Pride of Representing: COO Ensures Content Includes LGBTQ+ Creators

Gemma Arnott is COO of Standard.

It matters if you see people in the world who are like you. Fair and equitable representation in content across platforms is the mission of Standard, a creator management company, with Gemma Arnott as Chief Operating Officer.

“It matters if you see people in the world who are like you. Fair and equitable #representation in #content across platforms is the mission of @Standardshows, a creator management company, with Gemma Arnott (@Gfa) as Chief Operating Officer. ”

“It is important for our community to reflect the world around us, people of different cultures, shapes, sexualities, “ says Arnott, who has been with Standard since 2018. “We double down on the mission of inclusivity.”

With a client roster of more than 160 creators reaching over 100 million subscribers consuming fresh content on Youtube, Standard also manages sponsorships, merchandise, syndication, content strategy and production. Content creators have a range from 10,000 subscribers to 15.2 million.

Content creators include Abigail Thorn, a transgender woman on her “Philosophy Tube” channel, that boasts 1.12 million subscribers, Wendover Productions, Legal Eagle, the No. 1 lawyer on Youtube and Jordan Harrod, a Black queer scientist.

The availability of virtual original content expressing from a multicultural base of LGBTQ+ creators is essential to celebrate during Pride Month. It is also critically important to endorse the need to make available diverse content at a divisive time of anti-trans and ant-gay legislation, policies and initiatives.

“The availability of virtual original content expressing from a multicultural base of #LGBTQ+ #creators is essential to celebrate during #PrideMonth. ”

“For me this representation has always been important,” Arnott says, as she grew up in Denver with two lesbian parents. “It is not a question of what is trending.”

Arnott adds, “We can see all the ways representation matters because of the way it angers the other side. The hateful anti-trans rhetoric has affected our community.” But the creation of support surrounding safety and resources upholds the mission.

The “Don’t Say Gay” bill and other legislation is contributing to a cultural and partisan divide.

Recently in Houston, “The Texas Republican Party unveiled its official position on LGBTQ issues over the weekend, defining homosexuality as an ‘abnormal lifestyle choice’ and also opposing ‘all efforts to validate transgender identity,’" NBC reports.

According to NBC, "Homosexuality is an abnormal lifestyle choice," the 40-page resolution reads. "We believe there should be no granting of special legal entitlements or creation of special status for homosexual behavior, regardless of state of origin, and we oppose any criminal or civil penalties against those who oppose homosexuality out of faith, conviction, or belief in traditional values."

““For me this #representation has always been important,” @Gfa says, as she grew up in Denver with two lesbian parents. “It is not a question of what is trending.” #Pride2022 ”

There have been 24 anti-gay and anti-trans bills signed into law recently, “according to the Human Rights Commission — that aim to limit access to gender affirming care for transgender youth, prohibit trans girls and women from competing on girls’ sports teams in school, and bar the instruction of LGBTQ issues in school,” CNBC reports.

This is at a time when the numbers of those identifying as LGBTQ+ are expanding.

The World Economic Forum reports, “A 2021 Gallup poll found that 7.1% of the US identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender – double the percentage in 2012 when Gallup started measuring the community. Perhaps even more importantly, one in five Gen Z members (21%) now identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender and this percentage has nearly doubled in just 5 years.”

Representation must also expand. This is the mission of Standard and its creators.

“There have been 24 anti-gay and anti-trans bills signed into law recently, at a time when the numbers of those identifying as LGBTQ+ are expanding. Representation must also expand: this is the mission of @Standardshows and its creators. #LGBTQrights #transrights”

The WEF reports, “Media images can educate audiences and humanize marginalized communities, but when it comes to LGBTQ people, increases in representation are needed to accurately depict these changing demographics. A unified measure of LGBTQ representation can be a motivating force for accountability and greater cultural acceptance.”

The WEF report continues, “While the LGBTQ community is quickly growing in scale, we are also seeing the impact of media representation on cultural acceptance. The majority of Americans are not only comfortable seeing LGBTQ people in media and ads, but actually look more favourably upon brands who are LGBTQ-inclusive, according to GLAAD and P&G’s LGBTQ Inclusion in Advertising & Media report.

In the workplace this has impact.

“Businesses also understand the impact that LGBTQ representation can have on advancing equality and acceptance. More than 90% of agencies and advertisers agree that companies can make consumers more familiar with diverse groups of people and break down social barriers through representation. As the most trusted institution, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer, businesses are more likely to change hearts and minds than governments and news outlets,” the WEF reports.

Arnott agrees and says that the original content Standard offers aligns with this inclusivity. She also acknowledges that the pandemic has shifted the media consumption habits of millions. The COVID reality has been that more people were staying home and looking for content and entertainment beyond subscription offerings, which did help Standard grow their base.

“Everybody was at home in their houses staying safe and spending a lot of time on the Internet,” she says. “There was so much new content daily and so much faster on Youtube, so our business was growing anyway as media consumption is changing.”

The growth of Standard and its intentions is a strong fit for Arnott and has fit well with her own career.

“The growth of @Standardshows and its intentions is a strong fit for @Gfa and has fit well with her own career. #femaleCOO #femaleleader”

Graduating in 2015 from Regis University with a business degree, Arnott went to work in theater, but also worked in restaurant management, catering, party planning and childcare, before diving into an entrepreneurial jaunt as a pastry chef in a commercial kitchen.

“I burned myself out,” Arnott says. “It destroyed my passion.”

After moving to ThinkGeek in project development, Arnott went to work with Standard founder Dave Wiskus to manage the merchandising. When the COO job opened up, she went for it.

“I thought I could do that job. I can do X, Y, Z, while you look for a COO,” Arnott says. She got the job permanently and has been in that position ever since.

And that is key to her advice to anyone looking for a position or looking to rise in an organization.

“Be willing to take a chance on yourself whether you are interested in switching careers or in growing up in your company,” Arnott says. “You have to say to yourself, ‘I know I can do this.’”

““Be willing to take a chance on yourself whether you are interested in switching #careers or in growing up in your company,” @Gfa says. “You have to say to yourself, ‘I know I can do this.’” #careergrowth #lifeadvice”

It is also key as a leader in an organization to acknowledge mistakes and missteps.

“If you make a bad call, the ability to be introspective and to learn from it is huge,” Arnott says. “Many leaders can’t admit that and don’t look at why or how they can do it differently.”

The best leaders can do just that.  

““If you make a bad call, the ability to be introspective and to learn from it is huge,” @Gfa says. “Many leaders can’t admit that and don’t look at why or how they can do it differently.” #leadershipskills #womenwholead”