By Siobhan Donegan

Miss Major Griffin Gracy is a trans woman of color, whom for the purposes of brevity I shall sometimes refer to simply as Miss Griffin, or Miss Major. Miss Griffin is also an important figure in trans activism. Her activist work has made an important and significant contribution to identifying the root causes of gender discrimination, particularly of trans women of color. In Griffin’s opinion it is the ‘prison industrial complex’ that is a major factor in the incarceration of trans women of color and of other people of various queer identities.

Miss Griffin has pointed out that transgender or genderqueer is a perspective or state of being which is ‘outside of the law’, despite the fact that there are of course many transgender people who are not imprisoned. What she means here, is in reference to the experience of ‘constant rejection’ from the mainstream heteronormative society, particularly in the pursuit of education or employment.

Because there are a large percentage of trans women of color facing race and ‘gender based’ discrimination, many of them expect to die young – as there has been and still is an ‘epidemic’ of murders. As such, the term ‘Black Transgender Elder’ remains unusual and to some unthinkable, however this is precisely what Miss Major is. She is considered to be an icon as has been described as having shaped the trans rights movement.

Miss Major is a ‘veteran’ of the historic Stonewall riots, and she also survived the Attica State Prison. In this context, the struggle of the LGBT community for equality ‘intersects’ with Miss Major’s personal activism for transgender civil rights. Griffin’s career, pioneering for social justice, extends over 50 years.

Miss Griffin Gracy was born on October 25^th 1940, in the South side of Chicago, and was assigned male at birth. It was around about the age of 15-16 that she first discovered that she liked wearing female clothes. At this young age, Miss Griffin began to experiment by trying on her mother’s clothes. Unfortunately, Griffin’s mother found out which resulted in her getting a beating. She then started meeting up with friends that she describes as ‘little’ drag queens.

Miss Major, at the initial stage of her transition, had to depend on the black market for her hormones. She turned to sex work and illegal activities such as theft in order to survive. Miss Major was just 22 when she moved to New York City. She already knew that there was a thriving trans community on 42^nd street, and thus this is where she found an apartment.

Miss Major reflected that during the era of the 1960s, many people didn’t realise that they were questioning or exploring their gender identity, specifically their gender assigned at birth. Back then the contemporary terminology related to gender identities simply didn’t exist.

It was the murder of Griffin’s friend known as ‘Puppy’, a Puerto Rican trans woman and sex worker whose body was found in her apartment, that acted as the catalyst to Griffin becoming involved in trans activism. The authorities had ruled the case as a suicide despite Griffin’s belief that there was evidence for murder. This event increased her awareness of the uncaring attitude of authorities to the number of young trans women being murdered.

As mentioned, Miss Griffin was a veteran of the Stonewall riots, and her friends from that important era are now famous icons such as Marsha P. Johnson, Crystal La-Beija and Sylvia Rivera. During this time, Miss Griffin was a regular of the Stonewall Inn. Unfortunately during the first night of the Stonewall riots, she had her jaw broken by a police officer and was subsequently knocked unconscious, previously having been taken into police custody. However, there are contradictory evidence, as one version of this story says that it was a correction officer who broke Miss Griffin’s jaw after being taken into custody.

During her youth, Miss Major also participated and experienced the splendour of the ‘Drag Ball scene’. During an interview in 1998 she described this wonderful scene: “The Drag Balls were phenomenal! It was like going to the Oscars shows today. Everybody dressed up. Guys in tuxedos, Queens in gowns you would not believe!”. Anecdotally, some of the competing Queens had been working on their ‘gowns’ all year long.

Returning to the harsher elements of Miss Major’s story, she was in fact incarcerated for five years. Upon her release from prison in the late 1970s, she moved to California to continue her activism.

During the AIDS epidemic, Miss Major worked with several HIV/AIDS organisations based in the San Francisco area. During the early 1980s, she focused her commitment directly on helping people with HIV/AIDS – she even drove San Francisco’s first mobile needle exchange.

After facing many personal hardships in her life, including homelessness and imprisonment, Miss Major, who is also sometimes known popularly as ‘Mama’, became a vocal activist for trans rights. In 2005, she joined Trans Gender Variant and Intersex Justice, initially as a staff organiser progressing to become the Executive Director. Miss Major often spoke out against the prison system in America, and as the executive director focused the group’s attention on the imprisonment of trans women, particularly trans women of colour.

There is a biographical book called ‘Miss Major Speaks – The Life and Legacy of a Black Trans Revolutionary’ co-written by Miss Major herself and Toshio Menorek. In this work, Miss Major speaks of her survival of the Bellevue Psychiatric hospital, Attica Prison and the AIDS crisis. The book is perceived as a ‘roadmap’ for black, trans and queer youth on ‘their path to liberation’, even though as Griffin herself reflects, the experience of trans people today is different.

Today is World Mental Health Day. The 2022 theme set by the World Federation for Mental Health is to ‘make mental health and wellbeing for all a global priority’.

LGBT+ mental health

In June 2022, a NHS report revealed that LGBT+ people in Scotland still face significant health and social inequalities, across every measure of wellbeing.

The research found that 54% of LGBT+ people have a mental health problem such as depression, anxiety or chronic stress. 72% said their mental or emotional wellbeing got worse due to COVID.

The research found a clear relationship between social health and mental health, highlighting that other people’s attitudes and actions directly affected our community’s mental wellbeing.

A non-binary respondent said:

“I’ve had a lot of issues with anxiety and stress for pretty much as long as I can remember. It was made worse by people not accepting me, especially the two long-term partners I had before – they would just deny whenever I tried to bring up my identity. That’s kind of shattered my self-esteem to the point. I guess the anxiety of how people are going to view me – that worry is always in the back of my mind”.

Despite these higher levels of mental health problem, research also found that LGBT+ people are less likely to access key health services because of negative past experiences or anticipating being stigmatised or discriminated.

LGBT+ mental health support

At LGBT Health and Wellbeing, it is our mission to promote the health, wellbeing and equality of LGBT+ adults (16+) in Scotland. We want to live in a Scotland where sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression do not impact negatively on health and wellbeing.

We support the community in Scotland by providing a range of accessible, responsive and LGBT+ affirmative support services, community events and initiatives. We also work with statutory and third sector partners to raise awareness of the experiences and needs of LGBT+ people, to support the development of LGBT+ inclusive policies and services.

We run a national LGBT+ helpline for LGBT+ people right across Scotland. This includes those questioning or exploring their sexual orientation or gender identity. Our helpline is also here for the families, friends and supporters of LGBT+ people, and health and social care professionals working with LGBT people.

We also provide a counselling service in Edinburgh and Glasgow, as well as flexible 1-1 support sessions with our Mental Health Development Workers.

To help LGBT+ people find each other, we host a social programme of events, workshops, and peer support groups aimed at building and supporting the ways that LGBT+ people look after their wellbeing.

Finally, we’re proud to have partnered with the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland to produce a guide for health and social care service providers with guidance on how to develop mental health services inclusive of the unique needs of LGBT+ people.

Sign up to our newsletter  to follow more of our work in LGBT+ mental health.

by Siobhan Donegan

Claude Cahun is mostly known as a surreal artist, specifically for their self-portraits photographic work which have been described as presenting a ‘dizzying kaleidoscopic mix of mystery and exuberance’. Cahun is also known for their photo-montages, with whom their/her long-term partner Marcel Moore contributed to in the capacity of ‘artist collaborator’. Cahun’s iconic photography has also been described as a ‘dialogue with multiplicity’. In a creative psychological context, it was an ongoing self-exploration of their character/personality through text and imagery. Cahun described it themselves as a ‘hunt’ – presumably for self and identity.

As well as being a French Surrealist photographer artist, Cahun was a writer, sculptor and activist. They also were a propagandist and resistance worker during World War 2. Cahun was gay and if they were alive today may have identified as non-binary or perhaps more specifically genderfluid. As Cahun themselves stated ‘Masculine? Feminine, it depends on the situation. Neuter is the only gender that always suits me’. In this context Cahun’s photographic self-exploration didn’t just depict a number of theatrical personalities but also explored gender identity/expression.

Cahun has been described as having ‘protested gender and sexual norms’ with their name change and as such they have attracted an increasing following amongst feminists and people within the LGBT community, and on an intellectual level the interest of Art Historians. Cahun in fact, was multi-talented as they were also a Poet, Critic, translator and Essayist. However, it was through fully embracing their gender identity\fluidity that they are considered a ground-breaking Artist.

