Whether you are running a specific programme to engage with LGBTQ+ audiences or simply hoping to grow LGBTQ+ representation in your existing screenings, it’s really important to remember some key things to make sure you are sensitively and appropriately programming, promoting, and welcoming audiences in your cinema.

1. Work with LGBTQ+ people themselves, whether it’s working with community or national organisations or with people within your own organisation.
2. Employ a more diverse workforce at all levels. Welcome diverse groups in your job applications and your mission statements.
3. If you can, get training delivered to staff about how to engage sensitively with audiences, and for a better understanding of the experience of LGBTQ+ people.
4. Consider that people have multiple identities so communication needs to work for LGBTQ+ people across your whole programme, and don’t presume that you will only have an LGBTQ+ turnout for your targeted programming.
5. Get LGBTQ+ people to audit your venue to give feedback about how the space feels, about signage, and about the customer service experience.
6. Make sure you take feedback on board and actually use it, and share your reasoning across the organisation.
7. Consider the tone of your signage – can you be gender neutral?
8. Think about lesser told stories – not just the obvious films… Are you including lesbian and trans stories? Think about the filmmakers and if they have credibility.
9. Get LGBTQ+ people to programme and give insights into marketing and audience development. (Best practice with any consultancy is to pay people!)
10. Revise your communications with LGBTQ+ insights – what kind of language do you use? Are you welcoming? Is there subtle prejudice in the way you communicate that needs to be considered?
11. You’ll need to do more community and social marketing. Engage with charities and relevant LGBTQ+ organisations.
12. Use gay bars and clubs/venues and LGBTQ+ centres for your print advertising. If there are Pride events in your calendar, go along…
13. Consider your survey. Do you have all the necessary fields for gender and sexuality? It’s a lot better to ask people to self-identify rather than to designate fields around gender.
14. Could you be gathering deeper, qualitative, useful feedback – can you make yourself available to audiences for interviews/conversations afterwards?
15. Think about opening up a dialogue and your audience will recognise the efforts you are making, and champion you to their networks. Even social media polls can be useful.
16. Make it known that you’re trying to improve and willing to listen and learn.

Stats

Stonewall, as the leading organisation advocating for LGBT+ rights in the UK, says it is a reasonable estimate that there are between 5-7% people in the UK who are LGBT+.

Some further interesting statistics:

• One in five LGBT people have experienced a hate crime or incident because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity in the last 12 months
• Two in five trans people have experienced a hate crime or incident because of their gender identity in the last 12 months^[1]
• Nearly half (42 per cent) of trans people are not living permanently in their preferred gender role stated they are prevented from doing so because they fear it might threaten their employment status^[2]
• Nearly half (45 per cent) of LGBT pupils – including 64 per cent of trans pupils – are bullied for being LGBT in Britain’s schools. This is down from 55 per cent of lesbian, gay and bi pupils who experienced bullying because of their sexual orientation in 2012 and 65 per cent in 2007^[3]
• A quarter of the world’s population believes that being LGBT should be a crime^[4]
• 1 in 3 homeless youth are LGBT^[5]
• LGBT people are more likely to be substance dependent^[6]
• LGBT people are more likely to face mental health challenges such as depression and anxiety^[7]

^[1]Stonewall: The Gay British Crime Survey (2013) and LGBT in Britain – Hate Crime (2017)
^[2]Stonewall: Gay in Britain (2013) and Engendered Penalities (2007)
^[3]Stonewall: The School Report (2017) and The RaRE Research Report (2015)
^[4]Stonewall: Stonewall’s International Work and ILGA World (2016).
^[5]Crisis, 2005
^[6]University of Central Lancashire, 2014
^[7]King et al 2008

Organisations

Stonewall works for acceptance without exception for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

LGBT Foundation is a national charity delivering advice, support and information services to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) communities.

See the downloads for a detailed list of organisations.

Not only is cinema one of the most accessible forms of experience for audiences on a tight budget, but it’s also a form that straddles the arts, entertainment and leisure categories.

That means that cinema is best placed to be a gateway for people seeking experiences to improve their quality of life, and looking for transformative and positive social interactions.

The law and our definition

Besides that, cinemas have a moral and legal (Equality Act 2010) obligation as public venues to be accessible to all types of audience, and to make suitable changes to their programme and environment to accommodate audiences that may be marginalised by disability, minority or a mixture of traits that could see them feeling alienated from the cinema experience. To this end, we seek to increase diversity throughout the Film Audience Network.

Our definition of diversity is to recognise and acknowledge the quality and value of difference. Our focus is on disability, gender, race, age and sexual orientation (as they pertain to the Equality Act 2010), because there continues to be significant under-representation in these areas. We also seek to ensure that people from lower socio-economic groups are better represented.

Statistics

There are some compelling statistics to clarify why cinemas should be supported to be inclusive in their approach to audiences, and to provide accessible screenings:

• The UK is among the worst performing EU states on improvements to gender equality, and hasn’t improved in 10 years.
• One in five LGBT people have experienced a hate crime or incident because of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity in the last 12 months.
• Nearly half (42 per cent) of trans people are not living permanently in their preferred gender role stated they are prevented from doing so because they fear it might threaten their employment status.
• Today, 30% of children in the UK are living in poverty.
• There are over 11 million people in the UK with a limiting long term illness, impairment or disability. Life costs you £570 more on average a month if you’re disabled.
• It is estimated that 1 in 6 people in the past week experienced a common mental health problem and major depression is thought to be the second leading cause of disability worldwide and a major contributor to the burden of suicide and ischemic heart disease.
• There are around 700,000 people on the autism spectrum in the UK – that’s more than 1 in 100. If you include their families, autism is a part of daily life for 2.8 million people. 70% of autistic adults said that with more support they would feel less isolated.
• There are 850,000 people living with dementia across the UK, and this is set to rise to over 2 million by 2051. 34% of these people don’t feel part of their community and 61% felt anxious or depressed recently.
• Almost half of blind and partially sighted people feel ‘moderately’ or ‘completely’ cut off from people and things around them.
• 34% of respondents with hearing loss said they were dissatisfied with the accessibility of cinemas. Less than 1% of cinema showtimes are accessible via captions in the UK. 83% of people with hearing loss said they would attend cinema regularly if a nearby cinema had captioned shows at convenient times.

Intersections

Where a person has protected characteristics that might place them in a minority group, they are also likely to be affected by other factors that increase their diversity and need for even greater measures by providers to ensure inclusion:

• Between 44% – 52% of autistic people may have a learning disability.
• At least one in three autistic adults are experiencing severe mental health difficulties due to a lack of support.
• People from black and minority ethnic communities are at greater risk of some of the leading causes of sight loss.
• Older people with sight loss are almost three times more likely to experience depression than people with good vision.

The benefits

Inclusive Cinema provides a slice of normal life for audiences with disabilities, and their companions, who may find social and physical barriers when they usually visit cinemas. Simple, practical changes can make a world of difference in bringing film to a wider audience.

Diversifying audiences isn’t just about being fair, and legally appropriate however. There is a real economic value in expanding the capabilities of cinema spaces to bring in audiences from all backgrounds and with a range of requirements. Audience portfolios that are diverse result in more robust organisations, that can handle changes in economic climate, and cultural trends.

As an example, the “purple pound” is the potential spend from over 11 million people with a limiting long term illness, impairment or disability, and is reckoned to be worth around £249bn, as you can see in this BBC video.