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Around the world, the month of June is widely recognized as Pride Month - a month filled with celebration and festivity for those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer. Because of its growth in popularity over the years, many cities begin to organize their 3-day weekend celebrations in May and they continue throughout each week, in different cities, until the end of June. A festival filled with games, activities, and various booths promoting different charities, organizations, and clubs within the LGBTQ+ community, as well as concerts and celebrity appearances, all precede a parade that showcase elaborate floats, community marching bands, supportive businesses, and city government officials amongst other participants, all marching down to commemorate Pride.

Why June? The Stonewall riots took place in June 1969 where various protesters in the LGBTQ+ community began to uprise against the police raids that would occur in NYC at gay bars; it was once illegal to be openly gay in the U.S. because there was no legislation protecting the community. Since, however, we have seen major improvement in gay rights such as the legalization of same-sex marriage. Why Pride? Many wonder how it is possible to be proud of something that you did not accomplish, choose, nor have any control of. When you, or those just like you, have been suppressed, ignored, beaten, and even killed for that exactly, you have no choice but to appreciate your literal and figurative survival. That appreciation comes in all forms. Some express themselves through prosperity, others through art, and many in silence, but most have a common realization that we are to be proud, as a community, that we overcame adversity.

Eighteen months ago, I boldly stated that I was proud to be Southern California's first openly gay recipient to the annual Rookie of the Year award. It was a single tweet with a photo attached of a screenshot explaining why it was important for me to declare that. Fast forward to now, I have so much more confidence in knowing that I made the right decision. The opportunities that have been presented to me since, have allowed me to believe that it is my talent, nothing more and nothing less, that has led to me exceed my own expectations. I continue to strive for bigger and better while carrying a significant amount of weight on my shoulders in representing the LGBTQ+ community. Do not be mistaken, though, as it is not about me. It never has been. Over the course of my career thus far, people have read countless interviews, watched few mini-documentaries, and even tuned in to a popular TV series on national television "detailing my life" as an openly gay professional wrestler. The reality is: I am only 24; I have yet to scratch the surface of what I have to experience in my life, good or bad. I have had no major accomplishment.

For me, however, it has always been about my journey, rather than the "trophy", and exposing that to the youth of the LGBTQ+ community. When I began coaching gymnastics at 17, I grew a passion for our youth. As a society, we can sometimes disregard the importance of the future of civilization. When you see a newborn taking its first steps, a toddler engaging at a playground, or a teenager graduating high school, you are looking at a future artist, athlete, doctor, Congressperson, or scientist - so we hope. The development of their childhood and adolescence is crucial to their future. What is endured early on in life affects their personal outlook on aspirations as maturation ensues.

Visibility is the degree to which something has attracted general attention and inclusion is the action or state of being included within a group or structure. Imagine a young child having spent the majority of their upbringing watching romance develop in front of their eyes between a male and a female only; imagine that though they are more than likely not aware of their sexuality, they can identify, purely on instinct, that they cannot relate to what is being presented; imagine this creating constant confusion, fear, and unsettlement in their young cognitive and emotional evolution. Well, it is not imagination. Unfortunately, it's reality.

Professional wrestling has been long considered a masculine sport. Romantic storylines always featured relationships between the opposite sex, champions have mostly all been heterosexual, and anything remotely gay-oriented was considered taboo, a joke, or an attraction. It is not news that professional wrestling has a huge fanbase that identifies as LGBTQ+. The "market" is there and always has been, but it was afraid to come out. Sound familiar? There was a fear of being shunned, exiled, or banned from attending wrestling events because of mannerisms, wardrobe, voice, companionship, physical appearance, and other natural forms of human expression that did not fit the mold of a typical 'wrestling fan.' I can relate wholeheartedly to that feeling. Nevertheless, times have certainly changed.

