LGBT History Month 2012
In this pack:
RAISING & PROMOTING AWARENESS
• Celebrating the contribution made by LGBT people
• Reflecting on the history of LGBT discrimination
CELEBRATING LGBT ACHIEVEMENT
• Promoting inclusion and diversity
• Challenging homophobia
WANT MORE HELP?
• Practical advice and guidance on using this pack
can be found in the guidance notes at the end
Introduction
LGBT History Month exists to celebrate LGBT culture and achievements and to raise awareness of
issues facing the LGBT community – read more in the LGBT History Month values. This pack also
aims to celebrate inclusion and diversity in a positive and affirmative way whilst challenging
homophobia.
“We never educate directly, but indirectly by means of the environment”
John Dewey “Democracy and Education”
You should aim to provide a safe environment where all young people are free to explore their sexual
identity, gay or straight, and share their stories and experiences in a space that is:
• Supportive and welcoming
• Provides accessible information for young people
• Embraces diversity and creates an environment where everyone should feel valued without
encountering prejudice or homophobia.
No one should be forced to participate in discussions, or put in a position where they’d draw
unwanted attention to themselves by refusing to share when asked. There are many reasons why
young people may be reluctant to discuss their views on this topic and these need to be respected by
establishing strong boundaries and ground rules for your work.
Thanks to Vanessa Rodgers for session ideas and Angela Ford and her team for their valuable input
Hallmarks of Good Practice Working With LGBT Young People
•
Everyone is treated with respect and you tackle homophobia in the same way as
racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination
• Your anti-bullying policies take into account LGBT issues and are visible within the
group setting
• You use images that present and reflect diversity
• Your practices are open and inclusive and do not automatically assume that everyone
is heterosexual
• Mainstream services are available to everyone
• Staff have LGBT awareness training and understand the needs and vulnerabilities
that LGBT young people have
• You have knowledge about the range of LGBT facilities and resources available –
both nationally and in the local community
Taken from http://www.safenetwork.org.uk/training_and_awareness/Pages/supportinglgbt-young-people.aspx
If you are unfamiliar with working with these issues, we’ve sent you two useful
guides from Stonewall: ‘Challenging Homophobic Language’ and ‘Supporting
Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Young People’. You can download additional copies
here: http://www.stonewall.org.uk/at_school/education_resources/default.asp
LGBT History Month Values
Recognise and promote awareness of LGBT history
Celebrate the contribution made by LGBT people to society
Provide an opportunity for reflection on the history of discrimination of LGBT people
Provide an opportunity to educate and inform subsequent generations of LGBT history,
highlighting discrimination and celebrating diversity
Celebrate LGBT people in a positive and affirming context, which promotes inclusion and
equality
Focus national attention on the LGBT community, and provide an opportunity to discuss the
ways in which LGBT equality can be enhanced at a local and national level
Assert the need for continuing vigilance and the championing of LGBT rights in an
international context
Assert a continuing commitment to challenging and eradicating homophobia, biphobia and
transphobia
Promote an inclusive society, free from homophobia, biphobia and transphobia
Aims, Objectives & Outcomes
NEEDS
PLAN
• To celebrate LGBT History Month in your organisation through affirmative & positive images and
activities
• To promote inclusion, equality and diversity
• To raise awareness of LGBT issues like homophobic bullying
• Activities to raise awareness of LGBT issues in a positive way
• Activities to promote inclusion, equality & diversity through groupwork & individual activity
• Creation of a safe space for LGBT young people
• Young people will have a better understanding of LGBT issues
OUTCOMES • Young people will be equipped to challenge homophobia
REVIEW
• Record your work using your organisations recording methods
• Record & evaluate the distance travelled with young people
• Review and plan for future session work
Top LGBT websites
www.LGBThistorymonth.org.uk
The official website for LGBT History
Month
www.schools-out.org.uk
School’s Out supports LGBT young
people
www.LGBTyouth.org.uk
LGBT Youth has an excellent range of
information sheets for young people
www.stonewall.org.uk
Stonewall campaigns on LGBT issues
www.lgf.org.uk
LGF offer advice & support on a range
of LGBT issues
www.queeryouth.org.uk/community
Queer Youth supports LGBT young
people in the UK
http://www.glaad.org
GLAAD has a wide range of
resources and information
Top LGBT websites
www.turingnetwork.org.uk/
Community driven directory for LGBT
life
www.avert.org/teens.htm
Avert pages for young people
www.imaan.org.uk
Imaan supports LGBT muslim people
http://bit.ly/KentpoliceLGBTYP
Kent Police advice for LGBT young
people
www.outeverywhere.com/
Out Everywhere is an online social
club for LGBT people
www.fflag.org.uk/
FFLAG supports families & friends of
LGBT young people
http://eachaction.org.uk/
EACH homophobia reources
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjU2FeU_3qI
BBC programme on gay sportspeople
Icebreakers
KEEPING IT SECRET Seat the group in a circle and give each member of the group a piece of paper
and ask them to write down the thing they are least proud of and wouldn’t want anyone else to know.
