Friday 05-06-2020 - 14:35

 

June is Pride month, it's a month dedicated to celebrating LGBT+ communities. 2020 has been a crazy year, and with everything that's going on, it's still as important as ever that we all stand up for equality and respect. We'd like to take this moment to run through the history of Pride, celebrate the wins of the LGBT+ community, talk about the work that's still left to do, and how you can join our LGBT+ societies.

 

A quick history of Pride.

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Wins for the LGBT+ community in 2020.

No victory is too big or too small, and each is a step towards better equality. Here are a few of the notable wins for the LGBT+ community in 2019/20. You can see a full history on LGBT+ rights on Wikipedia: 

LGBT Right on Wikipedia

 

• Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Austria.
• A law banning hate speech based on "transgender identity or expression" takes effect in Sweden.
• A law allowing third gender option ("diverse") on official documents takes effect in Germany.
• A law allowing legal gender change without medical or psychological requirements, as well as third gender option ("X") on birth certificates, takes effect in New York City.
• Angola decriminalises homosexuality.
• New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signs a bill banning the use of conversion therapy on minors. The law takes effect immediately, making New York the 15th U.S. state to enact such a ban.
• New Jersey has become the second state in the United States of America to require public schools to teach LGBT and disability-inclusive material.
• The French Parliament votes to replace the use of the words "mother" and "father" in official school forms with the terms "parent 1" and "parent 2". Supporters of the legislation say it aims to guarantee equal treatment for pupils with parents of the same sex.
• Same-sex marriage becomes legal in the Mexican state of Nuevo León, following a unanimous ruling by the National Supreme Court of Justice which struck down the state's ban on such marriages as unconstitutional.
• Governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rosselló, issues an executive order prohibiting mental health professionals from offering conversion therapy for minors.
• Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Taiwan.
• San Marino bans discrimination based on sexual orientation by the constitution. The motion passed with 71.46% of votes in a referendum.
• The decriminalization of homosexuality passes the lower house in Bhutan.
• Botswana's High Court unanimously decriminalizes homosexuality.
• The high court in Ecuador allowed same-sex marriages in a ruling landmark decision.
• Brazil's Supreme Federal Court with a majority of 8 out of 11 judges voted in favour of making homophobia and transphobia crimes similar to racism.
• After receiving Royal Assent, the bill equalizing the age of consent in Canada came into force.
• Same-sex Marriage is legal in Northern Ireland, UK. 
• Virginia, USA has signed in a law that bans conversion therapy for minors (after it passed in both the Senate and the House). 
• The German parliament bans conversion therapy for minors and forbids the advertising of conversion therapy. It also forbids conversion therapy for adults, if they decided by force, fraud or pressure.

 

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Pride is more than a march, it's a feeling.

Pride is about reaffirming the values of equality, acceptance, dignity and increasing awareness of the LGBT+ community. Pride is a very personal thing. For some, that means putting on all the colours and going to one of the marches. To others, it's simply about feeling comfortable in themselves. However you want to celebrate, you should be proud of who you are! 

 

Not feeling full of Pride?

Being a member of the LGBT+ community, your journey is unique. You might have concerns about stigma, discrimination, coming-out. Remember that your community is here for you, and you can find some great advice from Mind and Stonewall. 

LGBT+ advice from MindCOVID-19 and LGBT WellbeingStonewall Website

 

Challenging racism in the LGBT+ community. 

Pride is about being inclusive, respectful and accepting. Yet a Stonewall study shows that 51% of ethnic minority LGBT+ people have experienced racism through online dating apps or in person, and this number goes up to 61% for the black community. It's important that we all stand up for equality and work to address these issues. Ruth Hunt, CEO of Stonewall UK says:

"This research gives a worrying insight into just how serious a problem prejudice is within our community, and we need to talk about it. Both online and in their daily lives, LGBT people of colour are excluded and face stereotyping from their white peers. This leaves BAME LGBT people feeling unwelcome within the wider community [...] This is unacceptable and it causes damage and mistrust. If real change for BAME LGBT people is to occur, we as a community need to hold a mirror to ourselves and have open conversations about how to change. This means learning to recognise our own privileges and to be active allies to each other."

Racism in the LGBT community

 

 

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Pride Marches in 2020.

Many Pride marches will be happening later this year. Here are some links to the various Pride organisers near our campuses.   

Pride CymruPride in SwanseaPride in BirminghamPride in London

 

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Let your colours shine at TSDSU

Like many other groups, the LGBT+ community still experience controversy and discrimination, but the community has come a long way in the last 70 years. It is so important that people are accepted for who they are regardless of how they identify and who they love. Let your colours shine and help TSDSU celebrate Pride month.

 

Part-time Officers

If you'd like to run for one these Officer positions, keep an eye out for our elections happening in the first term of 2020/21

 

LGBT+ Societies

 

If you're based on our Cardiff, Birmingham or London campuses and would like to set up an LGBT society, we'd love to hear from you: yoursu@uwtsd.ac.uk