A few months ago, at Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's 200th event, a fan shouted out to one of my opponents that he should, "fuck that f****t up!" Of course, to me, performing at PWG is greater than any uneducated, unfortunate person, so I was unaware of the slur until after my match. It warmed my heart to find out that they were booed and spectators around them stood up in my defense. It reassured me that what we are doing is working. My role as an athlete is to provide entertainment and influence fitness, competitiveness, and sport to a participating audience. As an openly gay athlete in professional wrestling, my role now becomes to ensure visible affirmation that we can be included - that we belong, as performers and as spectators.

Over the last decade, we have made strides of progress in all forms of entertainment. We have had the first openly gay NFL player, more celebrities have expressed their fluidity in sexuality, a film featuring a queer person of color has won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and in our world, we have had openly gay pro wrestlers come to prominence (most notably those in the WWE with the likes of Fred Rosser and Sonya Deville.) We have showed major progress over the years on the independent wrestling scene as well with various promotions showing their support by allowing more LGBTQ+ identified wrestlers to compete. Recently, newly formed wrestling organization All Elite Wrestling, whose roster includes LGBTQ+ wrestlers Sonny Kiss and Nyla Rose, signed a major television network deal with TNT that would showcase the aforementioned community athletes to a mainstream audience.

Pro wrestling, in my eyes, is a cultural phenomenon. It commands attention and perseveres through global setbacks. The most significant demographic are kids. Kids need role models. Kids need to know that everything they dream of can be attained. Through representation and celebration, we can achieve life's greatest feats. Our world is constantly changing and we must find ways to adapt the good. The media needs to show the youth the endless possibilities ahead of them so that the journey of life is relate-able to all. Too many are being lost, from all backgrounds, because of hate, negligence, and ignorance. We are all ONE community and when we celebrate together in support of those that are different than ourselves then we have realized our greatest potential.

To everyone that has reached out to me, fellow LGBTQ-identified wrestlers, or expressed support on social media with regards to Pride month, please remember that it does not go unnoticed. The Pride voice matters, this month and every month thereafter. We celebrate because we must. I hope that you join me in the fight for inclusion, a fight that transcends wrestling, sexuality, and politics. I wish everyone a Happy Pride Month. With Los Angeles Pride coming up this weekend, I hope everyone is safe and has a wonderful experience!

P.S. If you are looking to make any donations towards LGBTQ+ organizations this month, some locals include the It Gets Better! campaign, The Trevor Project foundation, and/or the Los Angeles LGBT Center.

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Around the world, the month of June is widely recognized as Pride Month - a month filled with celebration and festivity for those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer. Because of its growth in popularity over the...

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How the Stonewall Riots Sparked a Movement

In this video from History, students learn how the Stonewall Inn Riots sparked the beginning of the gay rights movement in America. They also learn how LGBTQ community came together to protest exploitation and police harassment.(Sensitive content)

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How the Stonewall Riots Sparked a Movement

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How the Stonewall Riots Sparked a Movement In this video from History, students learn how the Stonewall Inn Riots sparked the beginning of the gay rights movement in America. They also learn how LGBTQ community came together to protest exploitation and police harassment.(Sensitive content)

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In this lesson, students explore LGBTQ History Month to understand how sexuality and gender can differ in our modern society.

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LGBTQ: 'Who has been left behind in that conversation?' | Canada Is ...

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Ignorance Isn’t Bliss – Why We Need LGBTQ Education | Grace James | TEDxSWPS

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Wanda Sykes Takes Us Through the History of LGBTQ+ — Now You Know

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Everyday Feminism - Intersectional feminism for your daily life

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Everyday Feminism is an educational platform for personal and social liberation. Our mission is to help people dismantle everyday violence, discrimination, and marginalization through applied intersectional feminism

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Whiteboard or easel/paper and markers

Facilitator guide and participant handouts

Pens/pencils

Setup

(suggested) Draw the Genderbread Person on the whiteboard or flipchart paper and have the continuums with the blanks drawn as well.

Facilitator Framing

This is the most lecture-heavy part of Safe Zone curriculum. If you are going to use the sample lecture give it a read a few times before doing it so that you can know the flow and general sense of it before facilitating.