Claude Cahun’s original name was Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob and was born on the 25th October 1894, and died on the 8th December 1954. Cahun was born into an intellectual Jewish family in Nantes. Their great uncle David Leon Cahun had been an orientalist, whilst their uncle Marcel Shwob was an Avant-garde writer. Their mother Mary Antoinette Courebaisse was taken into a psychiatric facility because of her mental illness. As a teenager, Cahun also struggled with mental illness, including ‘suicidal thoughts’, bulimia and ‘crippling sadness’.

Cahun’s early education included the Parson’s Mead School in Surrey which was a private school. This was after they had unfortunately experienced antisemitism at high school in Nantes. Cahun also studied at the University of Paris-Sorbonne. It was at the age of just 18 in 1912 that they made their first initial experimental photographic self-portraits. Their image making expression continued throughout the 1930s.

In about 1915 they had their hair cut very short and continued working on their photographic self- exploration at the same time. These photographs have been described as ‘cross-dressing experiments’ as they could be dressed as a ‘sportsman, sailor or dandy’.

Cahun adopted the pseudonym-Claude Cahun, as this was more gender neutral. They had previously used the names Claude Courlis after Curlew, and Daniel Douglas apparently taking inspiration from lord Alfred Douglas.

As previously mentioned Cahun creatively explored gender identity and the subconscious mind through surrealist photography. Their self-portraits featured outfits that defied conventional identification of feminine or masculine, and today would perhaps be described as gender neutral or fluid. Cahun in reference to their self-exploration famously stated, ‘Under this mask, another mask’ and ‘I will never be finished removing all these faces’. Taking this into consideration, Cahun’s work has generated interest beyond the history of photography, for example and significantly in Gender Studies.

Suzanne Malherbe, who also changed her\their name to Marcel Moore, became Cahun’s lifelong partner after they both settled in Paris in the early 1920s. It was after Cahun had moved to Paris that they became involved with the Surrealist Parisian Art scene – it was then that Cahun went on to collaborate with the famous Man Ray. Cahun and Moore, as well as being partners also collaborated on many creative projects. These included photomontages, sculptures and written works. Surprisingly, Cahun and their partner also became ‘step-siblings’ as Cahun’s divorced father married Moore’s widowed mother.

Cahun and Moore, after relocating in Paris, slowly became involved in the small Parisian avant-garde circle, who coincidentally were also exploring aspects of identity. Probably one of the most famous artists at the time ‘playing’ with gender was Marcel Duchamp who introduced Rrose Selavy, his artistic character and female alter ego. Cahun and Moore in fact welcomed avant-garde artists and writers to the parties that they organised at their house in about 1922.

Cahun and their partner also met the head of experimental theatre ‘Le Plateau’- Pierre Albert Birot. Here, both again collaborated with Moore designing stage sets and costumes – Cahun concentrating on performance skills.

In this connection it is interesting to note that Cahun’s self-portraits incorporated elements of theatre and the aesthetics of surrealism. They also significantly ‘blurred’ gender indicators, partly through often showing only head and shoulders. In some pictures, Cahun’s head is shaved looking directly at the viewer; this together with the varying gender representations was apparently a way of undermining the ‘patriarchal gaze’.

As mentioned above, Cahun was also a writer and had some of their writings published. These included ‘Heroines’ in 1925 which featured a ‘series of monologues’ based on female fairy tale characters. These were ‘intertwined’ with images of modern contemporary women as a means of making witty comparisons.

Cahun became involved with the ‘Association des Ecrivains et Artistes Revolutionnaires’ in 1932. They took part in certain surrealist exhibitions which included the London International Surrealist Exhibition and in Paris (1936) ‘Exposition Surrealiste d’Objets.

Finally, I just wanted to add that as a Surrealist artist, Cahun has mostly been written out of art history until their photographic work was included in an exhibition in 1986. Only then, Claude Cahun was recognised as a significant artist and gained an increasing following.

Why is it important to have these days of visibility for our LGBTQIA+ community?

In a 2021 article,  Pink News covered the Office National Statistic (ONS) 2019 report on sexual orientation which revealed that the LGBTQIA+ population in the UK was growing.

“The data, the latest in an annual series on LGB+ populations, showed that the proportion of the UK population aged 16 years and over who are straight shrank from 94.6 per cent in 2018 to 93.7 per cent in 2019.

In 2019, 2.7 per cent of the population said they were LGB, up from 2.2 per cent the previous year. This represents a thumping 200,000 people jump.

This spike was seen across almost all demographics. LGB women leapt by 0.2 per cent to 2.5 per cent, men from 2.5 per cent to 2.9 per cent.”

The data is clear; the community is growing. And within the last 2 years with loads more time for self-reflection during the pandemic, we have heard of many more stories of people realising that they fall somewhere on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.

It is therefor important that we as a community continue to welcome those who have discovered this part of themselves, by maintaining a safe and accepting space for them.

Today we’d like to shine a light on a vibrant part of our LGBTQIA+ community: bisexual, bi+ and pansexual people.

Bi+ people can experience acute marginalisation. Often targeted with misunderstanding and stereotypes such as being indecisive or greedy, bi+ people face biphobia and bi-erasure both from within and outside the queer community. This causes a great deal of harm to individuals, but also to our community when we use against each other the very cis-heteronormative narratives we are trying to liberate ourselves from.

In a the 2022 Health Needs Assessment conducted by the NHS, research found out that 69% of bisexual men and 42% of bisexual women surveyed had been subjected to discrimination within the last year.  In some cases, there are even increased instances of abuse towards bisexual individuals and lower mental wellbeing (especially bisexual women).

The research also found out that bisexual women and men were the least likely to be out (nearly half of bisexual women said they were not out).

“Many felt that assumptions were made about them based on their current partner, and it was not easy to assert their bisexual identity to counteract assumptions that they were either straight or gay depending on who they were currently dating. Some expressed fatigue at having to continually come out as bisexual.”

This is why it is important, that we as a community remain aware of the struggles we might each face because of our different identities. And that we remember that we are all part of a much larger community that can support each other.

Thankfully, the internet has a wealth of resources for bisexuals, or for those who may be bi-curious. Here is a selection of resources we have found the most helpful.

Organisations

The HRC (Human Rights Campaign), have a wealth of resources within their Bisexual FAQ.

Books

If you want to read more about the bisexual experience, The Bi-Ble is a collection of personal essays and stories about the bisexual experience.

If you would like to get yourself a copy of “The Bi-Ble”, you can do so by supporting your local queer bookshop, if you’re in Edinburgh, check out Lighthouse Books, Lavender Menace, and for those based in Glasgow, there is Category is Books.

Bisexual Podcast Collection

The Bi Pan Library have a massive collection of Bisexual focused podcasts. From Two Bi Guys, to  The Non.Bi.Nary Show. A whole host of different voices and identities from different backgrounds intersecting with Pansexuality, as well as polyamorous, trans and non-binary identities.

You can listen to these podcasts and more here at The Bi Pan Library.

Events and groups

The Scottish Bi+ Network

Community-run organisation set up in 2018 to provide support for people attracted to multiple genders, tackle bi+ erasure, and raise awareness of issues facing the bi+ community. In addition to regular social events, they also have a monthly Neurodiverse Space and run quarterly one-day community events known as Bi+ Gatherings.

You can find out more at: www.scottishbinet.org.org

Bitastic

An annual bi+ event for Scotland. Every year around Bi Visibility Day on 23rd September we work together to celebrate bi and pan identities at an event with a wide range of workshops and fun activities. You don’t have to be bi or pan to attend Bitastic, but we do want to create a “bi+ bubble” each year where we can share with others like us in a in a safe space. Bitastic is inclusive of all genders.

You can find out more at: https://bitastic.org

The Big Dream

As part of Bitastic 2022, we will be hosting The Big Dream workshop at 13:30 on the 24th of September for a creative discussion around the challenges bi+ people face in connecting with and finding a sense of belonging at queer community events.

We’ll collectively create a bi+-centred space for you to take the lead, have a voice and use a range of materials to contribute your experiences and ideas to imagine the bi+ inclusive event of your dream.

Our volunteer and illustrator Madeleine Leisk from YLWBK illustrations will gather your ideas and create a graphic to visually represent your collective story. This will then be shared with organisations like LGBT Health and Wellbeing, Scottish Bi+ Network, LGBT Youth Scotland and Equality Network which have a bi+ community-building responsibility.

