Campaign Development II

London Pride is this weekend! I am very excited and I look forward to writing about it in weeks to come!

I am very busy at the moment holding down three jobs and beginning my final year at university. However, I am delighted to announce that I have been made head of Fundraising and Campaigns in my University LGBT society. With more people to help me I can’t wait to see how the campaign will develop.

Despite lack of writing on here, I have actually been drafting Manifestos to eradicate homophobia in Secondary schools (cause I like to to set myself easy goals), as well as planning a Tea Party for diverse families within the Lewisham Borough. This will include lots of activities aimed at primary school aged children.

Here is an example called ‘Family Crests’ which can be used as a fun tool for getting kids to think about their families and celebrate what makes their family special:

Starter:

Explain what Family Crests are. Look at examples.

Show how they use symbols to show different aspects of their family. Show examples.

Beginning activity

Make them write out as many descriptive words of their family in three mins.

E.g. Brave, Intelligent, Fun

Plenary:

Ask them what they have written and together how you might think of a symbol for some of those things. Get creative.

E.g. A lion, A book, A Bouncy Castle?

Secondary Activity:

Ask them to choose three of their most relevant things on the list and create a crest on one of the templates provided.

Ask them to think about how they are going to put together the three symbols. Think about creating a collage. Maybe they want to draw the three things on separate paper then putting them together?

Plenary:

Show and Tell.

Celebrating Equality & Fighting for Equality.

On the 24^th and 25^th of April it was heartening to attend two award ceremonies for two separate charities which are dedicated to improving the rights and welfare of LGBT people.

On the Thursday I went off to Greenwich to celebrate thirty years of the charity ‘Metro’. I was honoured to be invited to this celebration; it was this particular charity and its youth groups which so radically changed my life for the better as a teenager. By offering me strong role models, a safe haven of friends, who knew what I was experiencing and a relationship which defined three wonderful years of my late teens, I built up the courage from a young age to start my own campaigns in school.

The views from the Celebrations.

 

The speakers at the celebration ranged from Helen Belcher, a Human Rights Activist, who spoke beautifully about the stirring three demands that need to be met before we reach Trans equality. To James Wharton, a former soldier turned writer and author of ‘Out in the Army: My Life as a Gay Soldier’ who spoke about his experience as well as the wonderful work Metro has done over the last 30 years.

Metro is a committed group to improving the communities in which they work and its specific services allow for a healthier and happier group of people.

HIV prevention, support and testing has been at the heart of Metro since its beginnings, bringing all affected communities together, they aim to eliminate the stigma and address HIV related poverty. Furthermore they offer a range of important Mental Health and Well Being services in order to address the significantly higher reports of mental health problems, including depression, self harm and suicide ideation, within LGBT communities.

And of course there is Metro Youth. The services for young LGBT people and the workshops provided for schools is unfortunately a privilege and not a standard, which is why I am so thankful for the work that Metro does. The survey Youth Chances (run with Metro) has offered vital evidence that can be used to support more services which can cater to LGBT youth, giving them confidence necessary to seize greater control of their own lives.

The next day I was off to The Stonewall Youth Awards. A charity whose work over 25 years has improved the rights of LGBT people, jettisoning us into a more accepting equal society. Sir Ian McKellen graciously hosted and presented ‘’Youth Volunteer of the Year’’ to the amazing Alice McKee and Michael Young for their outstanding work within their community.

Sir Ian McKellen with the Stonewall Youth Volunteers of the Year – Well Done!

As he did so he noted how he felt ‘When Stonewall was first founded, a day like today might never be possible.’ – But it was his comment “There’s work to be done, and thank God it’s being done” which was ringing in my ears a week later, at yet another awards ceremony, this time hosted at my University, celebrating the Scholarship and Bursary Awardees.

I had been asked to make a speech about what my Scholarship had meant to me and, despite a shaky day beforehand, I got up and delivered what people later said was an ‘Unpolished but Heartfelt’ speech  about my time getting into university and the issues that the raise in tuition fees had caused me.

Doing the slightly risky speech meant that I was targeted for conversation during the refreshments, by many important figures in the institution, including one of the Prime Wardens, who asked me what I wanted to do after my degree.

I told him that university had given me many opportunities outside of my degree and that I would like to work on improving the lives of LGBT youth. This developed into one of those strange conversations where a seemingly intelligent and well educated person becomes quickly intolerable.

They explained their hesitancy, as he disagreed with ‘Gay Marriage’ but felt it was unfair to be considered a homophobe because of this. I told them that I would like to hear the reasons for these opinion. Firstly they expressed anger over the way that it had been handled by government, noting that it was not in the Tory Manifesto and also saying that it came out of nowhere and was quickly passed with little discussion.