Goals & Learning Outcomes

Participants will be able to understand that there is a difference between gender and sexuality.

Participants will be able to describe the difference between biological sex, gender identity, gender expression, and attraction.

Participants will know at least one reason it is helpful and important to recognize these different components within gender.

Process Steps

1. Frame the activity. For example, "When we talk about 'LGBTQ' we're talking about a lot of sexualities and genders. For the next few minutes, we're going to focus in on gender itself. This graphic is called the Genderbread Person, and will help us better understand what we mean when we say 'gender,' and all the different ways it shows up in our lives."

2. Work through the genderbread person, first filling in the blanks and defining terms, then making the different components of gender salient - either by having participants reflect for themselves (see our example lecture), or by working through hypothetical examples.

3. Open up the space for questions about the models.

4. Wrap-up the activity.

Genderbread Person Example Lecture + Guided Discussion

Moving into the next handout, the genderbread person is a diagram that helps us understand gender and sexuality, and the parts that make up both. This model is meant to accurately depict the complexity of how these concepts show up in our society; it is not a depiction of what dream society could be. We're going to start with the top half of the sheet, so we encourage you to fold the paper in half.

To begin, let's fill in the blanks and name the different parts of the genderbread person.

On the first line, pointing to the brain, we can write "Identity." Gender identity is who we, in our heads, know ourselves to be, based on what we understand to be the options for gender, and how much we align (or don't align) with one of those options. Gender identity is our psychological sense of gender.

On the line below that, pointing to the heart, we can write "Attraction." Attraction is the different ways we feel pulled to other people, often categorized based on our gender and the gender of those we feel drawn to. This categorization is referred to as sexual orientation.

On the bottom line on the right, we'll write "Sex." Sex, here referring to anatomical sex, refers to the physical makeup of our bodies, and specifically all the body parts we've named as sex characteristics - both the primary traits we're born with, and the secondary that we might develop later in life.

On the left we have a line pointing to the entire diagram. On this line we can write "Expression." Gender expression is all the different ways we present ourselves through our actions, our clothing, and our demeanor, and the gendered ways those presentations are socially interpreted.

Does anyone have any questions about those terms, or their definitions?
Let's now unfold our paper and move on to the bottom half.
Here you'll see some scales and blank spaces. These are not fancy arrows. You can think of each of these as one-way continuums, or scales, depicting how the different components above may show up for us. For some people, it's helpful to imagine a 0% on the left, and a 100% on the right.

Again, we're going to start by filling in the blanks.

With gender identity, people often think of social roles, gender norms, and personality traits, and the expectations baked into these things. In the top blank, we can write "Woman" and in the bottom blank we can write "Man", and we're going to add a "-ness" to both of these, because these lines indicate all the varying degrees of potential "Woman-ness" and/or "Man-ness" with which someone might identify.

With gender expression, people often think of hair styles, grooming, make-up, clothing, nonverbal mannerisms, and other things we see on the outside. We'll write "Femininity" in the top line and "Masculinity" in the bottom line, as these are the two words that people generally use to describe the different ways our expressions show up.

And with anatomical sex, the first things that people think of are genitals and reproductive organs, but lots of things make up what we call sex, including body hair, hip to shoulder ratio, chromosomes, pitch of voice, and more. On the top line, we'll write "Female-ness," and on the bottom line we'll write "Male-ness," because here we are depicting the varying degrees someone might embody these traits, as opposed to the sex a person is assigned at birth (which is generally solely determined by external genitalia at birth).

Does anyone have any questions about these scales, or the words we're using to label them?

Now we're going to fill in the blanks in the attraction section. People experience attraction (or don't) in a lot of different ways. Two common ways people describe the attraction they may or may not be experiencing is as "sexual" and "romantic." You can think of sexual attraction as the drive to engage in physically intimate behaviors like touching, kissing, or intercourse, and romantic attraction as the drive to engage in socially intimate behaviors like flirting, dating, and marriage.