How to join us?

Grab a day ticket for the whole of Bitastic, this will let you attend any workshop throughout the day (ours will start at 13:30).

Tickets are available on a sliding scale (including free) at: https://www.outsavvy.com/event/9967/bitastic-2022

What on earth is the ‘Whoniverse’ and who resides in it? Well ‘Who’ is not only the question, it is also ironically the answer. It is the weird, wonderful and sometimes frightening place that the iconic and eccentric Doctor Who has all his, and most recently her adventures. Thus, if like all good Time-lords we jump in our Tardis and travel back in time, we can discover and explore the slow development of queer themes in the Whoniverse or DWU (Doctor Who Universe). This universe includes the spin off novels and comics from the series, and even the audio-play adaptions.

Our first stop is the early 1960’s, which unfortunately was a much less enlightened time. When Waris Hussein, during an episode of the ‘Fan Show’, was questioned specifically on LGBT issues, he stated that as Doctor Who was primarily aimed at children, ‘queer topics were not something that could readily be examined’. This is hardly surprising as this was during a time before homosexuality had been decriminalised, which wasn’t until 1967 in England and Wales.

It was highly ironic that in a show that featured time travel exploration, and was ahead of its time, that it should nevertheless be stuck in a time warp for two decades. Despite this, it is interesting to note that there were many people of ‘different sexualities’ who worked on Doctor Who over the years. In fact, Waris Hussein, who directed the very first episode of Doctor Who, was gay. It is also significant that the central character of the show, the Doctor, had a strong sense of moral justice and inclusivity, which in storylines often meant standing up for the underdog. The Doctor treats everyone in the universe as equal. This was seen, for example, in how the Doctor took sides with the ‘Thals’ who had been persecuted by the Daleks just because their culture were different.

It was with the Doctor Who adventure ‘The Curse of Fenric’ by writer Ian Briggs, that the first attempt at gay representation was made on the show, with the character Dr Judson.

However, the story was ultimately stopped as even in 1988 such a subject was still considered controversial, and for the same reason as before, this was after all a ‘family show’. The writer Briggs revealed many years later that the character Dr Judson, was meant to be based on Alan Turing. The intention of the story was to have a character who was struggling with his homosexuality (this was changed to a struggle with a disability). If we jump forward in time to the 90s in the novelisation of ‘The Curse of Fenric’ (this media was proved often to be an area in which there was a lot more freedom) the notion of men having feelings for other men is alluded to in the characters of Dr Judson and Commander Millington. The story in fact revolving around Millington’s jealousy of Judson’s affection for the same boy.

Then, in the Doctor Who story ‘Survival’, according to writer Rona Munro, there was a ‘lesbian subtext’ represented in the relationship between characters Ace and Karra. As such, there is the possibility that Ace could be the first onscreen LGBT companion, albeit with some ambiguity in the episode ‘Cat Flap’.

In 2005 the Doctor Who franchise, after an absence from our screens for many years (the series having been taken off air in 1989), was updated, rebooted and finally returned to the small screen. Russell. T. Davies, who had invented the character Vince Tyler, a Doctor Who fan in the ground-breaking T.V Series ‘Queer as Folk’ was now in charge. The series then had a more progressive attitude towards LGBT identities. In the shows premiere, the Doctor declares that a celebrity romance would never work as ‘He’s gay and she’s an alien’, this of course being the first use of the word ‘gay’ in the show’s history.

The next LGBT character that we encounter in our exploration of the Whoniverse is a somewhat controversial one: Lady Cassandra, a peculiar and bizarre character to say the least, who appeared in the 2005 episode ‘The End of the World’.

L. Cassandra is aristocratic in a comedic sense, and who after 700 surgeries has ultimately ended up with no body, has her brain in a jar and is now just a ‘tarp’ of skin stretched into a frame, which must be constantly moisturised. She has also successfully managed to prolong her life by thousands of years, but this has come at a price -a life of crime in which she has brutally slaughtered many of her fellow oligarchs. Cassandra, whilst reflecting on her childhood, briefly mentions, ‘when she was a little boy’. This was perceived as a trans-misogynistic gag about the obsessive and ‘elaborate’ nature of her surgeries. Writer Russell T. Davies said that it was meant as a satire on celebrity obsession with plastic surgeries, however, ultimately it misfired. The throw away gag about Lady Cassandra being transgender undersells what should have been a landmark moment. Furthermore, the character has been criticized as distasteful as we have here the ‘deranged transsexual killer’ which at this point in the history of trans representation in media, was an anachronistic stereotype.

The first unambiguously LGBT character in the series was in all probability Captain Jack Harkness. This was a character who didn’t seem to be bound by any traditional notions or boundaries of sexuality (perhaps could even be described as pansexual). Described as a dashing handsome rogue Time Agent, his ‘direct approach’ involved him kissing both the Doctor and his famous assistant Rose Tyler.

Mention should also be made of the spin off Doctor Who Podcast series ‘Redacted’. This series notably embraces female characters, in the wake of the show’s first female Doctor, and specifically embraces LGBT identities. For a start, the show has been written by trans woman Juno Dawson, who stated ‘it’s a real first for the Doctor Who Universe to have a cast that’s completely led by queer women’ –namely trans activist Charlie Craggs and also Lois Chimimba and Holly Quin Ankrah.

Doctor Who’s thirteenth Incarnation of the Time-lord played by Jodie Whittaker (being also the first female Doctor), recently broadcast a show that the fans were surprised and delighted by. The featured storyline addressed two female characters having feelings for each other in ‘Eve of the Daleks’ -the two characters in question being the Doctor and Yaz (Mandip Gill). In the episode, it is Yaz who admits that she has feelings for the Doctor. This moment of same sex attraction is a highly significant moment for LGBT representation, especially being portrayed in such a popular show.

Finally, it should be mentioned that the series is about to make history by featuring the first black Doctor and the first black transgender actress Yasmin Finney who will star alongside Ncuti Gatwa.

This is the story of the Johnstons: Nicola, Hailie and Sophie. The challenging  journey of Nicola and Hailie through the process of adopting Sophie, and the barriers that queer adoptive parents often face.

Testimonial of a parent using our Rainbow Families services, spoken during the Pink News Edinburgh Summer Reception on Wednesday 29th June. 

Content warning: queerphobia and discrimination

Hi, my name is Nicola and due to the pesky COVID I’m flying solo this evening as my wife Hailie is currently at home nursing our daughter Sophie.

We both have experience of working alongside individuals or families who have been impacted by the care system in Scotland in multiple roles. We were both struck by how many children were looking for forever homes across the country and the difficult circumstances which led them to be looked after. We had always wanted a family together and through discussion we agreed that biology was not an important factor when picturing the make up of our family – for that reason we chose to adopt!

Our adoption journey was lengthy and at times grueling to the point where we almost gave up our dream. If it wasn’t for the activities and supports delivered by LGBT Health and Wellbeing throughout our journey, our life would not be as full and fun, as it is today.

Our family life started in 2019, Sophie was a couple of weeks away from her second birthday and had been in care since birth. The beginning of our family life was different than most in that this fully formed toddler with her own likes, dislikes, routines, and personality was thrust into our family home. It was important that there was no expectation on Sophie to “slot in” to our existing way of living, and for us to work together in learning about each other and learning to live with each other, at her pace to support her though her loss and confusion. We were isolated for the first 9 months of Sophie coming to live with us in order to provide ‘funnelling’ a term used to describe the process of helping a child develop a secure attachment to you as their new parent. This involved a significant amount of work but in a short time it was like we had always been a family.

And then, COVID hit. Whilst this provided us with priceless time to grow and learn together as a family at home it also meant a distinct lack of social opportunities for us to meet other families to establish new connections.

When restrictions were lifted, we as queer adoptive parents were surprised at how rare it is to have social opportunities to meet other families with a similar make up. According to Scottish Adoption, in 2020 1 in 12 adoptions in Scotland were to same sex couples and through research it is clear that there is a distinct lack of tailored support for queer adoptive families. We have been fortunate to have some support from the queer community through the limited activities provided by the Rainbow Families group and are able to access training and opportunities through Adoption UK but this is limited.