Once everyone has written this down, tell them to fold the paper securely. Now ask them to exchange
their paper with the person opposite them. Now exchange again with the person on their right. Ask the
group how they feel, knowing that someone else in the group holds their secret. Do they feel angry?
Scared? Insecure? Remind them that people who are bullied for being ‘different’ often feel the same.
Now hand round a wastebin or similar and make sure every group member gets rid of the paper.
Remind them that the session will be about celebrating difference and making good decisions and
that they’re all starting with a clean slate.
AGREE/DISAGREE designate one area ‘agree’ and one area ‘disagree’. Young people may NOT
choose the middle of the room! Encourage them to take a definite position on the following statements:
There are LGBT young people in every city in the UK
Some people hate LGBT people they’ve never even met
LGBT and heterosexual young people are the same in most ways
If I knew one of my friends was LGBT that would be OK
LGBT young people should be able to get married
LGBT young people don’t deserve to get bullied because they’re different
Be sensitive to the fact that some young people will disagree with these positive statements –
try and challenge them positively.
Icebreakers
GENDER STEREOTYPES Trace a male and a female body on flip chart paper, then have a free-forall where everyone writes/expresses as many gender stereotypes as they can think of, and place
those stereotypes on the bodies where they would apply (i.e. "boys are smart at math" would be
placed on the head of the male body). From here, you can talk about how gender stereotypes and
traits relate to perceptions about gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people - as well as how these
stereotypes limit our possibilities, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. This ice breaker
helps young people to recognize that everyone has different traits that don't define our sexual
orientation or gender.
COMMON GROUND ask the group to stand in a circle. One person begins by saying, "I've got a
younger sister," or some other statement that is true for them. Everyone for whom this is also true
steps into the centre of the circle. Everyone who doesn't have a younger sister stays on the outside.
You can always choose not to step into the circle. The game often brings up personal and important
issues that young people may not want to discuss in a more formal setting. This also allows us to
recognize our differences and similarities as, by the time everyone has made a statement, all young
people in the group will probably have something in common with every other young person.
Facilitating Discussion
Controversial topics often make for great discussions but these issues can often give rise to deep emotions and strong
beliefs. You will need to establish an atmosphere that encourages young people to feel safe and to share their ideas
and thoughts openly and honestly.
BE CLEAR ON YOUR AIMS & OBJECTIVES
Think carefully about what you want the group to share – explain confidentiality and be able to offer support or signpost
to an appropriate agency
REMIND EVERYONE THEY’RE INVOLVED IN A DIALOGUE NOT A DEBATE
Debate is about being right – dialogue is about listening and understanding other people’s points of view
ESTABLISH GROUND RULES ON ACCEPTABLE LANGUAGE
Be clear on what language will be challenged and what is not acceptable. Encourage specifics not generalisations
ENSURE THAT EVERYONE HAS A CHANCE TO BE HEARD
Try using a talking stick – an object that, when held, means only the holder can speak – to ensure everyone gets a turn
ENCOURAGE ACTIVE LISTENING
Encourage the group to listen without interrupting, then check question to make sure they’ve understood what was said
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND GROUP MEMBERS
If things get too intense, tell the group to take a break or organise a quiet individual activity
LEAVE TIME TO EVALUATE
Evaluation and planning for future action can leave a group optimistic and empowered
Discussion Points
Print out and display in your centre – try sticking discussion points on tables, notice boards & even in the loo!
Read the poem by Pastor Niemuller. Now try substituting the words ‘gay’,
‘lesbian’, ‘bisexual’ and ‘transgender’ – does it change your view about the
poem? How might a situation like this happen? And what is the message of
the poem?
LGBT History Month 2012 is focusing on sport. The Justin Campaign confronts
homophobia in professional football and sport as a whole. The England wicketkeeper
Steven Davies has announced he is gay – becoming the first professional cricketer to
publicly out himself. Did he do the right thing? Why do you think that most
sportspeople choose to hide their sexuality?
Read the story about Roger Crouch and his son Dominic who was a victim of
homophobic bullying http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/dec/01/gay-bullyingcampaigner-roger-crouch-dead What would you do to make sure that your centre is a
safe space for all young people? How would you challenge homophobic bullying?
Discussion Points
Print out and display in your centre – try sticking discussion points on tables, notice boards & even in the loo!
Sir Elton John is probably the most high profile same sex parent in the
world. He’s also in a civil partnership. Do you think LGBT people should be
able to get married in church? Do you think gay & lesbian couples make
good parents?
How do you feel about someone calling Will.I.Am from the Black Eyed Peas
a ‘faggot’ (US slang for gay) because he thought it was the worst insult he
could think of? What do you think of the use of the word ‘gay’ as an insult?
Do you think sexual orientation and gender identity are the same thing? Do
you think people choose to be gay? Do you think people choose to change
their gender?
First They Came…
First they came for the Jew
And I did not speak outBecause I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the communists
And I did not speak outFor I was not a communist.
Next they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak outBecause I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me.
Pastor Niemuller
Session Ideas – LGBT Life Stories
Ask young people to work in pairs – try to match up young people who don’t know each other
too well. Tell them their objective is to take turns in finding out as much as possible about
their partner. They must discover things that can be shared appropriately with the whole
group. Just before they start, tell them that there is a list of things that they are not allowed to
talk about. Banned topics can be written up on flip chart paper as a reminder
Call time after 10
minutes and go
around the group
introducing each
other and sharing
things about each
other's lives.
Ask the young
people: How easy
was that exercise?
Did anyone cheat?
What things did
people talk about?
How did it feel to be
restricted? Did they
find out a lot about
their partner? What is
it that makes up a
whole person?
Ask young people
about the banned
subjects – suggest
that these are topics
we commonly talk
about but LGBT
young people might
not feel comfortable
discussing them or
disclosing this
information. How
would you feel having
to keep these things
secret? And how
would you feel about
keeping those
secrets all your life?
Invite the young
people to consider
what they would tell a
friend who was
struggling to be open
about their sexuality.
Encourage the group
to make suggestions
of ways to show
support and identify
sources of help.
Banned Subjects – LGBT Life Stories
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Places you go out to
Hobbies
People you fancy
Friends
The prospect of having a family and/or children
Films & TV programmes
Music you like
Books/magazines
Holidays
Clubs you belong to
Your family
Your religious beliefs
What you did last night
Session Ideas – LGBT Role Models
PREPARATION: You will need some blank postcards/pieces of
card and photos of LGBT role models (see separate sheet for some
suggestions). Choose strong, positive images e.g. Brian Paddick in
his police uniform. Stick faces onto card and place the cards face
up on a table.
ACTIVITY: Ask young people to put together images of people
they think have something in common. Start a discussion on why
young people have made the decisions they’ve made then
introduce the idea that the one thing they all have in common is
the fact that they are LGBT.
DISCUSSION: Ask young people to look through the images and
discuss who they think is a great role model for LGBT young
people and why? Review the process and start a discussion. For
example, what makes someone a gay icon? Can heterosexual
people be LGBT role models? What do young people feel about
including role models that perpetuate stereotypes? How do the
group feel about celebrities who are thought to be gay but are not
openly out yet?
LGBT Role Models
Peter Tatchell (campaigner) (G)
Sir Ian McKellen (actor) (G)
Boy George (musician) (G)
Elton John (musician) (G)
Derren Brown (magician/illusionist) (G)
George Michael (singer) (G)
Simon Amstell (comedian) (G)
Martina Navratilova (tennis player) (L)
Cynthia Nixon (actor) (L)
Freddie Mercury (musician) (G)
Oscar Wilde (playwright/poet/author) (G)
Giorgio Armani (fashion designer) (G)
Paul O'Grady (entertainer) (G)
Stephen Fry (actor/comedian) (G)
Steven Davies (cricketer) (G)
Alan Bennett (actor/playwright) (G)
k.d. lang (musician) (L)
Michael Stipe (musician) (B)
Gareth Thomas (rugby player) (G)
Jake Shears (musician) (G)
Rosie O'Donnell (entertainer) (L)
Graham Norton (TV presenter) (G)
Andrew Hayden-Smith (TV presenter) (G)
Angelina Jolie (actress) (B)
Billy Jo Armstrong (musician) (B)
Judith Arndt (cylist) (L)
John Amaechi (basketball player) (G)
Matt Lucas (comedian) (G)
Miriam Margolyes (actress) (L)
Dale Winton (presenter) (G)
Drew Barrymore (actress) (B)
Debbie Harry (singer) (B)
Will Young (singer) (G)
Scott Mills (DJ) (G)
Andy Warhol (artist) (G)
Sam Fox (model/singer) (L)
Brian Paddick (policeman & politician) (G)
Chas Bono (author & activist) (T)
Dana International (pop star) (T)
Andrej Pejic (supermodel) (T)
Lady Gaga (singer) (B)
George Hosato (actor) (G)
Stephen K. Amos (comedian) (G)
Peter Mandelson (politician) (G)
Session Ideas – What Did You Call Me?