Some people experience both, some only one, and some neither. And within those experiences of attraction, we often focus on the gender of others that we are attracted to.

In the top blanks on the write, you can write "Women" and in the bottom we can write "Men." But we can also write all the words from above. That is, in the top line we might write "woman-ness, femininity, and/or female-ness," and in the bottom line "man-ness, masculinity, and/or male-ness," because our sexual or romantic attraction might be to a particular part of gender. For example, someone might be attracted to people who identify with a lot of woman-ness, but express a lot of masculinity.

Does anyone have any questions about these scales, or the words we're using to label them?

What we'd like to do now is take a moment to consider where we land on these scales. How much woman-ness do you identify with? How much man-ness? Maybe neither? How much femininity and/or masculinity do you express? A lot of both? A lot of one and not a lot of the other? How much female-ness or male-ness do you see yourself embodying? You can draw a dot on each continuum, several dots to indicate a range, or leave it blank - be as creative as you'd like.
We won't be collecting these, or asking you to share your answers. We're going to give you 2 minutes.
We are socialized to oversimplify all of this, and to think that once we know one thing about someone, we can fill in the rest of their blanks. For example, if we learn someone is a woman, we have a picture in our mind of what that person looks like and who she's attracted to. We might assume she expresses gender in feminine ways, was assigned female at birth and embodies female-ness, and is exclusively attracted to men. This image is simple, however, is not true or complicated enough for many, if not most, of us. Many of us exist in different degrees on the scales above, and may zig-zag through them in ways that break assumptions and norms.

To highlight this, we want to use the blank space between the gender and sexuality scales to write two things: "Identity ≠ Expression ≠ Sex," and "Gender ≠ Sexual Orientation."

As we said at the beginning, the Genderbread is a model that shows us how complex gender and sexuality are in our current society, not the ideal world we would want to live in. Our hope is that understanding might lead to a healthier world, and we hope that this intro was a helpful step for you toward a better understanding of yourself and others.

Make it your own

This activity can be done in exclusively lecture format or can be made interactive by asking participants for examples or suggestions during the lecture. It is best to give definitions for the terms before asking for examples.

The three main ways people facilitate the Genderbread Person are either making it personal for the participants (as in the example lecture above), using themselves to make it personal (with anecdotes or personal examples), or using generic/fictional examples. All have their pros and cons.

Unlock the Magic

As much as possible, finding a facilitator "voice" that is authentic for you for this activity will make the biggest difference. Don't necessarily facilitate it how you may have seen it done, or exactly how it's explained above, if either of those will compromise your voice. When Genderbread goes really well, it hits hard for people - personally, and in their sense of the social implications of gender. For it to do this, you need to be able to make an authentic connection between the material and your participants. connect yourself, these concepts, and the participants.

Notes

The Genderbread Person is not meant to be a "utopian" vision of society and gender, but to more accurately depict the ways we experience gender today.

To gain deeper understanding of all the terms and identity labels prior to conducting the activity, read Sam's " Breaking through the Binary: Gender Explained Using Continuums " article ( szp.guide/bttb ) or book A Guide to Gender ( szp.guide/g2g ). Both are uncopyrighted and freely available for your reference or use.

Many of the terms that come up throughout this activity are clarified in our vocab activity. When in doubt, the definitions can be used word-for-word in the lecture.

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Genderbread Person " The Safe Zone Project

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Whiteboard or easel/paper and markers Facilitator guide and participant handouts Pens/pencils (suggested) Draw the Genderbread Person on the whiteboard or flipchart paper and have the continuums with the blanks drawn as well. This is the most lecture-heavy part of Safe Zone curriculum.

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The It Gets Better Project exists to uplift, empower, and connect LGBTQ+ youth around the globe.

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Heads up! I wrote a book all about gender that provides tools for standing up against gender-based oppression (like the things below) and working toward a socially justice society. If you appreciate all that jazz, you'll love this book.

