Support Today, Sell Tomorrow: COVID-19’s Impact on the LGBT+ Community
COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted the LGBT+ community, exposing gaps in job security, access, and support. From vulnerable workers to isolated elders and at-risk youth, this crisis underscores why solidarity and community matter now more than ever.
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Coronavirus is affecting people of all races, classes, and genders around the world. It does not discriminate, but some groups are more vulnerable than others due to macro- socioeconomic factors that are already affecting them. Specifically, the most vulnerable groups among us like: the poor, people of color and the elderly to name a few.
One group I want to talk about is the LGBT+ community, specifically, how our community has been impacted and what we're doing about it.
Support Today, Sell Tomorrow
At my company, we’ve been talking a lot lately about the impact COVID-19 will have on our business and what we're doing to mitigate risks. But one very different conversation I was delighted to take part in today was on support — specifically in how we can support our community today and sell tomorrow.
This was a marketing conversation we were having with the Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing (AIMM), and they were covering off on how businesses and large brands such as ours can leverage their platform to bolster these communities that are disproportionately at risk as a result of coronavirus.
It was an incredibly salient conversation to be having because it’s easy to get focused only on the business and the impacts affecting us directly. In doing so, we risk forgetting that there are real problems in the world, with people dying and losing their livelihoods because of this virus. Some more than others.
And these are groups that so desperately need our support as large organizations with the resources to really affect change. The Alliance's key mantra for this conversation was to: Support today and sell tomorrow. And I think that's an incredibly important piece of advice that brands of all types should be taking into consideration as they navigate this pandemic-affected marketplace.
LGBT+ Workers are More Likely to be Impacted by COVID
The data was stark.
AIMM brought in several speakers on a variety of organizations which have conducted consumer as well as marketplace research to understand the effects of COVID on a number of different groups. One particular group that they focused on was the LGBT+ community.
They brought in a speaker from Target10, to talk about what they found. Target10 is an organization that focuses specifically on LGBT+ inclusive marketing and branding activations.
Their founder, Matt Tumminello, ran through a lot of the basic statistics that help level-set the impacts for the LGBT community in the United States specifically:
40% of LGBT people work in an industry that's been impacted by coronavirus.
These are: food service, hospitals, K-12 education, and college & university.
Now, you might be thinking: "Everyone is affected by coronavirus, especially people working in these industries." But the key distinction is that the LGBT+ community is over-indexing in these roles — meaning a greater proportion of our community is affected.
To exemplify: we can look at the same statistics, but for our straight counterparts. When you compare this to the straight community, only about 22% of overall straight people work in these same industries in the United States, which means that the LBGT+ community is disproportionately being affected as far as workplace impacts in response to COVID.
Call to Support Freelancers and Gig Workers
Those numbers translate directly into lost income.
It's for this reason that I urge members of the LGBT+ community (or our allies) who are fortunate enough to be working during this time to consider contributing to funds benefitting LGBT+ freelancers and gig workers especially who may be finding it difficult during this time.
On Twitter, users like Fran Tirado — who is one of the hosts of another popular LGBT+ podcast, food4thot — has called for wealthy queers to do something as simply as Venmo or PayPal’ing gig-economy workers, asking wealthy queers to fall-in. Fran is the lead for LGBT+ Content at Netflix, and has been leveraging his platform to benefit the LGBT community during this time. For that reason, I truly applaud him.
Creative Ways the LGBT+ Community is Connecting — Digitally
Despite these challenges, our community has also found powerful ways to connect, support one another, and build resilience, even in isolation.
Now, it's no secret that gays love drag queens, and the drag community in particular is one that has really been at the forefront of leading our communities in solidarity. In terms of online interconnectivity, in this period of isolation, connecting with one another is more important than ever.
And drag is something central to our community that has really always brought people back together. Many drag queens have been taking to things like Zoom, Instagram Live, and Facebook Live to keep performing and potentially even use that as a source of income. It also provides a sense of normalcy for the queer community.
For members of the queer community who are missing those days at the bar or those days going to drag performances with bars, clubs, and other venues closed for business (amid social distancing) — taking to social media is critically important, not only as a stream of income for the performers, but also to keep our community whole.