It is extremely important for us that Sophie has experiences with families that look like hers to help guide her through her own journey of feeling different and negotiating her own identity. We also maintain bi-annual contact visits with Sophie’s birth parents. We feel it is important that Sophie has a relationship with them, so there are no gaps in her building a full sense of self as she grows into adolescence. As far as we are concerned our child can never have enough love, especially when she is so loveable.

What we would like to see going forward istraining to be rolled out within fostering and adoption services forsocial workers, foster carers and panel members to mitigate heteronormative ideals and practices within the assessment and matching processes. Queer applicants are likely to have firsthand experience of negotiating feeling different and embracing their identity, which is a very common challenge for children living with care experience. Having workers be able to look past perceived gender roles and antiquated family values would go a long way. On our journey we were fortunate enough to meet some incredible practitioners, but we did come across some practitioners who were very insular in their criteria for family finding. This meant we were not considered from the outset for a number of matches.

We would like early years educational resources to include representation of diverse family structures for example within Book Bug materials as this will promote diversity and inclusion .

And most importantly we would like regular organised opportunities for queer adoptive families to come together to engage in meaningful activity and to create connections.

In conclusion Our family is just the right amount of mayhem and love! The adoption process has its challenges, as does any conception of a family, but the possibility of being able to give a child love, opportunity and a secure family home far outweighs any ignorance we experienced.

This is Freddie’ story. The story of a trans child learning to navigate life in a transphobic society, with the unconditional love and support of their parent.

Testimonial of a parent using our Rainbow Families services, spoken during the Pink News Edinburgh Summer Reception on Wednesday 29th June. 

Content warning: transphobia and bullying

It takes a village to raise a child.

You trust the village that more good will come than harm.

There are protections, guiding policies, rights enshrined in law to make the village safe for everyone.

But these are nothing when the village lacks knowledge and fails to understand its own people.

My son is trans and the village doesn’t like that at all.

Did he fall under the spell of an online trend? Is he confused? Has he read this front page news story about how children are being experimented on? Or this story about how trans acceptance compromises the safety of women? And look at this one, it’s just a phase, kids grow out of it if you ignore it and don’t indulge it.

The village has a lot to say about things it just doesn’t understand but wants to contain and control anyway.

And the village likes to blame…culture, the internet, youth, parents…

Accepting my daughter as my son is perhaps bonkers to you. Maybe you would rather have me screened for munchausen’s syndrome by proxy than trust that this was absolutely the right thing to do.

In 2013 I let my 5 year old change their name, choose their own clothes, cut their hair short and style it like Robin from batman. They learnt to swim in trunks not a costume. I let them tell others they were a boy now. I told others they are a boy now. I allowed a child to believe what they felt was maleness absolutely is maleness even if their tiny body didn’t match.

Freddie today, Freddie everyday since.

Freddie listened to me, his mammy when I told him this was ok – there are other people like you, a rainbow in an otherwise blue sky.

In his new name his childhood began. Accepted and believed by friends, teachers, childminders, GP, dentist, Freddie’s life was normal. The village is not transphobic I would have him believe. But as his parent I was peddling pretty hard to ensure it…sticking my finger in the wall to stop Freddie’s world flooding…

So many firsts for people we needed help from, their professional support and expertise. The first time I formally met the school to ask for support they shared with me that in their many years of collective teaching experience they hadn’t taught a trans child…not that you know of, I thought.

School wanted medical input before they would support this. So off I went to take my healthy child to the GP. A proud father of 5 boys himself I thought we would be in good hands but he told me Freddie just needed to learn to behave. Something had gone wrong here, he said. But Freddie wasn’t naughty, he knew how to share, he did what was asked of him, he never hurt another intentionally but he absolutely refused to accept his birth
sex. They made a call on my behalf and we met the clever, kind, experienced consultant at the Sandyford clinic to discuss the tiny child and the things they liked to play with and wear.

But we had to talk about what this might mean for the future too. Healthcare is central to all in the village, some more than others. What will it mean for this little boy to go through puberty? What kind of life does a trans person live? They pointed me in the direction of peer reviewed research, they showed me what had come before, what had passed as trans health care. I was overwhelmed by how truly vulnerable trans people are and this is mainly down to how others treat them. The consultant said, You are believing him, allowing him just to be. That is what’s unstudied…Trans kids not being forced to change.

Freddie is 14 this Wednesday and he has a lot to celebrate. He has the health care that so many others only wait for. Hours of clinical assessment over 5 years, bone density tests, blood screening, body scans and chromosome testing all to monitor his healthy growth…our family are the lucky ones. His body is being given a trans shaped gift. It’s his own, a blank canvas to grow into. He has no breasts to bind, no period to endure, no dysphoria to disturb and distress him. If he could ask for anything this birthday it would be testosterone gel so that he could go through puberty with his friends but his puberty is suspended for another 2 years, this is a very exclusive but lonely club.

Sadly the Sandyford clinic or I can’t give him the very thick skin he needs to get through the day. His hard working school found it particularly hard to make bullying stop. It went on for 2 years and still goes on now. Kicks from nowhere, a shove, slap over the back of the head, firecrackers chucked in his face, his body thrown on top of a car by 3 others. And the sound of the hatred and ridicule ringing in his ears daily…tranny, mangina, anonymous death threats to his phone, followed home from school…It filled him with dread to wake in the morning and get ready for school. Eventually I stopped forcing him to go. We wouldn’t expect that of an adult, to face abuse everyday. The kids who did this to him, all they knew about. Freddie is that he’s trans. The school involved the police, as a family we debated taking things this far…children charged with hate crime? But the school assured us it was the right thing to do and the boys who were charged wore those charges like a badge of honour, letting Freddie know just how toxic they can be while they fight for their allegiance to gender. Slugs and snails and puppydog tales.

Nothing has challenged me more as a parent than holding my child through that. He turned the pain on himself briefly. The statistics for trans kids are not good…more likely to hurt themselves, more likely to experience suicidal thoughts, more likely to have an incomplete education, more likely to be attacked, assaulted, targeted. The school suggested he wear an imaginary shield of armour to get through each day. Preparing for battle, Freddie and I checked our ammunition…we had anti-bullying policy, an equality act, protected characteristics, ability to communicate, enthusiasm for learning. Freddie’s enemies would feel the wrath of our good manners and friendly dispositions as we presented our inclusive argument…it was exhausting so Freddy made do with sticking a pride flag on his bullies back. Humour is mightier than a punch. We have asked the school repeatedly to take a different approach with the children who enjoy harassing him. If they would acknowledge the prejudice base of this bullying and act accordingly.

But the school stuck to their systems, in Freddie’s eyes the violent kids won. His protected characteristic offered him no real protection at all. His own bloody school! The Silver Charter award stamped at the bottom of every transphobic email written by well meaning staff as they dance between the rock and the hard place. The policy asks them to assess the impact..you know where my kid wasn’t safe to go to school for months for something he can’t change about himself. Have they considered what this actually meant for our family? We have endured the impact without a break.

It made me wish I had more ammunition and at times I wondered where our allies were. It made me wish I was stronger, louder, braver, pushier, bolder. But what I really needed to do was be with Freddie and help him focus on the positives that are abundant when we take our moments to notice them.

In Freddie’s early years, I told him that these clothes, these toys were only stuff and choices. This became a pass to freedom, how radical that really is, telling a child that they get to follow their heart’s desire and they do! This is what the village objects to.

Here’s what I would like to read in the news

Section 28 is dead and buried, Trans joy is real.

But the village doesn’t want to teach children about gay stuff ( a direct quote from our parent council) so my child has grown-up explaining himself to the disbelieving and the curious and sadly the hateful too. We have to talk about diversity, yes in front of our kids, for our kids. This is our world, bigger than a village and it’s filled with extraordinary people, look at the myriad ways we exist! It’s a beautiful, life-saving truth and one I am proud of, are you?

Hi! My name is Leslie (he/him) and I volunteer for LGBT Age’s Telefriending service which provides free regular phone calls to older LGBT+ people across Scotland.

How did you find out about LGBT Health and Wellbeing first and what was your journey to becoming a volunteer?

A few years ago, I took part in a Transition Support Course and a Men’s Coming Out Course and found them really useful. In return, I wanted to contribute something to what LGBT Health and Wellbeing does.

Can you tell us a little bit more about your role?