Following is a list of cisgender identity privileges. If you are cisgender, listed below are benefits that result from your alignment of identity and perceived identity.

If cisgender is a new term to you, here's how I define it in my list of LGBTQ+ vocabulary:

cisgender /"siss-jendur"/ - adj. : a gender description for when someone's sex assigned at birth and gender identity correspond in the expected way (e.g., someone who was assigned male at birth, and identifies as a man). A simple way to think about it is if a person is not transgender, they are cisgender. The word cisgender can also be shortened to "cis."

If you are cisgender, there's a good chance you've never thought about these things (or even your cisgender identity).

Try and be more cognizant and you'll start to realize how much work we have to do in order to make things better for the transgender folks who don't have access to these privileges.

1. You can use public restrooms without fear of verbal abuse, physical intimidation, or arrest.

2. You can use public facilities such as gym locker rooms and store changing rooms without stares, fear, or anxiety.

3. Strangers don't assume they can ask you what your genitals look like and how you have sex.

4. Your validity as a man/woman/human is not based on how much surgery you've had or how well you "pass" as non-transgender.

5. You can walk through the world and generally blend in, not being constantly stared or gawked at, whispered about, pointed at, or laughed at because of your gender expression.

6. You can access gender-exclusive spaces (e.g., a space or activity for women), and not be excluded due to your trans status.

7. Strangers call you by the name you provide and don't ask what your "real name" (birth name) is and then assume that they have a right to call you by that name.

8. You can reasonably assume that your ability to acquire a job, rent an apartment, or secure a loan will not be denied on the basis of your gender identity/expression.

9. You can flirt, engage in courtship, or form a relationship and not fear that your biological status may be cause for rejection or attack, nor will it cause your partner to question their sexual orientation.

10. If you end up in the emergency room, you do not have to worry that your gender will keep you from receiving appropriate treatment or that all of your medical issues will be seen as a result of your gender.

11. Your identity was not formally (until 2013) considered a mental pathology ("gender identity disorder" in the DSM IV) by the psychological and medical establishments, and still pathologized by the public.

12. You don't need to worry about being placed in a sex-segregated detention center, holding facility, jail, or prison that is incongruent with your identity.

13. You don't have to worry ab out being profiled on the street as a sex worker because of your gender expression.

14. You are not required to undergo an extensive psychological evaluation in order to receive basic medical care.

15. You do not have to defend your right to be a part of "queer" (or the queer community), and gays and lesbians will not try to exclude you from "their" equal rights movement because of your gender identity (or any equality movement, including feminist rights).

16. If you are murdered (or have any crime committed against you), your gender expression will not be used as a justification for your murder ("gay panic"), nor as a reason to coddle the perpetrators.

17. You can easily find role models and mentors to emulate who share your identity.

18. Hollywood accurately depicts people of your gender in films and television, without tokenizing your identity as the focus of a dramatic storyline or the punchline of a joke.

19. You can assume that everyone you encounter will understand your identity and will not think you're confused, misled, or hell-bound when you reveal it to them.

20. You can purchase clothes that match your gender identity without being refused service, mocked by staff, or questioned about your genitals.

21. You can purchase shoes that fit your gender expression without having to order them in special sizes or asking someone to custom-make them.

22. No stranger checking your identification or driver's license will ever insult or glare at you because your name or sex does not match the sex they believed you to be based on your gender expression.

23. You can reasonably assume that you will not be denied services at a hospital, bank, or other institution because the staff does not believe the gender marker on your ID card to match your gender identity.

24. Your gender is an option on a form.

25. You can tick a box on a form without someone disagreeing and telling you not to lie.

26. You don't have to fear interactions with police officers due to your gender identity.

27. You can go places with friends on a whim knowing there will be bathrooms there you can use.

28. You don't have to convince your parents of your true gender and/or have to earn your parents' and siblings' love and respect all over again because of your gender identity.

29. You don't have to remind your extended family over and over to use proper gender pronouns (e.g., after transitioning).

