Voquent Adds Non-Binary Gender Selection for Voice Actors
This week, voice over agency Voquent.com added non-binary to its gender & age category filters. The term non-binary is used to describe an individual who in most cases does not identify themselves as ‘him’ or ‘her. Other terms include gender-fluid, inter-gender or agender.
Voquent’s update means any voice actor who specifies their gender as ‘non-binary’ during profile creation will now have the option of sharing their non-binary voice over samples.
The update has been made with careful consideration to the voice acting community and after many discussions with artists who identify themselves as being neither male or female. The increased awareness of subjects such as sexuality and gender, is noticeably growing. Germany recently made headlines with their decision to adopt the 3rd category of intersex on official documents and registers, marking them the first country in the world to do so.
Voquent’s Managing Director Miles Chicoine says of the update, ‘”We’re proud to be recognising and representing artists who do not identify as being male or female because Voquent’s ethos has always been about exploring uniqueness and diversity. Until now, non-binary voice over artists have either been hidden or misrepresented because no database, agency or platform in the industry has ever taken the necessary steps to distinguish this most fundamental human attribute. We hope that leading by example compels other companies in this industry to follow suit.”
The UN claims around 1.7% of the population are born with intersex traits. This equates to roughly 131 million people in the world. Voquent isn’t alone, OkCupid and Facebook now both offer custom gender identities on forms to include a variety of options such as terms like ‘androgynous’. And the UK Government recently added the gender-neutral title, ‘Mx’ to many of our government forms and banks alongside the usual ‘Mr, Ms, Mrs etc’.
Voquent’s Production Director Al Black added, “The update is of course important to voice actors for reasons of inclusivity, but it’s also of equal significance to businesses. Currently no other major voice over casting site or agency caters for gender neutral casting. This is a big problem if you want to hire a genuine non-binary voice talent for a product commercial or to play a gender-neutral character in a video game or animated series. We’re aiming to be a conduit for anyone and everyone who appreciates the value that diversity and equality offers to their own customers”.
Zee Andrews (pictured) is among the first voice actors to list their non-binary gender samples on Voquent.