Despite my repeated attempts to tell him that Equal Marriage was a long time in the works, went through parliament and Royal Assent like all other laws AND allowed the public to voice their opinion through an online survey, they remained unconvinced.

So I went on to express how I felt that the bill was used as positive propaganda to alleviate some of the rocketing unpopularity of the Conservative party, as they slowly privatise the country into oblivion. I even went on to state how I was disappointed in how the bill works in terms of Trans rights and how I still felt that there should be Equal Civil Partnership as well. However, it cannot be denied that Equal Marriage is a move in the right direction and symbolic of equal acceptance and approval of Gay and Lesbian love.

It was only after I had argued both sides that the real reasons for their disapproval was revealed: the stale old excuse of ‘Gay Marriage affects the sanctity of Marriage’ is a bore to listen to, as I watch heterosexual couples marry and re-marry time after time after time, so I won’t bore you all with it.

But it is important not to get bogged down by out of date reasoning for disagreements for equality. There is no denying that Sir Ian Mckellen is right – there is work to be done. What is important to remember is that it doesn’t matter if you are speaking to thousands in schools, hundreds in parliament, or a single person at an Awards Ceremony, as long as you are making them stop and think about what equality really means.

Kindness and Fairness, without Prejudice, For All People.

 

 

Diversity in Families: Library and Nursery Workshop.

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I would be offering a workshop to younger kids based around the book ‘And Tango Makes Three’.  I was not completely certain of the age group I should be aiming for with this particular book and tasks I had set, but last week I was pleased to deliver the workshop to the Nursery affiliated with my University. I will upload the Workshop outline later in the week.

There were about ten 4-5 year olds in the group and I feel that they responded very well to the interactive parts of the workshop – particularly enjoying the ‘act like a penguin’ part. Understandably, for the age group, they occasionally got distracted and excited but were also very interactive with the story and the conversation. They talked happily about their families, their hobbies and most importantly they asked questions.

With younger ages, the aim of the workshop is simple, it works to introduce the idea of different people and different families. With older children the discussion during the reading and during show and tell can go into more depth. Different parts may be removed or added to accordingly, but I believe in one form or another the structure is a good tool for primary schools.

Of course any workshop or lesson needs to be considered against the audience you plan to show it to. With this in mind I went to observe the under fives group at Catford library, so I could get a feel for what I might expect when I deliver it there.

Unfortunately the visit highlighted an issue I might have when delivering a book as long as ‘And Tango’ –  being that the regular income of the slot was quite large!

Holding the attention of ten five year olds in a school environment with two teachers supervising is fairly easy. Doing the same in a library with a undetermined large amount of children ranging from babies to pre school is a whole other challenge all together.

I discussed the issue with the Lewisham Library staff, including the Children’s Librarian and together we devised a workshop which kept true to what regular visitors were used to. Together we decided I would read ‘Red Rockets and Rainbow Jelly’ by Sue Heap, as well as ‘The Family Book’ and ‘Its Okay to be Different’ by Todd Parr. Both of the latter books have a page dedicated to same sex parents, but what’s more they consider all sorts of different minorities and situations that the ‘Nuclear Family’ does not cover.

On the day, I was with librarian, Paul Nash, whose experience with the under fives class helped steady my nerves. Keeping to the usual structure of the session, we had a little discussion about what they liked between each book as well as lots of fun interactive songs. In the end I read to about thirty children including a nursery and which was fantastic.

Librarian Paul Nash, his son and  I in front of the ‘Different Families, Same Love’ Poster after a successful Workshop.

The new ‘Different Families’ section of the Children’s Library at Catford is a great example of simple efforts toward massive change.

A few faces did drop when I got to the page that exclaimed ‘Some families have two Mummies or two Daddies’, so I guess I wasn’t just educating the children. In the end I got some great feedback from the parents and staff which cemented my belief that workshops like these are not only necessary but wanted in the community and schools.

A massive THANK YOU to all the people who were involved: Joan Redding, Paul Nash and Thomas Skinner (Also Catherine Williams and Joanne Moulton)

Setting Up a Gay/ Straight Alliance.

Last week I headed back to my old secondary school, to see the progress they were making during LGBT history month.

It was five or six years back, when I went up to the Head Teacher after class and proposed that a student group should be set up for LGBT students and straight allies. My original intention for the group was purely to offer a safe place for any young people questioning their sexualities. After I came out to my friends I was completely isolated. It was only when I found another set of more open minded, mature students that I developed as a person and my confidence grew. So I wanted to offer the same opportunity to other pupils being bullied.

