The United Nations Development Programme has found that even in places where it seems like LGBTQIA+ individuals are fine, they are often actually experiencing tolerance – not inclusion. Allies might seem okay with LGBTQIA+ individuals, but actually use words and actions are hurtful. “The most common experience of discrimination was being told to watch your appearance or the way you speak or act.”

We wanted to condition allies’ minds towards unconditional acceptance at heart. With a solution that would let us continuously be an advocate of the LGBTQIA+ community. In a way that was very rooted and personal, but hopefully adaptable across different Asia Pacific markets.

To listen to where both hurt LGBTQIA+ people and well-meaning allies are coming from, and encourage respectful but informative dialogue, we launched The Unlimited Love Language – an unbranded, social platform that’s anonymously run by any and all LGBTQIA+ people who want to help.

Here, 1) LGBTQIA+ people individually explain how well-meaning but not completely loving words make them feel, and suggest what can be said instead; and 2) allies can get insight into why they need to be better and how to be better, by anonymously browsing and asking and learning without being shamed.

Every single bit of text on the website is by a helpful LGBTQIA+ person, or a wanting-to-be-better ally. So we are continuously learning about what matters to both of these groups. And we’re learning how to have the kindest, more helpful interactions between them.

The Asia-Pacific Social Science Review has found a range of “acceptance” of homosexuality in the region. Helping us pinpoint Jakarta, Mumbai, and the Manila as places to target – Asia Pacific cities with levels of LGBTQIA+ tolerance that range from 66% negative to just 22% negative. Because in places that are dangerous for LGBTQIA+ people, allies need to get as much insight and give as much love as they can. And in places that are more progressive, allies still need to understand and love as best as they can.

The Unlimited Love Language went live on June 1, 2021. (Social posts and films promoting it started before then.) And while Pride Month ended on June 30, 2021, the website is still up and open to anyone who wants to either learn or teach The Unlimited Love Language.

The Unlimited Love Language launched in Jakarta, Mumbai, and the Manila – Asia Pacific cities with different levels of tolerance. Because in places that are dangerous for LGBTQIA+ people, allies need to get as much insight and give as much love as they can. And in places that are more progressive, allies still need to understand and love as best as they can.

Local LGBTQIA+ influencers shared their perspectives, and led more people to engage with the website (128,000+ organic impressions). The educational effort reached both family-oriented groups and work groups – the main sources of the limited love that people hear every day. And Google Philippines even featured the effort in their newsletter that’s sent to all internal Google employees, and outside partners.

For a culture that would rather not talk about these things, the anonymity of The Unlimited Love Language helped foster conversations and learning that people would not have been comfortable having normally.

And the Unlimited Love Language has since made an impact far beyond Pacific. The platform has now been engaged with by people from over 250 cities – places that need information and education desperately like Accra, Moscow, and Tuckahoe; and even more progressive places like San Francisco, Hamburg, and The Hague.