protect trans and nonbinary people, since it is made specifically for women’s cases of sexual harassment in the workplace. The article goes into how this law should be gender-neutral in order to protect trans and nonbinary people.

Articles about gender-neutral parenting were also heavily featured this week. One article discussed the difficulties of dealing with community members when raising a nonbinary child, especially when it comes to using gender-neutral pronouns. Other articles suggested making your baby’s nursery gender neutral and promoted gender-neutral baby names. Another article about children’s books mentioned a customizable book with nine gender-neutral characters available. One Pinterest article featured a gender-neutral baby shower game in which players would have to name a song with “baby” in the title.

Gender-neutral marketing and brands were other hot topics this week. In a recent interview the CEO of White Claw stated, “What sets White Claw apart is that it is the one that is gender neutral in focus. We were very conscious that the brand wasn’t going to be just about men or pushed towards women.” In an article about LA Black owned businesses, one store mentioned sells gender-neutral clothing that is inspired by both feminism and the Black experience. Meanwhile, Lizzo came out with a gender-neutral sunglasses collection. Other articles discussed gender-neutral fragrances and skincare. One article criticized companies’ use of gender-neutral language stating, “Brands marketed largely toward cis people have started to adopt gender-neutral or trans-inclusive language as a marketing tool, paying lip service to inclusivity without adapting their products for the communities of people they supposedly cater to.”