Less comfortable dialogues are essential to understanding and being respectful of one another I have been reflecting on some work I did with a large and newly formed team. Some conversations arose about difference, belonging, equality and other similar topics. On a couple of occasions during the session, there were some participants who disagreed over … Continue reading Differences in Use of Language
A colleague mentioned this idea to me recently and it caused me to really think. I thought I’d share it with you. By calling some lines of clothing “gender-neutral”, we are implying that clothing isn’t normally these things. This might seem pretty obvious at first but read it again and think about it a bit … Continue reading The Term “Gender-Neutral” May Not Be as Positive as you Think
Harry Styles, Kit Connor and Yungblud are three prime examples of celebs who have been accused of queerbaiting. Queerbaiting is the implication that you identify as part of the LGBTQIA+ community (when in reality you don’t) in order to increase profit and sales. In trying to understand why these people specifically are being put in … Continue reading My Evaluation of Queerbaiting
"I’m a single mum. I’ll always be a single mum because I’m responsible for my sons, whether I’m living with Joe or not...There’s an assumption that if you’re with someone, like I am with Joe, you’re no longer a lone parent...I’ve done posts before [on social media] about how proud I am of being a … Continue reading Respect: It’s not our place to pass judgement
A Book Review (No Spoilers) It’s 200 years post-Cinderella and Prince Charming. Teenage girls are now expected to attend an annual Royal ball where men will choose their wife based on the girl’s finery. If you are not chosen, then you ‘disappear’. The story follows Black teenage girl Sophia, who would rather marry her best … Continue reading Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron – Book Club
A Pair of Book Reviews It’s Not About the Burqa Edited by Mariam Khan A Book Review My number one takeaway from this book was, ‘I have no right to enforce my opinion, based on speculation, onto a group of people who I don’t identify as’. In a world full of misrepresentation and mis- or … Continue reading Diversity and Inclusion Book Recommendations
A Class Act by Rob Beckett A Book Review A Class Act draws heavily from Rob Beckett’s experiences but is not an autobiography as such. The book is an exploration of class and how this corresponds to identity. Rob grew up in a working-class family but, through his successful career and income, his middle-class wife, … Continue reading How Class and Identity are Unexpectedly Linked
Becoming an Active Ally Part 3 of a 3-part blog In becoming an active ally, we can apply what we learn from the Black Lives Matter movement to other communities and confront different unconscious or implicit biases we have, whether that be in relation to disability, LGBTQIA+ or different religions to name a few. Below are some commitments … Continue reading How to Uplift Other Communities
Similarity versus Difference Part 2 of a 3-part blog If you are someone who has not experienced prejudice before or who can sometimes struggle to empathise with those who have, try this little exercise: Consider something about yourself which you deem perfectly normal - maybe your eye colour, hair length, shoe size. Now imagine someone … Continue reading How to Embrace Difference and Diversity
Black History Month Learnings and Reflection Part 1 of a 3-part blog As Black History Month has come to end and we continue to learn about and celebrate the black community, I would like to share what I have recently been made aware of. In honesty, I have previously felt a barrier of fear from not knowing if a conversation is going to … Continue reading How to Remove Fear from the Equality Equation
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