The month of June is Pride Month, which means it’s a celebration for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community.
The perfect way to recognise the impact this community has had on the world, many brands and companies have announced new partnerships to champion gender diversity.
First up, essie has announced its first ever non-female brand ambassador, Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness.
“I’m so honored to announce I’ve teamed up with essie as its first non-female ambassador in celebration of Pride! For me, polish has always been a form of self-expression. Right now that means this mosaic rainbow mani moment. Wearing it proud," said Van Ness in an Instagram announcement.
Next, Procter & Gamble has unveiled trans activist, Paris Lees, as Pantene’s latest ambassador. Lees will be working with the company to create greater visibility for trans people in mainstream society, with a focus on trans teens.
“Being able to turn on the television, being able to look in a magazine, look online and see that there are brands celebrating people from [the trans] community . . . it’s like the middle ground has shifted,” Lees said. “I never actually thought that trans people would be celebrated. I thought that we could maybe reduce the stigma, but I didn’t realise that it would become aspirational, that we’d be winning awards and appearing on the cover of magazines and being in advertising.”
WorldPride sponsor, L’Oréal, is also rallying its 860 employees on a march through New York City, set to take place June 30, as part of its March for Me campaign. Members of the public have also been invited to virtually join in on the fun by submitting a photo or video of themselves to be projected on screens on top of the L’Oréal USA float.
“We celebrate individuality and champion self-expression at L’Oréal, which anchors our global mission of Beauty for All,” said L'Oréal Luxe USA president, Xavier Vey. “It has been truly energising to see how our employees, led by the OUT @ L’Oréal employee think tank and its allies, have worked together to create a platform and campaign that embraces inclusivity at a global scale."
Meanwhile, Unilever recently appointed its first transgender couple as part of its All Things Hair Campaign, which is an online hub that provides hair tips and tutorials.
Launched last week, the new video features transgender couple, Jake and Hannah Graf, who explain the importance that hair played in their transitions.
“We’re really excited about the launch of our ‘Real hair stories’ series,” All Things Hair UK chief content officer, Jeanette Nkwate, said. “We think it’s a great opportunity to give people that aren’t normally heard in the media a voice and a space to speak about their truth and journeys.”
