Pride month is a time for celebration, support, protection and allyship of LGBTQ+ communities. This month we reflect on our journey to understanding and recognizing non-gender conforming communities. Gender-fluid isn’t a trend; it’s a reality and mainstream for younger generations.

In 2019, our research found that 41% of Gen Z respondents from Western countries identify themselves in the middle of the masculine to feminine scale, while half identify as something other than heterosexual. In 2022 we released our Global Youth Census across NA, LATAM, EMEA, MENA and APAC and found traditional markers like gender and sexuality are far less important to global youth than who they are. Factors such as personality, values and family are core to how youth construct identity.

As we revisit our panel discussion below and unpack a definitively undefinable generation, we wonder if brands today have done enough to avoid Pinkwashing during Pride and instead truly understand the nuances of identity, transcend gender norms and cater to diverse audiences all year round.

“This generation who have the lifestyle of fluidity are going to enter the workforce and politics and have kids of their own and they are going to instill this mindset in the rest of the population,” Julie Arbit, our VICE global SVP of Insights and Virtue talk gender fluidity below: