A Quick And Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns - A queer language reference comic

A Quick And Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns by Archie Bongiovanni and Tristan Jimerson

Archie, a snarky genderqueer artist, is tired of people not understanding gender neutral pronouns. Tristan, a cisgender dude, is looking for an easy way to introduce gender neutral pronouns to his increasingly diverse workplace. The longtime best friends team up in this short and fun comic guide that explains what pronouns are, why they matter, and how to use them. They also include what to do if you make a mistake, and some tips-and-tricks for those who identify outside of the binary to keep themselves safe in this binary-centric world. A quick and easy resource for people who use they/them pronouns, and people who want to learn more!

This guide is simple and really useful.

Covering how it feels to be misgendered, how we're all going to make mistakes occasionally, and offering some examples of how to integrate this pronoun knowledge into regular life, this guide is a great introduction for cis-gendered folks, and also, I imagine, really affiriming for those who use gender-neutral pronouns, and identify as gender queer, gender fluid, trans, or queer.

Some interior panels, from the review copy supplied to me by Oni Press:

Add your review of "A Quick And Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns" in comments!

"Making Gay History" Podcast - my new podcast obsession

Author and historian Eric Marcus conducted over a hundred audio interviews with key figures in the LGBTQ movement. He used portions of those interviews in his books, and now he's created a podcast series called Making Gay History, where we get to hear these icons in their own voices.

We get to hear Jeanne & her son Morty Manford. Jeanne talks about starting PFLAG, and about what happened when she marched with her gay son in the gay pride parade, holding a sign that proclaimed her love and pride in him.

We get to hear Dr. Evelyn Hooker, telling us about her gay friend Sam, and how Sam urged her to take on the study of healthy gay men that would eventually lead to a complete shift in how being Gay or Lesbian was understood.

We get to hear Sylvia Rivera (the transgender icon) tell us about being at Stonewall.

It's a treasure trove! We're only six episodes in and I'm already obsessed with how amazing it is to hear these people speak through time.

Go listen - Eric and his team have done a great job with this podcast!

College Guide For Current and Prospective LGBT Students - a web resource

This College Guide For Current and Prospective LGBT Students seems like a good place to start, with a lot of good links (especially their scholarship section. Besides the Point Foundation, these were all new to me.)

If it seems useful to you, check it out.

LGBT Science - Exploring the origins of sexual orientation and gender identity

Check out this cool new resource, LGBT Science, to stand up to anti-lgbtq arguments.

"If you hear someone say that homosexuality is unnatural, you can be pretty sure you are not listening to a scientist."
- Dr. Marc Breedlove, Michigan State University, Rosenberg Professor of Neuroscience

Here's a video from Wayne Besen, executive director of Truth Wins Out, explaining the LGBT Science project's mission:

Q & A (Queer and Asian Pacific-Islander) Space - Coming Out Stories!

This Q&A Space website is very cool. In their own words,

Q&A Space is the first ever coming out resource website specifically for LGBT Asian Pacific Islanders with multimedia stories, coming out advice, translated resources for parents, and more.

Q&A is a play on the common phrase "question and answer" and the term "queer and Asian."

The goal of this website is not to answer every question, but to provide support, advice, and resources for those seeking it.

Take a look, read the stories. Encourage others to add their own stories!

The more people willing to come out, the safer the world will be for others!

The stories, poems and videos on their site are brave and true, and well worth reading (and sharing!)

And I was excited to see their parent resource page has information translated into Simplified Chinese (簡體中文), Traditional Chinese (繁體中文), Farsi, Hindi, Bahasa Indonesia, Japanese, Korean, Tagalog, Urdu and Vietnamese!

Namaste,
Lee

It's Asexual Awareness Week!

Okay, I admit it. I knew very little about the Asexual community (and Asexuality) prior to this week.

But thanks to Shelby and Tiny Dinosaur and the information over at the Asexual Awareness Week website, I feel better equipped to stand up as an ally for people who identify as Asexual.

Check out this video:

Asexuality Awareness Week's "Asexuality 101" is a great resource

Tiny Dinosaur did a tumblr slideshow about Asexuality. Here's a taste:

And I think what Tiny Dinosaur is pointing out above is true of everyone. If you are aware of who you are and that there is a community of others like you, you're less sad, feel less alone, you know you're not broken and you're not confused.

You're just free to be your authentic self.  And isn't that what we're all working towards? A world where each of us can be our authentic selves?


Check out the Asexual Awareness Week website, and stand up as an ally to the Asexual community!

