Working with trans and gender diverse creators? Here is what you need to know

We’ve seen a boom of brands working with trans and gender diverse creators in the last two years. Brands are beginning to do their due diligence in representing the world as it stands and not how it’s previously been portrayed in more conservative decades. But when trans people have historically been chronically underrepresented in marketing and influencer campaigns, how do we know that we’re getting working with trans creators right?

I’m Rudy Jean Rigg, award winning trans and autistic creator, writer and host. I co-create Rainbow History Class, the queer and trans history you don’t get in school, and have hosted and co-written a Screen Australia funded TikTok exclusive docuseries TransAthletica. I enjoy long walks on the beach, dogs AND cats, but most of all I enjoy making the world a more inclusive place. 

First and foremost, an almost non-negotiable facet of working with trans and LGBTQ+ creators at large is to ensure you have engaged in a workshop run by an organisation such as Minus18 or Queer Town, who are able to run through the A-Z of how to be a more inclusive workplace. 

But while you’re making that fit into your heinously busy google calendar, instead of learning from your own mistakes let me take you through some simple things I’ve (unfortunately) experienced as a trans creator working with brands, agencies, production companies and beyond, and what you can do instead.