AIM
• To look at and challenge some of the attitudes and prejudices that can confront LGBT young people. As
with any session based around anti oppression you will need to be careful not to exclude or isolate
members of the group.
METHOD
• Ask the group to name all the slang terms they’ve heard for LGBT young people. Stress that you are not
asking if they have ever called somebody this, or inviting them to share information about their own
sexual orientation. You may want to develop this so that the young people also share who they have
heard use the term. For example, "my dad always calls gay men poofs“.
• Think about the link between slang names for LGBT people and gay sexuality. What are the stereotypes
that have been created e.g. ‘Butch’ lesbians? How accurate are they?? Why do people try to stereotype
IMPLEMENT others who they feel are ‘different’?
EVALUATE
• Start a discussion: ‘do young people challenge homophobic language? If not, why not? If they have, how
would they advise other young people to challenge? Think about developing a clear set of rules for
challenging homophobic language that can be displayed in your centre – you could ask young people to
design a poster incorporating them so they are clearly displayed and easily understandable for all.
Ask young people to
write words or sentences
around the picture to
sum up what they think
this person likes doing or
what their personality
traits are, for example.
Be sure to remind
everyone that this is a
safe space and unless
it is entirely
inappropriate no one
needs to be afraid or
worried about
suggesting a trait or
idea to include in the
group's picture.
Allow about 15 minutes
for drawing and
discussion and then
invite each group to
present their drawing.
After each round invite
the rest of the group to
guess the identity.
EVALUATION
Divide the group into 5
smaller groups and
hand out pieces of flip
chart paper and pens.
Also give each group a
slip of paper marked
‘gay’ ‘straight’ ‘bisexual’
‘lesbian’ ‘transgender’.
Explain that each
group has been given
an identity and that the
group task now is to
draw a person who
looks like or represents
that identity. Ask them
not to write the actual
identity on to their
flipchart sheet, but to
use pictures that they
think are
representative. This
could include what the
person looks like or
what they are wearing.
IMPLEMENTATION
METHOD
Session Ideas – Drawing Conclusions
After the groups have
explained their drawings,
lead a group discussion
to consider the following:
• How did the groups
decide what each
person would look like?
• Where did the ideas
come from about what
each of these people
looked like? People you
know? The media?
• Do the pictures convey
positive or negative
images of the
identities?
• Which of the identities
do you think was
easiest to draw?
• What conclusions if
any can you draw from
this activity?
Young People’s Challenges
Challenge young people to
design and produce their
own version of the LGBT
pledge
www.lgbtlondon.com/pledg
e to be signed by all youth
workers and young people
who use the centre.
Encourage creativity in the
design of the logo and
presentation
Challenge young people to
take the 60 question LGBT
quiz (available as a word
doc from Suze Youde or
design your own). Run this
for the whole of the month
and offer prizes for the best
entry – why not get young
people to devise their own
prizes e.g. a week’s
mentoring, having tea
made for them for a month!
Challenge young people
to create a full inventory
of the LGBT resources &
expertise available at
your centre – this could
involve questionnaires
and evaluations using the
History Month values and
good practice as
benchmarks
Challenge young people
to create a collage based
on the ‘Drawing
Conclusions’ activity or
any of the Stonewall
reources in your LGBT
pack
Ideas for Evaluation Questions
When you’re preparing to evaluate with young people, think about the following questions:
• What knowledge or understanding did you expect young people to get out of this
activity/session?
• What did you want them to think differently about or be more aware of?
• What would you like young people to be able to do next?
• What might young people go on to achieve as a result of this session?
• What might young people do differently now?
• What different situations might young people apply this learning to in future?
Ask questions around the knowledge and understanding young people will have gained:
• Have you learned about…?
• Do you understand more about….?
Ask questions about the positive impact:
• Did you enjoy this activity or session?
• Now that you’ve done this activity will you…?
Ask questions about how much young people have enjoyed it:
• Did you have fun taking part in the session?
• Did anything surprise you about the session?