Namaste,
Lee

Transforming Practice: A Transgender Resource for Health Care Providers (You May Want To Suggest It To Yours)

Transforming Practice: Life Stories of Transgender Men That Change How Health Providers Work by Marcus Greatheart, MSW

As the publisher writes,

In our experience our trans friends frequently have to educate their healthcare providers and therapists- not to mention the general public- about trans issues, so hopefully this book can grease the wheels for many of them so there's a peer reviewed book/study they can point to that dispels the myth that trans men and people anywhere on the gender spectrum are prone to mental illness and unhappiness. This book has first hand interviews of trans men talking about positive experiences and even describing their transition process as enjoyable.

Add your review of "Transforming Practice" in comments!

The Organization for Refuge, Asylum & Migration helps LGBTI refugees worldwide

Refugees fleeing persecution due to sexual orientation or gender identity have an organization advocating for them!

The Organization for Refuge, Asylum & Migration (ORAM) is the only organization focused exclusively on helping vulnerable LGBTI refugees worldwide find safety and rebuild their lives in welcoming communities. ORAM increases global support for refugees and asylum seekers through advocacy and education, as well as technical assistance to people and groups interested in working with refugees, asylees, and asylum seekers.

They've also put together a publication, Rainbow Bridges

which is a "Community Guide to Rebuilding the Lives of LGBTI Refugees and Asylees," designed for US LGBT and accepting communities to support increasing numbers of LGBT refugees.


I was really happy to learn about ORAM so I could share it with all of you.

Namaste,
Lee

Gendercast: Our Transmasculine Genderqueery - A Fantastic Podcast About Gender

Gendercast is a podcast exploration of gender and what is means to live in, challenge and exist beyond the binary. It is a conversation between all those who identify along the transmasculine spectrum and our allies and supporters. It is a commentary on our culture and a reflection on where we have come from and where we are headed. 

I listened to podcast #34 and as an ally to the trans and gender non-conforming community found it fascinating and very informative.

You can download Gendercast via itunes...just go to the itunes store and search Gendercast. Or you can download directly from their gendercast.libsyn.com site.

Enjoy!

Lee

GLSEN, The Anti-Defamation League and Story Corps' Unheard Voices Project - an incredible resource!

Over the last four Mondays, I've shared a few of the stories that are part of the GLSEN Unheard Voices project.

And there are more interviews and teacher guides to explore!

Kendall Bailey speaking about the impact of Don't Ask, Don't Tell

David Barr talking about The Early Days of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic

Terry Boggis on LGBT Family Rights and on being a queer parent

Charles Silverstein on his role and view of the Declassification of Homosexuality as a Mental Illness

and

David Wilson on the Struggle for Marriage Equality

With California's passage of the FAIR Education Act, GLSEN's Unheard Voices is an important resource for middle and high schools to tell (and discuss and learn about) our untold LGBTQ history.

Unheard Voices is a joint project of GLSEN, The Anti-Defamation League, and StoryCorps.

Jamison Green, Transgender Activist, Has His Voice Heard

Part of the incredible Unheard Voices project,

Check out this two minute MP3 interview with Jamison Green, a trans man who is honest about his life journey in a conversation with his daughter, Morgan.

There's also an accompanying Teacher Guide (with an introduction to the audio interview, discussion questions, suggested activities and assignments and student handout.)

There's a really powerful moment in the interview, when Jamison says to his daughter

"And after you were born, as I was experiencing my relationship with you, I didn't feel that I could actually be an honest, whole person in my relationship with you, or with anyone, if I didn't transition."

And then his daughter responds, "And I think that I am probably a better person for it."

With California's passage of the FAIR Education Act, GLSEN's Unheard Voices is an important resource for middle and high schools to tell (and discuss and learn about) our untold LGBTQ history.

Unheard Voices is a joint project of GLSEN, The Anti-Defamation League, and StoryCorps.

Michael Levine was at the Stonewall Bar the night the Rebellion began

Part of the incredible Unheard Voices project,

Check out this two and a half minute MP3 interview with Michael Levine, a gay man who came out in the 1960s and was at the Stonewall bar the Friday night the famous Stonewall Rebellion began.

There's also an accompanying Teacher Guide (with an introduction to the audio interview, discussion questions, suggested activities and assignments and student handout.)

“When we came back on Saturday night,” describes Michael of returning to the Stonewall Bar with his boyfriend after the first night of the Irish police and Puerto Rican Drag Queen confrontation, “we stood there on the street and held hands and kissed – something we would never have done three days earlier. It made me feel wonderful."

