OVER the past few weeks, some of my experiences were centred upon better inclusion of key groups of people- like women and girls and the queer community. And increasingly, I cannot help but emphasise that better inclusion is always good.

Several days ago, I received a booklet on gender-sensitive language that could be used in my everyday writing. It offered suggestions on how language can be more inclusive. For example, instead of saying chairman, I can say chairperson or just chair; instead of saying firemen, firefighters can be used as a more inclusive term.

I agree with the suggestions because I believe language can help to reinforce stereotypes just as it can help to empower people. I believe using more inclusive language is a crucial step towards equality and eliminating gender bias simply because it changes how we communicate. And I believe that gender-insensitive language is problematic, particularly when it influences or reinforces biases against women and girls.

Let me add, however, that the booklet didn’t only provide a timely reminder of why my language should be more inclusive and provided suggestions on how I can do so. It also helped me reflect on the spaces I exist in and how easily misunderstood bona fide efforts seeking to improve our interactions can be.

I say this because the same booklet was also shared with someone I interact with almost daily. That individual quickly rejected the booklet, stating that it was being “forced” on him. From my little exposure to his outburst (I quickly removed myself from the space), I gathered that he did not read the booklet but thought its content included points on being more sensitive to the queer community.

His outburst appeared very homophobic very quickly. He retorted that he shouldn’t be forced to read this booklet (though he wasn’t being forced in the slightest way) because he “leaves people to do what they want”. And I couldn’t understand the outburst or how a simple booklet meant to foster more inclusive language irritated that individual.

The more I reflected on that incident, the more I thought about the spaces I dwell in and how easy it is for hatred, opposition, or misunderstanding, at the very least, to fester.

And it made me think: why can’t we easily support people- whether women and girls or members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ+) community- disproportionately impacted by language, people’s prejudice and biases, and/ or inequalities?

Days later, I read a new report which focused on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) inclusion in Guyana. That report was crafted after an analysis of Guyana’s laws and policies, and how inclusive they are, was conducted. And, as no surprise to me, it was found that there are significant gaps in legislation and policies vis-à-vis inclusion for the queer community.

In simpler terms, while overarching laws and policies seek to prevent discrimination against citizens, members of the queer community are not specifically catered for; and, as such, they have fewer protections under the law. A clear example of this is Guyana’s Prevention of Discrimination Act, which rejects discrimination on various grounds, but that law does not explicitly cater to the prevention of workplace discrimination on the grounds of one’s sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.

I believe that a legal or more inclusive policy framework could, in a big way, stem to combat much of the discrimination faced by the queer community. At the very least, it would provide grounds for getting much-needed redress.

With this report identifying areas where Guyana’s laws and policies can become more inclusive, an important consideration was the appetite to amend existing laws and policies and/or introduce new ones.

Certainly, I think we have become more open-minded and amendable concerning interrogating our gender biases and discrimination and also concerning respecting and supporting the queer community. Putting aside the need for empirical data to inform a position, my recent experience leads me to believe that much more engagement (and not necessarily ‘calling out’ or ‘cancelling’) is necessary as we continue to move towards, hopefully, interrogating and unlearning problematic things.

If you would like to discuss this column or any of my previous writings, please feel free to contact me via email: vish14ragobeer@gmail.com