30. You don't have to deal with old photographs that do not reflect who you truly are.

31. If you're dating someone, you know they aren't just looking to satisfy a curiosity or kink pertaining to your gender identity (e.g., the "novelty" of having sex with a trans person).

32. You can pretend that anatomy and gender are irrevocably entwined when having the "boy parts and girl parts" talk with children, instead of having to explain the actual complexity of the issue.

Please comment on Facebook or Twitter if you have any additions or revisions to make!
After reading this list, please read and share my article about making a more trans-friendly world and be part of the solution.
Thanks to BGSU's Safe Zone Program for the beginnings of this list.

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30+ Examples of Cisgender Privileges - ❤ It's Pronounced Metrosexual

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If you identify with the gender you were assigned at birth, here are a bunch of unearned benefits you get that many folks do not. Read them and consider them. It's not about shame. It's about understanding.

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Safe Zone trainings are one of the best places to start learning about all things LGBTQ+, but they are just that: the start.

We hope that you find the Safe Zone Project to be a helpful resource in creating LGBTQ+/Ally trainings and workshops, but we are by no means the only helpful resource on the web. Below is a collection of links to some of our favorite sites and projects, hope you enjoy!

Websites

﻿If after you've participated in a Safe Zone training you want to dig in a little deeper, we've got you covered. In alphabetical order...

Asexual Visibility and Education Network - www.asexuality.org - "The world's largest online asexual community as well as a large archive of resources on asexuality."

Answer - http://answer.rutgers.edu/page/training - A sex education resource aimed at providing high-quality training to teachers and other youth-serving professionals. Includes online workshops, webinars, and other resources about LGBTQ inclusive/sensitive sex ed and more.

Bitch Magazine - www.bitchmagazine.org - "Provide and encourage an engaged, thoughtful feminist response to mainstream media and popular culture."

Bisexual.org - www.bisexual.org - "A voice to the bisexual community, share accurate information, answer questions, and provide resources for further learning."

Everyday Feminism - www.everydayfeminism.com - "Learn how to heal from and stand up to everyday violence, discrimination, and marginalization," with plenty of articles about class, gender, LGBTQIA issues, and race.

Get Real - www.getrealeducation.org - "Comprehensive Sex Education That Works."

It's Pronounced Metrosexual - www.itspronouncedmetrosexual.com - an online resource educating on issues of identity, sexuality, gender, privilege, and oppression, but in a fun, approachable way (by Safe Zone Project co-creator, Sam Killermann).

Salacious - www.salaciousmagazine.com - "A Queer Feminist Sex Magazine"

Soul Force - http://soulforce.org/ - Family that travels and does speaking events, have a ton of materials on their site, and do an "equality ride" (super cool), all from a Christian perspective

TransWhat? - www.transwhat.org - "A Guide Towards [Trans] Allyship"

We Are The Youth - www.wearetheyouth.org - "Sharing stories of LGBTQ youth in the United States."

Read

Blogs, articles, books, and more - a huge list of written words you could spend a good chunk of the rest of your life reading.

Articles & Blog Posts

Watch

Videos that are helpful, insightful, educational, and otherwise noteworthy.

Organizations

Consider these orgs and projects to have the SZP-check-mark-of-approval. We strongly encourage you give them your support - whether that's in time, donations, or just spreading awareness.

GLAAD - www.glaad.org - Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. "GLAAD works with print, broadcast and online news sources to bring people powerful stories from the LGBT community that build support for equality."

GLSEN - www.glsen.org - Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network. "Every day GLSEN works to ensure that LGBT students are able to learn and grow in a school environment free from bullying and harassment."

Forge - http://forge-forward.org/ is a progressive organization whose mission is to support, educate and advocate for the rights and lives of transgender individuals and SOFFAs (Significant Others, Friends, Family, and Allies). They have recorded webinars on many different issues related to trans* individuals and SOFFAs.

It Gets Better Project - www.itgetsbetter.org - "The It Gets Better Project's mission is to communicate to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth around the world that it gets better, and to create and inspire the changes needed to make it better for them."