With California's passage of the FAIR Education Act, GLSEN's Unheard Voices is an important resource for middle and high schools to tell (and discuss and learn about) our untold LGBTQ history.

Unheard Voices is a joint project of GLSEN, The Anti-Defamation League, and StoryCorps.

Phyllis Lyon Tells About Falling in Love With Another Woman in 1953 and The Founding of The Daughters of Bilitis

Part of the incredible Unheard Voices project,

Check out this two minute MP3 interview with Phyllis Lyon,

and the accompanying Teacher Guide (with an introduction to the audio interview, discussion questions, suggested activities and assignments and student handout.)

In 2008, Phyllis and her partner, Del Martin, became the first gay couple to get married in California after the state’s Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. They had been together for more than 50 years. Phyllis recalls, “We got together in 1953 on Valentine’s day. It was Del’s idea. ‘We’ll never forget our anniversary,’ she said. And we never did.”

With California's passage of the FAIR Education Act, GLSEN's Unheard Voices is an important resource for middle and high schools to tell (and discuss and learn about) our untold LGBTQ history.

Unheard Voices is a joint project of GLSEN, The Anti-Defamation League, and StoryCorps.

Highlighting Resources: A New Monday Summer Series! Our Kick-Off: Building an inclusive classroom and school library

On her blog, Pat Zietlow Miller interviews Abigail Swetz about the benefits of including GLBTQ books in middle school classrooms and collections, and Abigail speaks beautifully about it.

I like the challenge of making sure you're representing all the letters in LGBTQ as a starting point, and especially saw the truth of teens both needing to see a reflection of themselves and needing to read about others who are different from themselves.

It's inspiring, and makes me want to ask all my educator and librarian readers...

Are the books in your school doing enough for ALL your teens?

Namaste,
Lee

ps - Make sure you check out Pat's recommendations of YA books to the characters on GLEE, If I Were A "Glee" Librarian!  Clever, funny, and spot-on!

Playgrounds and Prejudice: GLSEN's New study on Homophobia and Gender Nonconformity in Elementary Schools

Check out this new study by the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network.  Here are some of their key findings:

• The most common form of biased language in elementary schools, heard regularly (i.e., sometimes, often or all the time) by both students and teachers, is the use of the word "gay" in a negative way, such as "that's so gay," (students: 45%, teachers: 49%).
• Gender nonconforming students are less likely than other students to feel very safe at school (42% vs 61%), and are more likely than others to be called names, made fun of or bullied at school (56% vs 33%).
• While an overwhelming majority of elementary school teachers say that they include representations of different families when the topic of families comes up in their classrooms (89%), less than a quarter of teachers report any representation of lesbian, gay or bisexual parents (21%) or transgender parents (8%).
• A majority of teachers (85%) have received professional development on diversity or multicultural issues, but less than half of teachers have ever received specific professional development on gender issues (37%) or on families with LGBT parents (23%). 

GLSEN also released "Ready, Set, Respect! GLSEN's Elementary School Toolkit," with lesson plans that focus on name-calling, bullying and bias, LGBT-inclusive family diversity and gender roles and diversity.  It's designed

"to help elementary educators ensure that all students feel safe and respected and develop respectful attitudes and behaviors."

The materials also include powerful anecdotes, like this one:

Third grade teacher Ms. Rojo learns from one of her student’s moms that on the previous day’s bus ride home, her son Jordan had been teased by a group of students after sharing that his mom is a lesbian. “Your mom is a lesbian? Jordan’s mom is a lesbian! That’s gross,” the students chanted. While Jordan doesn’t say anything to Ms. Rojo about it, Ms. Rojo learns that not only were the children teasing him, but that the bus driver’s response was to stop the bus and yell at Jordan, saying “don’t ever use that word again.”

They are two great resources to help make a difference in our schools!

Namaste,
Lee

ps - my thanks to Greg for giving me the heads-up on these, so I could share them with you!

Gender 101, Episode #14: Genderfork.com

So this past weekend I did my Smashing Stereotypes workshop at the Los Angeles Models of Pride conference, the largest queer and allied youth conference ever - with over 1,100 young people attending, and separate tracks for parents and educators.  My workshop went great - overflowing the seats available, and we all had a great shared experience.

It was an amazing day (I kept thinking how this would have rocked my world when I was a teen) - and at the lunchtime resource fair, I ran into a good friend:



Genderfork.com is a super resource.