However after I set up the group and we had the first meeting, it became clear that we all wanted to do more, and so we decided to attack the root of the problem and campaign against homophobia within the school.

This was our mission statement; it is one of the key aspects of setting up a group such as a Gay/ Straight Alliance. Before creating the mission statement, students need to find staff support, I was very fortunate that I was able to work with the Deputy Head of the school to set up my group.

A staff supervisor is vital in establishing the group within the school, by making the members aware of procedure and raising awareness of the group throughout the faculty.

As well as staff support, you will need students as well. Once this foundation is created you can set your ground rules:

• How will you advertise the group?
• How are people to be treated in the group?
• How are you going to make decisions?
• What is the group going to do and how is it going to do it?

The group I set up met at Wednesday lunch times to socialize and plan for events throughout the year. Some of the most successful events included charity bake sales, LGBT History questionnaire competition and Assemblies – which we either co wrote with faculty members who delivered it or delivered ourselves.

What’s more it isn’t just LGBT history month which you can use as inspiration for campaigns. You can plan events around Anti- Bullying week, International Day Against Homophobia or Worlds Aids Day (for which I once did an assembly outlining the myths and facts).

Finally it is important to make sure the group has longevity. In the years since I left the school the G/SA has continued its work in one form or another, and it was wonderful last week to meet all the current contributors to the group.

Current Members of the Team are forced into a photo with me.

Having a group set up in your school gives LGBT pupils a voice and highlights how important it is that issues of homophobia be discussed and tackled. Since the G/SA was set up in my school there has been more of a faculty effort to draw attention to LGBT issues in class and in assemblies. I went in to observe an extended registration in which students were discussing the impact of homophobia and their views on the subject.

What they said proved that there was still more which needed to be done, which I discussed with the G/SA members. I hope to work with the school again more thoroughly from the next academic year, but for now I am giving my assembly on prejudice to all years and helping the G/SA in their History Month endeavours.

A Healthy Attitude.

Lewisham are doing a fantastic job promoting LGBT history month. They have advertised a wide range of events going on throughout the borough, as well as informed readers of the website about LGBT resources and culture.

On the 8th of February I attended one of the events they had advertised called ‘My LGBT Health 2014’, which took place in London, Manchester and Birmingham. The fascinating conference had speakers from Government and Charities exposing uncomfortable truths about the state of the health service and health in general in relation to the LGBT community – with particular focus on 16 – 25 year olds.

 The day began by overlooking recent research carried out by the charity Youth Chances, who believe that prejudice is still rife within the UK. In order to help bring a stop to it, they have carried out a massive survey of over 7000 16 – 25 year olds about issues such as health, housing and careers.

It is the biggest and most comprehensive survey of its kind and is vital to the fight for equality. The research works as evidence which proves to the people in charge that the issues included are relevant and that services for young LGBT people are inadequate.

The survey found that LGBT young people have a disproportionate amount of mental health issues in comparison to Heterosexual/ Non Trans People.

It is my belief that building more coherent relationships between Doctors and patient we can bring these figures down. On hearing these results and talking to the LGBT people at the conference I felt more encouraged to pursue my campaign to bring better representation for all LGBT people in health services, particularly at GPs practices.

In my life time I have been a patient at three GPs. In all of them I have been assumed straight by doctors and have had to out myself.

By not giving an compulsory option to patients, on the registration form, that would allow them to inform their GP of their sexuality (as there is an option for gender and ethnicity) the council and GPs are promoting hetronormativity (the assumption that all people are heterosexual). Recognition of sexuality can inform GPs in their advice and diagnosis, it is therefore of top priority that this be considered and changed.

Whatsmore including the option to notify GPs of their sexuality on the registration form, creates discretion, people who otherwise might be too self conscious to mention it in person would have the chance to subtly inform their GP. For those uncomfortable with disclosing the information, there could be an option to not disclose.

I have found when discussing this idea with various people, to get their ideas, the reactions of most heterosexual and non-trans quite amusing. They don’t really understand why it would be necessary, whilst LGBT people have joined me in expressing the aggravation they have felt within their GPs who don’t take into account a major factor contributing to their health.

Feeling like you are not represented in any public service is insulting, but not being represented in a place where your well being is their priority makes absolutely no sense.

Last Monday I proposed the idea to the ‘Healthwatch, Lewisham’ and I hope to be having a focus group soon to discuss the topic further, for now I am interested in all of your opinions, which I can feedback to the Healthwatch:

• Do you feel that you are represented in the health service and at your GP?
• What do you want your Health service to offer you as an LGBT person?
• Do you feel an option on the registration form is enough?

Assembly Prep!