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force - http://www.thetaskforce.org/ - "The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from the ground up." They also run Creating Change the "largest annual gathering of LGBTQ activists, organizers, and leaders within the LGBT movement" in the US.

National Center for Transgender Equality - https://transequality.org/ - "The nation's leading social justice advocacy organization winning life-saving change for transgender people."

The "Not All Like That" (NALT) Project - http://notalllikethat.org - videos of (awesome) Christians (mostly families) explaining how they fully support LGBTQ people and that being Christian shouldn't mean being anti-gay.

Religious Institute - http://www.religiousinstitute.org - "A multifaith organization dedicated to advocating for sexual health, education, and justice in faith communities and society."

PFLAG -www.pflag.org - "Parents, Families, Friends, and Allies United with LGBT People to Move Equality Forward."

Transgender Law Center - https://transgenderlawcenter.org/ - "The largest national trans-led organization advocating self-determination for all people. Grounded in legal expertise and committed to racial justice, TLC employs a variety of community-driven strategies to keep transgender and gender nonconforming people alive, thriving, and fighting for liberation."

The Trevor Project - www.thetrevorproject.org - "Crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ youth."

Handouts

Bite-sized learning that fits on an 8.5 by 11 inch canvas, and can do some good hanging on a bulletin board or in someone's hand.

Facilitate

A collection of resources for the people in the front of the room during Safe Zone, LGBTQ+, and other gender/sexuality trainings.

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Safe Zone trainings are one of the best places to start learning about all things LGBTQ+, but they are just that: the start. We hope that you find the Safe Zone Project to be a helpful resource in creating LGBTQ+/Ally trainings and workshops, but we are by no means the only helpful resource on the web.

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Positive environments are important to help all youth thrive. However, the health needs of LGBTQ+ Youth can differ from their heterosexual peers. On this page, find resources from the CDC, other government agencies, and community organizations for LGBTQ+ Youth, their friends, educators, parents, and family members to support positive environments.

Because some LGBTQ+ Youth are more likely than their heterosexual peers to experience bullying or other aggression in school, it is important that educators, counselors, and school administrators have access to resources and support to create a safe, healthy learning environment for all students.

American Psychological Association (APA) Resources:

Because some LGBT Youth are more likely than their heterosexual peers to experience bullying or other aggression in school, it is important that educators, counselors, and school administrators have access to resources and support to create a safe, healthy learning environment for all students.

Some LGBT Youth are more likely than their heterosexual peers to experience bullying or other aggression in school. It is important that educators, counselors, and school administrators have access to resources and support to create a safe, healthy learning environment for all students.

Links to non-Federal organizations found at this site are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at these links.

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lesbian gay bisexual and transgender (lgbt) health

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Resources for LGBT youth as well as friends, family, and school administrators to support LGBT youth.

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GLAAD | GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBTQ acceptance.

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Political Equality Federation Human Rights Campaign (HRC) National LGBTQ Task Force Victory Fund Bisexual BIENESTAR BiNetUSA Bisexual.org Bisexual Resource Center Youth Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) GSA Network LGBTQ Student Resources & Support Point Foundation Safe Schools Coalition The Trevor Project Military The American Military Partner Association (AMDA) American Veterans for Equal Rights

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Springfield College is committed to valuing and validating the gender identity and expression of members of the campus community. Gender identity refers to an individual's internal sense of gender, regardless of the sex assigned to them at birth or the sex designation on their legal documents. One way that Springfield College seeks to create gender-inclusive academic, living, and work environments is by encouraging all members of the campus community to indicate the pronouns they use for themselves, if desired, in classes, residence halls, workplaces, and other settings, and by encouraging members of the campus community to respect these pronouns.

What is a pronoun?

A pronoun is a word that is used instead of a noun or a noun phrase to refer to individuals.

Pronouns can be in the first person singular (I, me) or plural (we, us); second person singular or plural (you); and the third person singular (e.g., she/her, he/him, they/them, ze/hir) or plural (they/them).

