Lessons from BBC Three's I Kissed a Boy | Moving from rainbow-washing to authentic allyship during pride and beyond

As Pride month unfolds, businesses around the world are joining the celebration, adorning their logos with rainbows, and making statements of support for the LGBTQ+ community. While these gestures are a great starting point, it is essential for companies to understand that Pride is more than just a rainbow banner during the month of June. True allyship requires action, commitment, and a genuine understanding of the challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community. In this blog, we explore the valuable lessons that businesses can learn from the UK’s first gay dating show, BBC’s I Kissed a Boy to improve their Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I) efforts during Pride Month and beyond.

Image credit: BBC.co.uk

Authentic Representation

I Kissed a Boy beautifully showcases authentic LGBTQ+ representation. The show gave us a diverse cast of gay men from across the UK, with a broad range of body types, ethnicities, backgrounds, and occupations all represented.

Speaking to the Gay Times, I Kissed A Boy host Danni Minogue articulates this brilliantly:

The community isn’t one type of person and I think there needs to be visibility of different people. Not just body types, but background and religions and attitudes and personalities.

Across 8 episodes we see the boys kiss at first meeting, couple up, break up and make up, with a backdrop of a beautiful Italian Masseria. By creating an exclusively queer setting the show demonstrates that there is no such thing as a ‘typical’ gay man and allows the contestants to be their authentic selves without the pressure of representing an entire community.

The lesson for businesses is to recognise the importance of genuine representation in their workforce and remember that queer people are not a monolith. It is crucial to create an inclusive environment where LGBTQ+ employees feel safe, valued, and empowered to bring their whole selves to work.

Education and Awareness

The TV series emphasises the significance of education and awareness of LGBTQ+ issues. In between the flirting that we expect from dating shows, we got to know the boys as individuals and hear about the challenges they have faced. Whether it was roadworker Ollie King’s experiences in the traditionally masculine construction industry or recently out Josh Cem navigating his newly found gay identity. An estimated 3% of the UK population identifies as LGBTQ+ so if your business employs more than 100 people, the chances are you already have queer members of staff. As such it is important to educate all your employees about LGBTQ+ history, terminology, and issues. By doing so you can foster empathy, reduce biases, and create a more inclusive workplace culture. Organising workshops, training sessions, or guest speakers are all great ways to promote a better understanding of LGBTQ+ identities and experiences in your industry.

Building Safe Spaces

I Kissed a Boy highlights the importance of safe spaces for LGBTQ+ individuals. The show was careful to create a genuinely safe environment, something that was incredibly important to host Danni:

For me, it was important how [the show] was cast, whether the cast were looked after, what the crew were going to look like. The majority of the crew are from the [LGBTQ+] community. Our psych was in the interview process and on set with us the whole way, and is accessible to the guys afterwards.

The benefits of taking these precautions can be seen in the show. The contestants are clearly at ease with the cameras and one another, allowing a truly authentic experience for both contestants and audience.

Similarly, businesses should strive to create a supportive and inclusive environment for their LGBTQ+ employees. Simply put, if your employees don’t feel they can be themselves in the workplace, then they won’t be able to produce their best work. Establish policies that prohibit discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity. You can encourage open dialogue, establish Employee Support Groups, and/or provide resources such as employee assistance programs that are equipped to support LGBTQ+ people..

Partnership and Advocacy

The TV series showcases the power of partnership and advocacy. Host Danni Minogue has been a long-time ally for the gay community, so it’s no surprise that 100% of the profits from her new single, the I Kissed a Boy theme tune ‘We Could Be The One’, will be donated to Switchboard a national LGBTQ+ helpline.

The show practices what it preaches, which is another important lesson for businesses to take away. Instead of simply stating that you support all your staff during pride, actively engage with LGBTQ+ organisations, charities, and community groups to demonstrate their commitment to the cause. Collaborating on initiatives such as Pride parades, fundraisers, or volunteering opportunities adds substance to your words. By aligning with LGBTQ+ advocacy organisations, businesses can amplify their impact and promote positive change both internally and externally.

Contestant Gareth summed up the impact that the show might have:

“I just hope that some queer kid, who’s scared to be who they are, sees this and it makes them feel strong, glorious and powerful enough for them to accept and display their true authentic selves to the world. Something I wish I would have done a lot sooner in my life.”

Pride Month presents businesses with an opportunity to send a clear message of support to their LGBTQ+ staff and customers. This year take the opportunity to go beyond superficial gestures and make a genuine impact. In 2023 companies should strive to move away from tokenism and rainbow-washing, to providing authentic support for the LGBTQ+ community. Let’s celebrate Pride Month not just with banners and glitter, but with tangible actions, policies, and a commitment to creating diverse, inclusive, and welcoming workplaces for all. Together, we can build a future where equality, diversity, and inclusion are not just buzzwords, but guiding principles for businesses worldwide.

If you need further support in creating inclusive environments in your workplace, our ED&I consultancy is at your service, Driving equality, diversity & inclusion across the talent landscape.