In less than two days I will be giving my first Assembly! Hopefully I can film it and stick it on here…

At the moment I am putting the finishing touches to the power-point which will go with it. I had so much fun putting together the slides of LGBT people from history and in the public eye. Can you put all the names and occupations to faces?

Names (Roughly Left to Right, Line by line):

Harvey Milk, Frank Ocean, Neil Patrick Harris, Orlando Cruz, Sir Ian Mckellen, Alan Turing, Carol Anne Duffy, Lavene Cox, Freddie Mercury, Angela Morley, Stephan Fry, Sarah Waters, Ellen Degeneres, Gareth Thomas, Emma Cook, John Amaechi, Lady Gaga, Casey Stoney, Jennette Winterson, Jodie Foster, Grayson Perry, Nicola Adams, Tom Daley, Portia de Rossi, Jessie J, Keith Haring, Goldfrapp, Alan Carr, Frida Kahlo, Justin Fashanu, Queen Latifah, William Shakespeare, Owen Jones, Chris Smith, Sue Perkins, Beth Ditto, Elton Jon, Bessie Smith.

Why not try out this lesson plan for an IT, PSHE or Registration Project?

• Ask your class to try and name as many of the LGBT figures on the board.
• After some discussion, ask each student (or pairs) to write down the name of one of the people who they were unaware of.
• Get each  student or student pair to create a small Powerpoint Presentation on the person – Who are they? What did they do? Why are they interesting?
• Have them present in a final lesson.

If you try this lesson plan out, let me know how it goes!

Campaign Development!

I am very pleased to announce that during February I will be giving a few family diversity workshops to under 5’s in libraries and nurseries in Lewisham. The workshop centres around a reading of the children’s book ‘And Tango makes Three’, based on the true story of two male penguins in central park zoo, who fall in love and adopt an egg.

I use the book as a launch pad to introduce children to the idea of LGB families. In making them aware of these relationships I believe there is less chance of homophobic bullying in the future. Furthermore it gives a positive foundation for understanding any future discovery of sexuality. I know from my own experience that only have negative connotations related to the word ‘gay’ stunted my development and made my life a lot harder.

There are a wealth of titles, including ‘King and King’, ‘Heather has Two Mommies’ and ’10,000 Dresses’, designed to make it easier for parents and teachers to introduce a discussion and usualise LGBT culture.

Hopefully I will be able to share the time and place of my workshop with you shortly. I am very excited for the month ahead.

There and Back Again.

Its been four years since I left my Sixth form and six years since I moved up from Secondary education. But it was that educational establishment which impacted the majority of my adult life. It is where I questioned my sexuality and where I found friends and companions who convinced me that I was not alone, but it was not the first place I experienced homophobic bullying.

For that, you would have to go back to primary school, where a young girl dons a short boyish haircut because she wants to be as cool as her mum and has one singular female friend who she spends all of her time with.

What I didn’t know at the time was that at the ages of maybe seven or eight stereotypes were already deeply engrained in to pupils understanding. And so I was teased for being a ‘lesbian’, a term that no one at the time really understood more than it being a flippant remark that could be made at the cost of another’s feelings.

I thank my parents for many things, for it was thanks to the confidence they gave me that I was able to continue being who I wanted to be, no matter what happened.

And, trust me, a LOT happened.

I entered secondary school and almost immediately was back stuck under the same label. The bullying became more ferocious as my response to the remark ‘your so gay’ was the challenge ‘so what if I was?’.

Despite this attitude I still denied that I was gay. It wasn’t something that had been discussed in either of my schools and had only been known under the guise of an insult. Telling people that I was not gay for so many years stunted me, personally, in my discovery of sexuality.

When I did come out, firstly to myself and to others, I found a network. This network of friends youth leaders and community helped me flourish. With my confidence increased I looked at my own experience through secondary and decided I wanted to make a change.

In year ten I approached my headteacher with the idea to set up a ‘Gay/StraightAlliance’ where LGBTQ students and straight allies could congregate to discuss the issues of homophobia within the school and how we could prevent them.

Together the group planned and held assemblies that confronted the history and the stigma that surround LGBT issues. We also organised charity bake sales on LGBT History month, which turned out to be a great way of getting a conversation going about misconceptions and stereotypes.

Me in year 12 with the G/SA at one of our Charity Bake Sales.

It was great to highlight the issues and have a place for student questioning their sexuality to come and feel safe.

When I emailed recently to see if I could come back and do some more work with the school as a part of my Stonewall campaign it was fantastic to hear that the group is still going. Its proof that whilst having Stonewalls training has been really helpful, anyone can decide to take a stand and organise something that could change views.