One of my favorite quotes of the genderfork readers I didn't grab an in-focus photo of read:

"I decided that my gender is 'dragon.'  I mean, it's 'technically' genderqueer but I have dubbed my own personal flavour as 'dragon.'  Because dragons make everything better, are awesome, and come in a whole boatload of varieties." - Anonymous

I'm so happy to learn more about genderfork, and to share that info with you!

Thanks, Benji!
Namaste,
Lee

Resource Link-A-Palooza! (Links and Resources from my SAFE SPACE Assemblies)

That's me, talking about "SAFE SPACE: Ending Anti-Gay Bullying in our Culture... and at YOUR School" on Wednesday of this week, up in Oregon at Corvallis High School

The last two weeks have been packed with speaking visits, including giving my Smashing Stereotypes workshops to the entire sixth grade at Brentwood School in Los Angeles, sharing an Empowering Diversity session with the Los Angeles Independent School Counselors, and flying up to Corvallis, Oregon to do my “SAFE SPACE: Ending Anti-Gay Bullying in our Culture… and at YOUR School” program four times – once at the amazing Corvallis Benton County Public Library and a full day of three packed presentations to students at the Corvallis High School’s Black Box Theater …I also met with two different groups of teens at the library, hung out with the coolest of librarians and GSA Advisors, and even had lunch with students from Corvallis High’s GSA.
I’ll blog separately about my trip to Corvallis, but for now let me share what I promised in my talks – links to the many, many, many resources I shared.

For those of you who weren’t at one of these presentations, there’s still lots of great stuff here for you to browse. And if you want to get a taste of what my presentations are like, you can go here to see video highlights of both my Smashing Stereotypes Workshop and My SAFE SPACE Assembly. And/or, you can have your school, library or group contact me and we’ll see if I can bring my programs to you… If that’s the case, please email me at iamleewind (at) gmail (dot) com.

And now, without too much further ado, here are some links and resources I shared:

The Chimamanda Adichie TED Talk on the danger of stereotypes being a single story.

The quote by Holocaust Survivor Martin Niemoller

"In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;
And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;
And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;
And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up."

-Martin Niemoller

Hug of Shame 1

Hug of Shame 2

Hazing in Pro Baseball

Oregon's Constitutional Amendment 5a

HB 2599 – Oregon Safe Schools Act

Basic Rights Oregon

PFLAG Oregon

The picture book “King and King”by Linda de Haan & Stern Nijland is the picture book about two princes falling in love that was used in the anti-gay marriage Prop 8 commerical.

The Most Dangerous Book In America, “And Tango Makes Three”

Harvey Milk speech

The two wonderful films about Harvey Milk that I mentioned are The Times Of Harvey Milk, a documentary that won the Academy Award (for best documentary) back in 1984. And Milk, a 2008 biopic that won two Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay and Best Actor (Sean Penn as Milk.)

The Corvallis Benton County Public Library has amazing librarians and a great website (check out their url: www.thebestlibrary.net !)  with super lists of books for teens.  Oh, and check out their LGBTQ Teen Graphic Novel/Manga list, too!

http://lgbthistorymonth.com is the site for the 31 Days. 31 Icons. October celebration of LGBT History.  I have lots more info on queer history on my blog here and here.

Facing History and Ourselves is the organization I mentioned that coined the term UPstanders.  They have lots of great resources and programs, and here’s their website.

The New York Times series on Coming Out  and the Salon series “Interview With My Bully” are fascinating reading.

I mentioned former NBA player John Amaechi's talk on prejudice and diversity - here are more of my notes from attending his presentation.

Here’s the abstract on the study published in “Pediatrics” on “The Social Environment and Suicide Attempts in Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Youth” that showed better outcomes for all students from a more queer-accepting environment. 

The Trevor Project runs a 24 hr crisis lifeline for GLBTQ and questioning youth – the lifeline is 1-866-4-U-TREVOR, 1-866-488-7386 and their website is: http://www.thetrevorproject.org/

Some of my favorite “It Gets Better” videos are collected here: The project website and their pledge

Everyone deserves to be respected for who they are. I pledge to spread this message to my friends, family and neighbors. I'll speak up against hate and intolerance whenever I see it, at school and at work. I'll provide hope for lesbian, gay, bi, trans and other bullied teens by letting them know that "It Gets Better."

is at: www.itgetsbetter.org/

I'll just pull out two to share in this list:  My own It Gets Better video, and the "It Gets Better" - Broadway sings for the Trevor Project song  I shared at the end of my sessions.

Thanks for being such great audiences.  I hope each one of you chooses to be an UPstander - and then together we can change our world for the better!

Namaste,
Lee