I am a volunteer Telefriender. I have 3 gentlemen I regularly phone and I really enjoy catching up with them. Notably, one of them is an absolute mine of information about LGBT+ history, and has an extensive archive of books, magazines and all sorts. He is a bit older than me but our lives overlap so much; some of the places or people he mentions I actually been to or met, but I also learn so much from stuff that was a little before my time when it comes to be out and about. Our conversations could probably go on for hours and hours, and it’s actually quite hard to bring the conversation to an end. All the people I speak to are really, really nice and it’s such a privilege for me because I don’t know that many people who are LGBT+ and who are older than me and my husband. I also phone another gentlemen who was active in UK parliament in the 1950s around homosexuals rights back then, and again he’s a fascinating person to speak to.

What are you most proud of as a volunteer with LGBT Age?

I’m very grateful of having been part of the Men’s Coming Out Course in 2019 and because I benefited so much from the work in this group (including making a really good friend), I really wanted to contribute to the work of LGBT Health and Wellbeing. As a Telefriender, I’m really proud of providing a listening ear to such wonderful people but also being part of the organisation in my own way as everyone I have come across from LGBT Health and Wellbeing have been absolutely lovely.

What would you like to achieve as a volunteer?

I know that particularly with COVID, a lot of older people can unfortunately end up more isolated. I think there is an awful lot of ageism in our society and also that if you don’t feel confident enough to do stuff online, it can make it even worse. But most people have access to a telephone so I feel that’s a small thing I can do to mitigate that to some extent.

What would you like to change for the community?

Sadly, there are still 70 countries across the world where I believe it’s illegal to be queer – in some countries you can even be put to death by the state for just being who you are. So if I could just wave a magic wand, I would want the whole world to wake up one day and just to realise ‘hang on a minute’ there are much important things to worry about at the minute like climate breakdown, food poverty, the pandemic, power imbalance, social inequalities, economic injustices – we got all these things to sort out, can we then stop bothering people about their identities and who they choose to love?

Do you have a role model? Someone that inspires you?

I am really inspired by Dr Drew Dalton of the University of Sunderland, for his work with Report Out and Hidayah. Report Out is a global human rights organisation for sexual and gender minorities, and Hidayah is a UK nationwide organisation which seeks to support, and to bring to campaign for, the lives of LGBTQI Muslims. I have found these organisations really educational. I’m aware there is a lot of islamophobia not just in society in general but unfortunately amongst queer people. It’s easy to look at countries like Saudi Arabia where the regime oppresses local LGBT+ people and paint the whole of Islam in a bad light, but if you look at Christianity in our own country and some of the things in the Old Testament, it’s not more better. So why is it that Islam is scrutinised and not Christianity? The trouble is a lot of people jump to conclusions but the real issue is when people from any faith missuses religion for their own bad purposes. It also upsets me when I hear people talking about African countries being homophobic which shows how much we don’t know about our own history, and how British colonial imperialism brought about the homophobia with Christian missionaries. So I’m really inspired by the work of Hidayah and Report Out which supports LGBT+ people across the world especially in countries where it’s dangerous to be out.

Hi! My name is Aaron (pronouns) and I volunteer for LGBT Age at LGBT Health and Wellbeing. I help deliver both Coffee Posse online and  in Glasgow which are monthly meetups for LGBT+ people aged 50 and over to come together and connect.

How did you find out about LGBT Health and Wellbeing first and what was your journey to becoming a volunteer?

I had looked online for volunteering opportunities in Glasgow. When I came across LGBT Age I recognised a *fantastic* staff member’s name from an LGBT organisation I attended when I was a teenager which confirmed this was the right organisation for me!

Can you tell us a little bit more about your role?

I am volunteering with the Coffee Posse. I had my first volunteering session with the Virtual Coffee Posse and am looking forward to my first in-person session soon. So far, I know it’s about creating conversation within a lively and friendly bunch – all while ensuring a safe and welcoming space for everyone.

What are you most proud of as a volunteer with LGBT Age?

To know that I am giving input to the generation who laid the path before me and enabled the privilege I am lucky to have now as a member of the LGBTQ+ Community. I am proud that by volunteering I can offer a show of thanks to the older generation of our community.

What would you like to achieve as a volunteer?

Firstly, I hope to bring a wee bit of happiness to the people who attend and hope I make them feel welcomed. I am also a nursing student and I hope this unique volunteering experience will give me better insight for inclusive care for members of the LGBTQ+ Community and that I will go on to advocate for my community within healthcare.

What would you like to change for the community?

I hope that one day we all feel safe in ALL spaces to comfortably be our beautiful selves. Most of all I hope to influence and create that environment when I become a nurse – as accessing healthcare can often be daunting for the LGBTQ+ Community.

Do you have a role model? Someone that inspires you?

I am happily and uniquely 1 of 1 but I seek to learn from everyone I meet, to open my mind and take influence from all of those around me so I can always have new experiences and continue to grow.

Hi! I’m Christelle. I’m originally from Cameroon and have British citizenship. I’m an athlete and I’ve qualified to represent Scotland in wrestling at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

How did you become a volunteer at LGBT Health and Wellbeing?

I had known Stella (Refugee Project Development Worker) for a while and was part of LGBT Unity which is a community group that supports Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Asexual and Transgender Refugees, Asylum Seekers and other Migrants in Glasgow. We both used to attend the group meetings regularly and we became good friends.

Stella then started working at LGBT Health and Wellbeing. Each time she would put on an event, she would invite me as she knew I was also supporting people with their asylum cases. Stella invited me to volunteer for the organisation and so we worked on setting up a dedicated social group for women in the LGBTQ+ refugee community.

What do you do as a volunteer at LGBT Health and Wellbeing?

With the women’s group, I provide them with mental health support on a 1-to-1. I have an email that they can contact anytime when they feel they need help, advice or support. I also DJ during group events.

What are you the most proud of as a volunteer?

Seeing my own people’s faces because a lot go through the system thinking that it’s the end of the world, and that it will never get better. I’m there to remind them it’s just a process and that it’s all going to work out – even if it might not be the exact way they imagined. Being there to support people with their mental health, help them go through the process, and give them confidence again.

What more are you hoping to achieve as a volunteer at LGBT Health and Wellbeing?

What I hope to achieve with the women’s group is to keep bringing women together to make them feel safe and comfortable, and to feel free to speak their mind. In the future, I would love to be more involved, like supporting them as a full-time qualified social worker. There’s so much to learn in this field and I want to look for professional training to assist them more.

If you could change one thing for the LGBT community, what would it be?

If I could change one thing, it would be the mindset of my people. The way people from an African background grow up is so different from here. I’d like to change their minds so they don’t worry about being themselves – just be you.

I would also want to change the asylum seeking system. It needs to give more credit to asylum seekers and be better at making them feel safe even if they aren’t granted residence right away.

I would also like to change the mindset of people from around the world who still discriminate against LGBTQ+ people. Especially the mindset of those from the same background as me, who think that they will never be understood or that it is forbidden to be some type of way. I want them to feel it’s ok to feel how they feel without any worry.

Do you have a role model or someone that inspires you?

I don’t have a specific role model. I’m an athlete so I get to travel around the world where I meet different people and learn new things, which opens up my mind. I’ve learned throughout the years to be more open minded. It wasn’t always the case. There was a time when I wasn’t so open, but I’ve learned it’s ok to be more open about who you are. The lesson that I could be free was invaluable.

I don’t even a LGBT+ role model because growing up in Cameroon, you can’t even think of having such a role model (though here I can see it’s different). But I’m conscious some people look up to me so I try to give the best of me.

In the world of sports, I do look up to my mother who I got my taste for sports from. She played handball (netball here) for a long time and she inspired me to get into sports. I also look up to this one wrestling champion from back home. The way she works and dedicates herself reminds me that anything is possible with commitment and discipline.

Hello, I’m Moira (she/they/xie), and I am the community group leader for Non-Binary Edinburgh which is a bi-weekly online group for non-binary and genderqueer people to get together.

What was your journey to becoming a volunteer at LGBT Health and Wellbeing?

Before helping start Non-BinaryEdinburgh, I had been part of other community groups such as T-time, getting to know all of the other members and getting to know the community as a whole.

It was a sort of a whirlwind moment when I was invited to help at one of the meetings when there was a few extra hands needed. I remember being so nervous when being asked to take over as group leader, at the time it had been such a big step up and I was never sure if I was responsible or organised enough to be able to do such a thing!

What do you do as a volunteer at LGBT Health and Wellbeing?

I run the Non-Binary Edinburgh community group, which originally used to be prepping and organising an in person space, community events, as well as bringing in guest speakers for meetings.

