Change Now: Channel4 Reveals How Advertising Can Help to Support the Transgender Community

Channel 4’s award-winning ‘Mirror on the Industry’ series, which has been running for the past five years, audits TV advertising to see how diverse and representative it really is. In the past, it has looked at issues like class and social grade, women’s safety, and neurodiversity. This year, the mirror was turned on the representation of transgender people in TV ads with Channel 4 finding that only one in ten transgender people feel like brands are supporting their community. 

The newly published report, commissioned by Channel 4 in partnership with Wavemaker and Karo, and conducted by independent cultural research specialists The Diversity Standards Collective, takes an in-depth look at the lived experience of transgender people by engaging with the community directly. 

Much of the mainstream coverage of trans issues currently falls under the ‘culture war’ umbrella where those issues are sensationalised, misrepresented, or weaponised to serve a particular agenda without regard for the safety and wellbeing of trans people themselves. It’s then no wonder that the survey of 50 transgender people from diverse backgrounds revealed that they feel that the general public needs more education and awareness about trans issues and that this must stem, necessarily, from lived experience in order to be authentic. 

The research analysed 1000 TV ads to find that less than 1% featured transgender and non-binary people while the representation of the wider LGBTQIA+ community currently stands at 3%, which has not changed in five years. Some of the respondents did feel that trans visibility has improved overall though this still leaves the issue of representation. Currently, the ways transgender people are represented is limited with an overemphasis on the physical and medical aspects of transitioning. Respondents said that ads featuring trans people were “melodramatic, over the top tones, and overly focussing on physical moments, such as operations or binding”; instead of educational, this contributed to further ‘othering’ of the community. Moments of ‘trans joy’ are few and far between, something respondents wanted to see more of. 

“Our research is clear on why the need to normalise Transgender visibility on screen is so important. Levels of LGBTQIA+ representation in advertising have been low and stagnant since 2019, and run the risk of going further backwards if steps aren’t taken to tackle the reluctance of brands to address this. Advertising holds tremendous influence, which is why we need to see more ads with positive, creative and thoughtful portrayals of Transgender people. Doing so not only has the potential to shift perceptions, but would also connect brands with transgender people in a way they haven’t been able to so far,” said Samantha Cannons, research manager at Channel 4.

Portrayal and representation

Poor representation is more than an oversight, it actively contributes to the toxic cultural environment that transgender people exist in and therefore brands have a responsibility to get it right. Moving away from the physical aspects of being transgender and transitioning is only one aspect and respondents said they wanted to see a more ‘everyday’ style of representation where their trans-ness is incidental and not the sole focus of the ad. 

With recent examples of brands receiving backlash after featuring transgender people in ads, like the partnership between Heineken and Dylan Mulvaney, there has been a decline in brands working with transgender talent. Too many fear the ‘cancellation’ that may follow. In light of this, even brands known for supporting the transgender people with Pride campaigns have been pulling back contributing to a loss of financial support for the transgender and the wider LGBTQIA+ communities. The regression was seen as particularly painful when transphobia is at an all time high and since those brands once benefited financially from the community. 

So what can brands do? The report sets out five actionable insights that every brand should have on its radar.

Be more boring! 4 in 10 non-cisgender people think one of the main ways to improve representation is to make it look more natural. A key finding and recommendation focus on moving away from sensationalism and looking at the trans experience through a medical lens. A ‘boring’ lens can help more people to connect with the transgender community by fostering connections, showing commonalities, and reducing existing stigma. 

Make trans identity second. Half of non-cisgender people think one of the main ways to improve representation is to include fewer stereotypes. This insight follows on from the one above and asks brands to decenter the trans aspect of transgender people’s lives which can look like not drawing explicit attention to their gender or not mentioning it at all. Instead, the focus should be on their character and talent so as not to reduce whole lives to a single issue of being trangender. 

Hire trans talent. Working with trans talent at every stage of the process is one of the best ways to ensure that representation is authentic and relevant while avoiding tokenism. An intersectional lens should be employed too so that diverse trans voices can contribute their unique perspectives. 

Do your research and make the little things count! To get the nuances of transgender representation right, brands are advised to engage in extensive research to uncover accurate insights. Research revealed that small, subtle aspects in a creative - like the inclusion of a name badge or a scene of trans joy - will be noticed and appreciated by the community. This is part of a bigger idea that the best campaigns are often based on a single key insight - specificity is worth more than generalisation. 

Remember, you can’t represent everyone. Trans people are not a monolith and therefore not every ad can speak to all trans people and it doesn't need to attempt doing so. It’s better to speak authentically to a small group of trans people than inauthentically to a large one. 

For the brands that think that ‘getting it right’ with trans representation is just too difficult, the research draws attention to E45’s ‘This is Me, This is My Space’, winner of  Channel 4’s Diversity in Advertising Award 2023. The campaign was based on a key insight that  transgender people often feel most uncomfortable in their own skin. The brand highlighted how the process of transitioning can be difficult on trans people’s skin and present with side-effects like dryness and sensitivity. When tested, the ad was liked by 74% of respondents, receiving a rating between three and five stars. It was praised for its real-world portrayal of trans lives, trans-specific issues, and the diversity and inclusivity of the featured people. Both relatable and humorous, the ad didn’t shy away from difficult issues but it didn’t approach them from a dramatic or melancholy perspective which resonated with trans audiences who felt that it contributed to breaking down stereotypes about transgender people instead. 

To learn more about the findings and to read the full report, click here.