CREATING AN


INCLUSIVE VENUE


FOR GENDER VARIANT GUESTS AND EMPLOYEES By Michael Tipton


CULTURE


What we do has great value. Venue managers like you gave me a safe place at a time when I needed it most, and that is why I went into  You may be familiar with the letters “LGBT,” but the alphabet soup


 -  Here’s the breakdown: • The two Q’s are “queer” and “questioning.” Some old folks like


         - compassing and liberating. The “questioning” recognizes that many        


  


 • 2S for Two-Spirit, a tradition among many Native American /


 and female spirits;  


and; • A for Allies, recognizing that the community thrives best with our loving supporters.


20 Facility Manager Magazine I mention this acronym to point out that there is more to the


“LGBT” community than you probably thought. Some of those letters  When people hear this term, their brain usually goes directly into the toilet. The debate over public restroom use by transgender individ- uals is the most interesting thing to happen to public restrooms since the hand-dryer. It has polarized America. It’s so simple, really, but this issue, and how a venue addresses it from


     community views your venue in terms of whether or not it is a friendly and welcoming place, and consequently whether we will attend events  Remember that the last “A” was for Allies. Those are our friends,


relatives, colleagues, social media friends, etc. How we view a venue’s acceptance of us is how we will also spread the story to others. You can make this a more positive story with signage, service, and training. Display visible signs of LGBT inclusion like gender-neutral or uni-


  will be mentioned later.  -


 


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