At the start of the pandemic in 2022, we moved our group meetings online, first to Zoom, and then later to Discord, making use of our already large online space to help make sure people still stay in touch.

Now as we function as a mostly online space, I work as a moderator for our server, helping maintain a digital safe space for our community.

What are you the most proud of as a volunteer?

One of the things I am most proud of would have to be the online space that myself and the other community leaders and members have been able to build together. Whether it is in person, or online. I’m proud of the space that we have been able to make. A group of people that are happy to help others and make a space that is not only welcoming but supportive. We are all in different stages of our journey, and it’s wonderful to have a judgement free space that allows us to help each other.

What more are you hoping to achieve as a volunteer at LGBT Health and Wellbeing?

My big achievement I have on the horizon would be to bring the group events back in person, we’ve been very cautious for all our members. We’ve got big plans for introducing a mixed delivery for both digital and in person events. We want the best of both world for our members, recognising the needs of everyone and trying to make it as accessible as possible is our goal.

If you could change one thing for the LGBT community, what would it be?

A big question, I’m not sure where to start. There are so many things which I would change. I think the biggest thing would be accessibility for disability and neurodiversity. As a community, we don’t just need accommodation, we need universal access. From wheelchair access, to providing safe spaces. It’s not as big or as complicated as people think, but it does need to come from the top down with people being educated on how they can make their spaces better.

Do you have a role model? Someone who inspires you?

I’m not sure if I have a role model, so much as people who just help me improve myself, or people who have taught me a great deal in the great art of “Doing and being better”, I have a lot of friends and family who I consider the best and most supportive people who have been with me through my life in all the ups and downs. I think having a specific person to be aspirational to is a little difficult, be your own person, don’t measure yourself by the standards of another, strive to do what they do, but don’t worry if you don’t feel like you can measure up to someone else, because I bet you that someone else is looking up at you and wondering how they can measure up to what you’re doing.

Oscar Wilde -whose full name was Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Willis Wilde- became one of the most popular and fashionable playwrights of the early 1890’s in Victorian London. He is also one of the most celebrated and iconic gay men of British history. Mr Wilde was originally from Ireland Dublin, born on 16^th October 1854 at Westland Row, and as such he was an Irish born Poet and Dramatist. However, Wilde was also ultimately a tragic figure as he went from being an artistic Playwright and flamboyant wit, to being a man struck down by tragedy who was imprisoned for two years and ultimately dying penniless in a cheap hotel in Paris.

Wilde’s parents were both professional, intelligent and highly accomplished individuals. Wilde’s mother (Lady Jane Wilde, 1820-1869) wrote patriotic Irish verse. She was a successful poet and journalist, and also wrote revolutionary poetry under the pseudonym Speranza. She was also considered an authority on Celtic Myth and Folklore. Lastly Wilde’s mother is credited with having inspired her son’s love of poetry and neo-classical art. Wilde’s father (Sir William Wilde, 1815-1876) was also a gifted literary figure, and produced books on ‘Archaeology and Folklore’. Besides, he was also a medical professional, in fact described as ‘Ireland’s leading ear and eye surgeon’.

Oscar Wilde can be more accurately described as Anglo-Irish who was a Playwright, a Novelist, Poet, Lecturer, Journalist and Critic. However, he only wrote one novel in his career, which was ‘The Picture of Dorian Grey’. Wilde was also part of what could be described as an ideology or a philosophy known as the Aesthetic movement that was popular in England during the Victorian era. Its ‘creed’ has been summarised as ‘Art for Art’s sake’

Having come from such an accomplished cultural family, it would seem inevitable that Wilde would receive a good education. He first went to Portora Royal School (between 1864-71) then attended Trinity College Dublin (1871-74) and finally Magdalen College Oxford (1874-78). It was during his time at Magdalen College that Wilde became a strong admirer of the teachings and philosophy of the English writers John Ruskin and Walter Pater, who taught about the ‘central importance of art in life’. Pater stressed that life should be lived with aesthetic intensity. Wilde thus became known during his Oxford days for his involvement with the Aesthetic and decadent movements. Wilde began to wear his hair long and decorated his rooms with ‘Peacock feathers, lilies, sunflowers, blue china and other objets d’art’. The ‘aesthetics’ had ‘languishing attitudes’ and a showy flamboyant dress sense.

Wilde’s intellectual talents also included being an exceptional linguist. He studied Greek for nearly nine years and became fluent in English, German, French and he had a working knowledge of Italian and Greek. Unfortunately he apparently was unable to speak a single word of Irish.

When his studies at Oxford came to completion, Wilde returned to Ireland for romantic purposes as he wanted to meet a potential love interest, the renowned beauty Florence Balcombe. Unfortunately for Wilde, this potential romance was never to be as Miss Balcombe had become engaged to Bram Stoker, the famous author of ‘Dracula’. Heartbroken, Wilde moved to London and boarded with portrait artist Frank Miles who was highly successful. Wilde lived on the highly fashionable Tite Street in Chelsea, a residence that also boasted none other than the painter James Whistler and illustrator Charles Rickets with his partner Charles Shannon.

Apart from his literary accomplishments, Wilde was also renowned for his ‘dazzling’ wit and has also often been described as ‘flamboyant’- a description that can also be extended to his affairs with men. After moving back to England, Wilde soon became a name in Victorian London’s ‘society circles’, who drew into his orbit a number of admirers ‘flocking’ to Chelsea to spend time with him and Miles. This was partly in response to the fact that Wilde had published, at his own expense, a Poetry collection (his first in 1881) despite the fact that he had been lampooned by Punch magazine.

The followers that Wilde attracted into his orbit have been described as having ‘initiated a personal cult, self-consciously effete and artificial’. In fact, Wilde wrote in 1894 ‘the first duty in life is to be as artificial as possible’. It would seem that with his decadence, he was deliberately setting out to contradict Victorian piety.

Wilde spent an entire year lecturing in America. In 1882 when he travelled to the United States, having arrived at customs in New York City, he made perhaps his most famous quip that he had ‘Nothing to declare but his genius’. After his time in America, he returned to England where he also lectured. Wilde also tried his hand at editing and from the years 1887 to 1889, he edited the magazine ‘Woman’s World’. In 1888, Wilde wrote ‘The Happy Prince and Other Tales’, this being his first success as a prose writer. In 1892, he brought out another collection of Fairy Tales entitled ‘The House of Pomegranates’.

Oscar Wilde, apart from being famous as a dramatist, playwright, wit and poet, is also famous as being an iconic gay man. Homosexuality was considered a crime during the Victorian era. As he famously had a homosexual relationship or ‘affair’ with the son of an aristocrat, his personal life became public knowledge, and he was ultimately tried, sentenced and imprisoned.

Wilde apparently became active as a gay man in 1886. He believed he was deliberately subverting the Victorian moral code and challenging society by creating scandal, albeit a personal private scandal. Furthermore, he believed that his subversion of the Victorian moral code was the inspirational ‘impulse’ to his literary career. Ultimately a rebel, Wilde ‘believed in the criminal mentality’ and perceived himself as a criminal. It is interesting to note here that the subject of criminality was woven into his only novel published in 1891‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’. In this story, the painter Basil Hallward is murdered, initiating Dorian’s disintegration as a pivotal moment. Initially the character Dorian did not age which is considered to be a metaphorical celebration of youth.

Wilde, who famously had a gay relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas, otherwise known as ‘Bosie’, was accused by his father, who happened to be the Marquis of Queensberry, of homosexuality. This resulted in Wilde suing Bosie’s father for libel. Tragically Wilde’s case went against him and he was ultimately arrested and tried for ‘gross indecency’. He was sentenced for two years hard labour – his crime being for ‘sodomy’.

As I don’t like to end my articles on such a bleak and negative note, I wanted to end by briefly mentioning some of Wilde’s work as a Playwright. It was between the years 1892-1895 that Wilde produced a number of Plays. These works proved to be popular with audiences as they relied on ‘puns and elaborate word games. In 1892, Wilde produced ‘Lady Windemere’s Fan’, in 1893 ‘A Woman of No Importance’, and in 1895 there was ‘An ideal Husband’ and ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’.

Hi! My name is Mason (he/they) and I volunteer for LGBT Age at LGBT Health and Wellbeing. I provide one-on-one support to older LGBT+ people across Scotland on the Telefriending service and co-facilitates the online version of Coffee Posse which is a monthly meetup for LGBT+ people aged 50 and over to come together and connect.

