School Diversity Week and Pride Month
To mark School Diversity Week and Pride Month, TCA’s librarian Miss Robinson has put together some reading recommendations, things to watch and activities you can get involved in at home.
During School Diversity Week, primary and secondary schools across the UK celebrate lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans equality in education.
The organisation behind the campaign holds masterclasses where young people can hear from experts on a range of subjects, from film-making to creating a campaign.
During Pride month, the LGBTQ+ community comes together to embrace their identities and celebrate the progress that has been made towards equal rights. The celebrations include street parties, community events, poetry readings, public speaking, street festivals and educational sessions.
Recommended viewing:
Newsround - “Pride month: What is it and why do people celebrate it?”
Newsround - “Where does the rainbow flag come from?”
Newsround - “Pride Month: Who was Marsha P. Johnson and why was she so important?”
BBC Bitesize: From personal stories from members of the LGBTQ+ community, to learning about the origins of Pride.
With representation in books so important, there are a number of recommended reads for young people which can help them understand more about themselves and how they may be feeling, learn more about how a friend or family member may be feeling, understand other people’s experiences, or if they just want to read a good book!
Here are some popular authors of LGBT+ books:
David Levithan is an American young adult fiction author who has written many books featuring LGBT+ characters - most commonly gay male characters - and which explore issues related to being LGBT+. Particularly relevant works include:
■ Boy Meets Boy (2003)
■ The Realm of Possibility (2004)
■ How They Met (2008)
■ Will Grayson, Will Grayson, co-written with John Green (2010)
■ Every Day (2012)
■ Two Boys Kissing (2013)
■ Someday (2018)
■ The Full Spectrum: A New Generation of Writing About Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Other Identities, ed. with Billy Merrell (2006)
Patrick Ness is a British American author of young adult fiction, whose books often have a fantastic or dystopian element and feature LGBT+ characters. Particularly relevant works include:
■ Chaos Walking series:
■ The Knife of Never Letting Go (2008)
■ The Ask and the Answer (2009)
■ Monsters of Men (2010)
■ More Than This (2013)
■ The Rest of Us Just Live Here (2015)
Becky Albertalli is an American author of young adult fiction, who wrote the novel which was adapted into the now very famous film Love, Simon. Several of her other books also explore being LGBT+, or feature LGBT+ characters
■ Creekwood Series
■ Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (2015)
■ Leah on the Offbeat (2018)
■ The Upside of Unrequited (2017)
Here are some children’s and young adult books that are accessible from home via Cambridgeshire Libraries:
My Brother’s Name Is Jessica by John Boyne
Things A Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls
If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo
The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson
School Diversity Week’s booklist.
Activities:
Here are some ideas of other fun things that you can join in with at home to celebrate School Diversity Week and Pride Month.
If you take part and would like to share some of the activities you have chosen to do, please send the details to Miss Robinson on Teams.
Create your own identity flag
The rainbow flag has been a symbol for LGBT+ people for almost 50 years. LGBT+ people use the flag at Pride parades to proudly show their identity.
What would a flag that shows your identity look like? Try creating one yourself on a sheet of A4 paper. Make sure it uses a range of colours and represents you.
Some things you might want to include:
- Things you like (e.g. food, activities, music)
- Things that are important to you.
- Symbols that represent your heritage or faith
- Symbols that represent your LGBT+ identity (if you are LGBT+)
Display your flag wherever you want to show you are proud of your identity.
Bake Off
What better way to celebrate School Diversity Week than with tasty treats?
We recommend making rainbow cupcakes. They are super easy and a lot of fun! Have a look at this recipe by Tesco.
As an extra step you could make mini flags using paper, sticky tape and cocktail sticks. Write messages of support for the LGBT+ community on each one.
If you’re feeling extra ambitious how about attempting a Pride celebration cake? This could be decorated with colours of the progress flag.
You could share pictures of your colourful masterpieces with #SDW20.
Watch LGBT+ films or TV shows
Throughout the week watch film or TV shows with LGBT+ themes and characters. There are a variety of LGBT+ TV shows and films on Netflix currently. Ensure they are age appropriate.
LGBT+ playlist
Make a playlist of your favourite LGBT+ artists.
Some examples:
- Sam Smith
- Hayley Kiyoko
- Queen (Freddie Mercury)
- Kim Petras
- Years and Years
- Lil Nas x
- Tyler the Creator
- Frank Ocean
- King Princess
- Beth Ditto
- Elton John
- George Michael
- Ezra Furman
Where to find support
It is always good to speak to someone you trust about the issues you might be facing, no matter how big or small. It can be hard talking about gender, sexuality and relationships, so if you are experiencing difficulties, don’t feel ashamed or different, and don’t feel you have to hide away from it. You can also find help on a range of issues at Young Minds.