Rainbow Flag Evaluation Ideas
The colours in the Rainbow flag represent:
RED = Life
ORANGE = Healing
YELLOW = Sunlight
GREEN = Nature
BLUE = Serenity/harmony
PURPLE = Spirit
Draw a large Rainbow flag on flip chart paper and ask young people if they know what it symbolises.
Introduce them to the meaning of the colours. Now ask young people to put a coloured sticky dot (or
make a mark) next to
RED
If they enjoyed icebreakers
ORANGE
If they enjoyed discussions
YELLOW
If they enjoyed working together
GREEN
If they enjoyed individual work
BLUE
If they enjoyed art based activity
PURPLE
If they enjoyed speaking out!
Rainbow Flag Evaluation Ideas
At this stage, you can ask a more focused group to devise their own evaluation questions in groups,
bearing in mind the meanings of the colours. Otherwise ask young people to answer the following
evaluation questions by writing a few words or drawing an image on each stripe in turn:
•
•
•
•
•
•
RED = How has the session changed your views?
ORANGE = What was the most interesting or thought provoking activity?
YELLOW = What was the best thing about the session?
GREEN = What would you like to do next?
BLUE = What activity did you get the most out of?
PURPLE = How did the session make you feel?
Card Sort Evaluation
•
AIM: This is a good evaluation for small groups to evaluate outcomes: what they’ve learned from
the activity or session and what they might do differently in future as a result.
•
METHOD: Write a series of statements on cards - make sure you have one set of cards for each
group and include some blank cards for young people to add their own statements or rewrite
yours!
•
IMPLEMENTATION: Ask the group to choose the cards that most apply to them, and rank them in
order of how much they agree with them. Now ask each group to take away the statements that
least apply.
•
DISCUSSION:
– Are young people happy with their rankings – did everyone in the group agree?
– What differences were there, and on what grounds they chose to take some statements
away?
– Suggest that young people write down the key statements they put at the top of each list and
keep them as a record of their own achievements and outcomes.
Quick Evaluations – Distance Travelled
THUMBS UP EVALUATION this is a quick and simple evaluation based on yes/no questions. It’s also
a good evaluation for young people less comfortable with word or language based evaluations.
Gather the group in a circle and tell them they can give 3 responses:
YES
NO
NOT SURE, MAYBE
YES/NO QUESTIONNAIRE devise a set of easy ‘yes/no’ questions you can ask at the start of the
session e.g. ‘Are you looking forward to this session’ and make a note of responses. Now reframe the
questions to suit an end of session evaluation e.g. ‘did you enjoy the session’ and again note the
responses. This is a quick and easy way of noting distance travelled during the session
THREE WORD EVALUATION ask each young person to think of three words that sum up how they
feel at the start of the session – these could refer to how they feel personally, how they feel about the
session, how their day has been etc. Note their responses. At the end of the session ask each young
person to evaluate how they feel in 3 words and again note responses. Use these as a discussion
starter on what they feel has changed during the course of the session.
“I Would Say…” Evaluation
•
•
•
METHOD: This works best for individuals and can be done either using the ‘I would say…’ sheets,
or you can reproduce the speech bubbles on sheets of flip chart paper and ask young people to
add their comments.
IMPLEMENTATION: Hand out the sheets or ask young people to add their comments to the
larger sheets – remind young people that they don’t have to use words and that they can use
images instead if they feel more comfortable. Encourage young people to be creative in the way
they use the sheet.
ACCREDITING/RECORDING: This sheet can be used as an ongoing evaluation record for a
young person or as part of an accreditation scheme. Use it regularly to end sessions and each
sheet can be used as a review tool to cover the duration of their time working with you. It will
enable you to see whether their learning needs are being met and enable the young person to see
their progress.
I Would Say….
This bit went really well…
These are
some things I
learned…
Next time I’d like to find out more about….
Blob Tree Evaluation
•
•
•
METHOD: Hand out the blob tree sheet to each young person. Give them a few moments to look
at the image and interpret what each blob might be feeling. Explain that you want to give everyone
a chance to record how they’re feeling about the session work you’ve been doing. Ask each
young person to colour in the blob that most reflects how they feel.
IMPLEMENTATION: Ask young people to get into small groups and dicuss their reasons for
choosing their blob - be aware that this could raise sensitive issues for some young people and be
prepared to help them deal with that.
DISCUSSION: You can ask young people to respond to a variety of questions using the blob tree
and discussion of the different attitudes and behaviours of the blobs. Encourage young people to
be creative and add their own blobs or provide them with a blank tree that can be shared between
a small group.
The blob tree is an excellent tool to use at the start and finish of a session to record distance
travelled by young people.
The Blob Tree
Blank Blob Tree