How did you find out about LGBT Health and Wellbeing first and what was your journey to becoming a volunteer?

When I was a young kid in Edinburgh, I remember seeing the LGBT Centre in Edinburgh and always wanting pop in but not quite having the context or maybe the courage to go inside. When I returned to Scotland as an adult, after a long time living away, I realised I wanted to be able to connect to LGBT+ people beyond my own social circle. I wanted to hear stories from elders, and understand a bit more about their lived experiences here.

What do you do as a volunteer at LGBT Health and Wellbeing?

I keep in touch over the phone with a couple of folks one-to-one as part of the Telefriending service, checking in every fortnight or so, and I co-facilitate the online Coffee Posse each month, getting to participate in groups of up to 12 or so people. I listen to what’s on people’s minds, hear about their hopes, future plans, as well as their lives.

What are you most proud of as a volunteer?

I’m happy to be able to participate and have the privilege to learn from the folks who use the service, and hear how they come to know themselves and be in touch with each other, and also see how we get to change each other in those shared spaces of contact.

Do you have a role model? Someone that inspires you?

There are so many inspiring people out there, but I regularly go to Jessica Dore’s daily Tarot card readings on Twitter for her thoughtful and useful reflections on care, transformation and acceptance: @thejessicadore

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week and this year the UK national campaign looks at loneliness. The Mental Health Foundation research highlights that LGBT+ people are at greater risk of experiencing loneliness, something we know all too well as an organisation working with the LGBT+ community in Scotland.

Some of the reasons for this are that LGBT+ people are more likely to be single, childless, living alone, in less frequent contact with their family of origin, and at greater risk of social isolation – this risk is particularly acute for vulnerable sections of the community such as older LGBT+ people and LGBT+ asylum seekers and refugees.

Another reason for this is minority stress which is the negative impact of living with a stigmatised identity. Despite progress in LGBT+ rights in Scotland and across the world, stigma and disapproval of LGBT+ identities remain prevalent, contributing to the marginalisation and discrimination of our community. As a result, many LGBT+ people live with shame and fear leading to social anxiety which is a risk factor for loneliness. The pandemic also highlighted how isolated some LGBT+ people were with little to no support networks to turn to.

At LGBT Health and Wellbeing, we work to reduce loneliness and social isolation within the LGBT+ community in Scotland by providing safer and affirmative social spaces for LGBT+ people to come together and connect. We also do this by encouraging the involvement of LGBT+ people in shaping our services and supporting their delivery. We support individuals to participate as community members, volunteers, peer group leaders and human rights activists in our organisation.

At the end of 2021, 85% of people who use our services told us that they feel less lonely as a result of joining our social community programmes, and 88% feel more connected to their community. They told us that what they value the most is making new connections, feeling like they belong, feeling part of a community and not feeling alone anymore:

“I find events like this so valuable, as someone who is not yet fully out – it makes me feel more connected to others and less alone.”

It has provided me with comfort and support following a period of very low mood. It has helped to combat the loneliness that comes with poor mental health”

Tracy’s story

Tracy (she/her) is a 56-year-old disabled intersex trans woman with complex health needs and reduced mobility since an accident, meaning she isn’t able to leave the house as much as she used to. Tracy began engaging with LGBT Health and Wellbeing by attending Coffee Posse, our café meetup space for LGBT people aged 50 and over in both Edinburgh and Glasgow. Through Coffee Posse Tracy had the opportunity to spend time with fellow queer people socially in a way that suited her access needs as a wheelchair user.

“At LGBT Health and Wellbeing, there is a sense of belonging. I have made some wonderful friends from the organisation both online and in person. You don’t feel alone all of a sudden. Instead of seeing a disabled trans woman, they see me. They give you a sense of belonging.”

Tracy also engages with our Trans Social Lounge where she attends monthly film nights. After a Christmas social event, Tracy recognised some trans people wanted a more regular informal space to hang out online, and so she introduced the trans Friday Night Social Chat, a weekly Zoom hangout providing trans people with the opportunity to be themselves and socialise in an unstructured and organic way.

Thierry’s story

Thierry (he/him) is a 31-year-old gay man originally from Cameroon. He first came to LGBT Health and Wellbeing when he arrived in Glasgow in 2019. Being new to Glasgow, and having a limited support and social network, he wanted to make connections and learn more about the diversity of the LGBT community and its culture.

“Engaging with LGBT Health helps to equip you to become part of your local community, as well as the LGBT community in Scotland”.

Thierry first attended one of our social events, where he felt instantly welcomed and affirmed in his identity. Having very little knowledge or understanding of LGBT issues, Thierry took the opportunity to attend events and use the educational resources provided by the organisation to learn more about the community. Whilst learning, Thierry also made many friends, including through our LGBT Refugee Project.

“It was very good to feel like, okay there are people like me here! I could connect with them and get involved and contribute. It was rewarding; mentally, physically, emotionally. It was everything that you could possibly imagine.”

After some time, Thierry began to volunteer with LGBT Health and Wellbeing as he was keen to give back to the community and help to create a welcoming environment for LGBT asylum seekers like him. After two years of volunteering, Thierry applied for a role with LGBT Health and Wellbeing as a sessional worker on the Refugee Project which he successfully got. Thierry is extremely proud of himself and his journey with the organisation.

Combat loneliness with LGBT Health and Wellbeing

If you know someone LGBT+ who is socially isolated, let them know that LGBT Health and Wellbeing is there for them.

We have a social programme of regular meetups, community discussions and groups, for LGBT+ people in Scotland to come together and build connections.

We run the national LGBT Helpline Scotland which offers emotional support and signposting information to all LGBT+ people across Scotland. Open Tuesdays & Wednesdays (12-9pm) and Thursdays & Sundays (1-6pm). Phone (0300 123 2523), email (helpline@lgbthealth.org.uk) and live chat (www.lgbthealth.org.uk) support.

We run Telefriending which is a phone-based service making regular calls to older LGBT+ people aged 50 and over across Scotland, who are isolated.

We offer a programme of mental health support which includes counselling, individual support sessions (phone, email, online) and a social programme of regular groups and workshops aimed at supporting LGBT+ people to look after their mental health and wellbeing.

We also provide specialist support for trans people, older LGBT+ people and LGBT+ asylum seekers and refugees.

Resources

The Mental Health Foundation has a resource hub with help and advice on how to cope with loneliness.

The Scottish Mental Health and Arts Festival invites us to ‘Gather’ from 4^th-24^th May with over 200 events taking place across Scotland and online.

Key references

“Marginalization and Loneliness Among Sexual Minorities: How Are They Linked” (Campaign to End Loneliness, February 2022)

“All The Lonely People” (Mental Health Foundation, May 2022)

“Combatting Loneliness Amongst Older LGBT People” (Age UK, February 2018)

“Queer Asylum Seekers Left Facing Isolation, Hunger and Mockery – Right Here in the UK” (Pink News, May 2021)

Hey everyone, Rebecca here (Policy and Research Officer at LGBT Health and Wellbeing). As I am sure many within our community are aware, the Scottish Government are currently in the process of amending the 2004 Gender Recognition Act (GRA). The Scottish Parliament have opened their Call for Views on the proposed Gender Recognition Reform (GRR) Bill, allowing the public the chance to detail and submit their opinions/thoughts on the Bill. The deadline for responses is 16^th May.

As it stands, the GRR Bill will introduce new criteria for applicants who wish to get a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC). The aim of the Bill is to make the process easier and less dehumanising for trans people, reducing the time period applicants are required to live in their acquired gender from two years to three months. The Bill at present will also remove the requirement for a medical diagnosis and medical evidence to obtain a GRC, hopefully making the process more affordable and accessible. At LGBT Health we support reforming the GRA, and believe that proposed changes will positively impact the lives of many trans people here in Scotland.

At present the draft Bill proposes the GRA:

• remove the requirement for medical evidence
• remove the Gender Recognition Panel from the process – applications will be made instead to the Registrar General for Scotland
• reduce the period that applicants must live in their acquired gender from 2 years to 3 months
• introduce a mandatory 3-month reflection period
• reduce the minimum age for applicants from 18 to 16
• introduce a new duty on the Registrar General to report on an annual basis, the number of applications for GRCs and the number granted.

