With Pride Month coming up in June I wanted to share a few ideas you can use to mark the month, and other ideas for ongoing activity to help make LGBTQ+ students and staff feel welcome and valued:
- Hang some rainbow bunting in your reception or stairwell!
- Use display boards in your department to highlight famous LGBTQ+ people in your specialism
- Facilitate a ‘lunch and learn’ session
There maybe someone you have in mind from your specialism, or you could contact me (Catherine Butler) to help identify a speaker. Topics might include: ‘coming out’, how to be a better ally, intersectionality and the nuances of identity. - Coordinate a Pride Month book club
Select a book by an LGBTQ+ author, or one that features LGBTQ+ characters or topics. Invite your departmental community to come together for a discussion at the end of the month (maybe providing refreshments too!). Some book suggestions can be found here. - Host a Pride Month film screening
Have a look at some of the movie suggestions here. - Departmental newsletter article
Include an article on an LGBTQ+ person or topic relevant to your area. - Organise for staff and/or students to walk together in a Pride parade
There are marches in both Bath and Bristol. - Highlight the importance of language
Circulate the University's inclusive language guidance and let staff know how to add their pronouns in Teams. - Make rainbow lanyards and pronoun badges easily available
Email diversity@bath.ac.uk to order some for your reception area.
There are some important things to remember when planning events and and activities:
- LGBTQ+ commemorative months can bring up complicated feelings for LGBTQ+ colleagues (e.g. it might remind people of times of rejection, discrimination or even violence).
- Not all LGBTQ+ colleagues want, need or value the same things – this community is as diverse as any other.
- Be open to feedback from LGBTQ+ staff and students.
- Keep things ‘appropriate’, i.e. not everyone is comfortable with being out (and people’s personal and romantic lives are generally not up for public discussion usually anyway).
- Avoid ‘rainbow-washing’ and empty gestures. These are easy to spot, and if there are issues of homophobia, biphobia or transphobia in your department it is better to spend energy tackling these directly.
Dr Catherine Butler
LGBTQ+ Institutional Lead
Respond