Now, as one call-out that I want to make: to any business leaders or people with influence at organizations that have media dollars and budget that they're pushing out, I urge you to support our drag queens. Drive your dollars to their performances. These are people who have a captive audience of thousands of queer viewers and listeners and watchers, and who so desperately need a source of income barring actual gig performances.
I think it's an excellent opportunity for brands to gain that captive audience, but also gain the loyalty and respect of these performers when you're quite literally paying their bills and paying their rent.
Out in Tech, Virtual Community Spaces
Now, another group that I want to call out specifically because I have some personal experience with them, is Out in Tech. They were actually recently featured on CNBC, because they've been leveraging Zoom very creatively
What else would you expect from a bunch of techy queers?
They have been hosting regular Queers on Zoom, which comprise daily, Monday through Friday, happy hours, networkers, coffee connections — all of which are bringing thousands of people within the Out in Tech network together.
They were featured on CNBC for being community builders, which is is so sorely needed. I actually sat in on one of them myself, and it was great just shooting a shit with a bunch of internet strangers. It's something I haven't been able to do a ton of now that networkers aren't happening and getting to meet other queer professionals are self-isolating, furloughed, or laid off.
These sorts of communities are truly holding us together, and it's these shows of solidarity that are going to get us through this crisis together.
Privilege, Access, and Forgotten Communities
But access to these digital lifelines is not universal.
Now, with all of these developments within our own community, I think it's important to mention that we are extremely privileged to be enjoying things like Instagram live performances, Zoom conversations and virtual happy hours. But not all members of the LGBT community can enjoy these same benefits, as they're not privileged enough to have access to these resources in quarantine.
These are vulnerable groups that are frequently forgotten about. Specifically: LGBT seniors and LGBT youths. They may not have the esources to access these virtual spaces because of their living situations.
Supporting LGBT Elders
Target10 shared that LGBT elders are about 2x more likely to live alone — a stark statistic that underscores how vulnerable this group is during a public health crisis.
This reality is deeply rooted in history. Many LGBT elders grew up and lived their queer lives during the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. Many lost partners either during that period or years later to HIV/AIDS, leaving them as survivors without the same support systems others may have.
LGBT elders are 2x more likely to live alone
Not only that, but we all know how hard it is to date in the gay world, especially as an older person who may not have enjoyed many of the tools and resources that younger queer people now have to find partners and build relationships.
As a result, many LGBT elders are alone for multiple reasons — including legislation. LGBT elders are 4x less likely to have children or grandchildren, which means there are often few, if any, people regularly checking in on them. That is an absolute travesty. These are among the most vulnerable members of our community, and we need to do more to support them. Many also lack access to computers, technology, and digital resources that help people stay connected and mentally healthy.
Without a network of family members or friends to help with basic needs like grocery shopping, many elders are forced to go out into public spaces, putting themselves at greater risk while already facing declining health.
Risks Facing LGBT Youth
LGBT youth are among the most at risk during this crisis, as stay-at-home orders can force them into environments where they are unable to live safely or authentically. For many, quarantine means prolonged exposure to family members or relatives who may be intolerant, hostile, or outright hateful toward their identity.
This trend is the same for women who are living in domestic violence situations by not having things like school and work and friends as a respite from these abusive or violent situations. We are very much putting LGBT youths in harm's way as well.
Bringing the Community Together
If there was ever a moment for organizations to support today — not just in words, but through action — this is it.
While I am extremely proud of our community and how we have come together and how we have created so many acts of kindness across social media and amid social distancing, I believe there are still more we can be doing to help these vulnerable groups.
Not only that, but there's more that corporate organizations with resources and money can be doing to help bolster these groups. More so, leveraging each other's skills and resources is going to be paramount to getting through this crisis together and salvaging our physical health and mental health.
These are truly the moments when it matters most to show solidarity, show kindness, and help each other, whether it's through a donation or through an act of kindness or as simple as a text message, just checking in. These are the moments when it matters most and will truly mean the world.