Much to the disappointment of LGBT organisations across Scotland, the GRA Bill will not include legal recognition for non-binary people. We believe the Bill can be best understood to be a step towards achieving trans equality. At LGBT Health, we are committed to working to achieve equality in law for non-binary people. There is an opportunity within the detailed response to express discontent at the Bill’s exclusion of non-binary people, our organisational response will do so and will highlight that equality must include all trans people.

The purpose of this blog post is to encourage all of our community members who are in support of reform to complete the Short Survey Response on the GRA Bill. This consists of seven yes/no questions and one open question where respondents can add any additional comments. If you are unsure about the Bill, or some of the questions asked in the Call for Views, please see this guidance by Scottish Trans Alliance (STA).

I am very happy for folks to reach out to me to discuss the Bill, our organisational response, or for support in submitting a personal response. I can be contacted via email at rebecca@lgbthealth.org.uk or via phone on 0754 173 9819.

The internet is a key part of our everyday lives, but it can also cause real harms to people, and these tend to be experienced by certain groups more than others, such as the LGBT+ community. The Glasgow City Health & Social Care Partnership Health Improvement team want to understand the impact of online harms, and what can be done to prevent it. They would like to hear directly from people who have experienced any form of online harm to help them develop and shape the project around their experiences. If you are from within the Glasgow region, your voice and participation would be invaluable in this project. Please click here if you would like to know more and participate.

What is the project?

The Glasgow City HSCP Health Improvement team are working on a project which looks at online harm (for example, online bullying, unkind comments, or trolling) and its impact on Mental Health. We reached out to LGBT Health & Wellbeing, who kindly suggested we reach out to you via their Village Voices Newsletter, as it might be something in which you would be interested to be involved.

To value everyone’s contribution, each participant will receive a £20 Amazon E-voucher after attending the session and we will explain how to access this during the session.

When will the session take place?

You will be invited to attend a 90-minute session will take place on Zoom on:

Wednesday the 18 the of May 2022 between 10.00am and 11.30 am.

Full details of the session and the Zoom link will follow to those who are selected to take part. If you are unsure how to use Zoom, we will provide full instructions on how to access the session.

The sessions will be recorded to allow the team to review what was shared and the recordings will be immediately deleted following this.

How can I get involved?

If this is something in which you would like to be involved, we would be delighted to hear from you – please get in touch through email on  carolann@carolanngvineria.com

The deadline to express your interest is MONDAY 9^th MAY 2020 5pm.

There are limited spaces, so we advise registering your interest early. If we have a lot of interest in the sessions, we will create a waiting list and will let you know if you have secured a place. We will contact you to let you know soon after the deadline.

A Q&A answering any questions you may have, can be found below.

Kind wishes
Carol Ann Gvineria
Carol Ann Gvineria Consultancy
Tel. 0757007617

Online Harms Session Question and Answers

This document aims to provide answers to some questions that you may have around the online harms’ session. If you have any remaining questions or if anything isn’t clear, please get in touch at carolann@carolanngvineria.com.

Alan Turing was nothing short of a scientific genius whose life and contribution to the British war effort (World War 2) has been significantly made more widely known to the public through the film ‘The Imitation Game’- in which Benedict Cumberbatch plays Alan Turing. Turing was a Mathematician, logician, computer scientist, cryptanalyst, philosopher and theoretical biologist. He was also gay which I will speak more about later in the article. Turing has also been described as formalising  ‘concepts of algorithm and computation’ which ultimately led to the invention of the ‘Turing Machine’. As such, he is generally considered to be the ‘Father of theoretical science’ which also includes artificial intelligence.

Alan Mathison Turing was born in London on 23^rd June 1912. He is mostly known for his academic achievements for having made significant and important contributions to mathematics, cryptanalysis and mathematical biology. Turing also contributed to new scientific disciplines that would be renamed: computer science, cognitive science and artificial intelligence life.

It should come as no real surprise that such an intelligent young man, with a keen scientific mind should have entered the University of Cambridge in 1931 after having been educated at a top private school. Turing was elected to a fellowship at King’s College after graduating in 1934, for his excellent research in ‘probability theory’. Turing went on to write a seminal paper ‘On Computable Numbers, with an application to the ‘Entscheidungs problem’ and ‘Decision Problem’. At the time there was the emerging science of computing and Turing’s method in its application had ‘profound significance’ for this new scientific discipline.

Turing went on to study for a PhD in mathematical logic at Princeton University under Alonzo Church – studies he completed in 1938. Turing ultimately went on to invent the ‘Universal Turing Machine’, which was based on the same logical principles of a digital computer. Previously the various attempts at mathematical problem solving had been carried out by rote by humans who were actually designated as ‘computers.

Turing, after returning from the United States went on to join the ‘Government Code and Cypher School’. He also joined the war time organisation’s headquarters at Bletchley Park after the outbreak of war in September 1939. During WW2, the Germans used a cypher machine known as ‘Enigma’ which was their principle device used to encrypt radio communications. The Polish Government had some initial success against Enigma that they shared the details of with Britain and France. It was during the autumn of 1939 and the following year that Turing and his colleagues designed a codebreaking machine which was similar but significantly different to the Polish device known as the ‘Bomba’. By 1942, the Crypto-annalistic team were successfully decoding 39,000 messages each month – the figure rising to 84,000 per month which works out at two messages every minute, night and day.

The code-breaking machine designed by Turing and his team was known as the ‘Bombe’. This device provided the military intelligence with large quantities of information for the rest of the war. The Germans also devised a sophisticated cipher machine that the British referred to as ‘Tunny’. Turing was the first scientist to device the ‘first systematic method’ of breaking the intelligence that was encrypted by this Cypher.

Turing was subsequently rewarded for his achievements by being made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire-OBE at the end of the war.

After the war Turing was recruited to design and create an electronic computer by the National Physical Laboratory, NPL in London. Turing succeeded in doing his Automatic Computing Engine-ACE, being the first ‘complete specification of an electronic stored-program all-purpose digital computer’. However, though the ACE machine design was possible, it was never actually built. Turing’s colleagues at the NPL decided that it was too difficult and perhaps too ambitious. In its place was created a much smaller model – the Pilot Model ACE-1950.

Through the NPL’s lack of ambition, they thus lost the race to create the first working ‘electronic stored-program digital computer’ in the world. This honour instead going to the University of Manchester which housed the Royal Society Computing Machine Laboratory. Turing dissatisfied with the lack of progress at the London NPL became the Deputy Director of the Computing Machine Laboratory.

Having spoken at some length of Turing’s career it is here I will turn to his sexuality and personal life. As mentioned above, Turing was gay which unfortunately in this less enlightened era ultimately led to his conviction for ‘indecency’. However many years before this, Turing had apparently proposed marriage to a colleague mathematician and cryptanalyst, but the ‘engagement was short lived’.

Turing’s conviction with a previous partner was for ‘gross indecency’ which was legally according to section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885. This followed Turing’s acknowledgement of a sexual relationship with Arnold Murray. Turing was 39 in 1952 when he had started a relationship with Murray – ‘homosexual acts’ were still a criminal offence in Britain at the time. It was the 23^rd of January of this year, that Turing’s house was burgled. Murray subsequently revealed that the burglar was an acquaintance of his and thus Turing reported the crime to the Police. It was during the investigation that Turing’s homosexuality was revealed.

The ultimate outcome of Turing’s conviction was having to undergo a highly invasive procedure – commonly referred to as ‘chemical castration’. At the time this was the indignant alternative to prison. Furthermore, the alternative was a form of conditional probation. Turing had to accept having injections of what used to be referred to as stiloboetrol (known as diethylstilboestrol) which is in fact a form of synthetic oestrogen. In other words, Turing had to undergo hormonal physical changes, ultimately resulting in ‘feminization’ of his body and rendering him impotent.

Due to Turing’s criminal prosecution, he was henceforth denied security clearance, barred from continuing his work in crypto-graphic consultancy for the Government Communications Headquarters-GCHQ, though he was permitted to keep his academic job. He was also restricted from travelling to the U.S.A, but he could visit other European countries if he so wished.

Sadly, it wasn’t until 2009 that Alan Turing received a Government apology and granted a Royal pardon – suffice to say it was too little and too late. It was John Graham Cumming, a British Programmer who had acted by starting a petition to apologise for Turing’s conviction for homosexuality. Gordon Brown (Prime Minister at the time) released a statement of apology, in acknowledgement of the petition which had received 30,000 signatures.  This was the 10^th September 2009. Alan Turing died on the 7^th June 1954 – he was 41.