Gendered pronouns specifically reference someone's gender: he/him/his or she/her/hers.

Non-gendered or nonbinary pronouns are not gender specific and are most often used by people who identify outside of a gender binary. The most common set of nonbinary pronouns is they/them/their used in the singular (e.g., Jadzia identifies as genderqueer; they do not see themselves as either a woman or a man). Other nonbinary pronouns include ze (pronounced "zee") in place of she/he, and hir (pronounced "here") in place of his/him/her (e.g., Jadzia runs hir own business, but ze is more well-known as an author). The terms "it" or "he-she" are slurs used against transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals, and should not be used.

Other approaches to pronouns may include going simply by one's name, not having a preference, or wanting to avoid pronouns altogether.

There are many languages in the world that do not use gendered pronouns.

Pronoun Table

(This is not an exhaustive list)

Why are pronouns important?

It is important to ask for pronouns because you cannot assume how someone identifies their gender based on their appearance.

As a society, we commonly assume the gender of others by their appearance and indicate these assumptions by using gendered language, such as she/he, ma'am/sir, Ms./Mr., and ladies/gentlemen.

This practice results in many individuals, especially trans and gender-nonconforming individuals, being misgendered, which may lead them to feel disrespected, marginalized, and invisible.

It is a privilege to not have to worry about which pronoun someone is going to use for you based on how they perceive your gender. If you have this privilege, yet fail to respect someone else's gender identity, it is disrespectful and hurtful.

How can I be inclusive in using and respecting gender pronouns?

Respecting someone's self-identification means using the gender pronouns with which they identify. Some people go by more than one set of pronouns.

Normalize the process of indicating your gender pronouns in everyday use with strategies such as including them in your email signature, business cards, website profile, and nametags, or using them as you introduce yourself (i.e., "My name is Tou and my pronouns are he and him. What about you?")

If you do not know or have not asked someone's pronouns, try to use "they/them" pronouns.

Ask individuals to provide their personal pronoun(s). It can feel awkward at first, but it is not as awkward as getting it wrong or making a hurtful assumption. Here are some ways you can do this:

"What pronouns do you use?"

"How would you like me to refer to you?"

"Can you remind me what pronouns I should be using for you?"

Please note that if a student, staff, or community member tells you that they do not want to disclose their pronouns or do not wish their pronouns to be public knowledge, you can refer to that person by their name only (i.e., Leo's book is over there. Can you please hand it to Leo?).

What if I mistakenly use the wrong pronouns for someone?

The best thing to do if you use the wrong pronoun for someone is to say something right away, such as "Sorry, I meant they." Fix it, but do not call special attention to the error in the moment. If you realize your mistake after the fact, apologize in private and move on.

It can be tempting to go on and on about how bad you feel that you messed up or how hard it is for you to get it right. But please, don't. It is inappropriate and makes the person who was misgendered feel awkward and responsible for comforting you, which is not their job. It is your job to remember people's pronouns.

If you hear someone else using the wrong pronoun, in most cases, you may gently correct the person who made the mistake without further embarrassing the individual who was misgendered. You can say something like, "Actually, Neera uses 'they' for themselves."

Pronouns Dos and Donts
Do!

Do recognize that most people have pronouns, not just trans people, and that asking pronouns is very important, both so someone is not misgendered and so that trans people are not the only ones who will feel the need to share their pronouns.

Do remember that some people go by more than one set of pronouns.

Do ask people the pronouns they use for themselves whenever you ask people their name, such as when you meet someone for the first time or when you do go-arounds at meetings. Keep in mind that people may change the pronouns they go by, so it is necessary to ask pronouns in go-arounds regularly.

Do say "the pronouns someone uses" or "their personal pronouns," rather than "their preferred pronouns," because the pronouns someone uses are not a preference.

Do remember that not everyone feels comfortable indicating their pronouns at all or in every setting and no one should feel forced to do so.

Do consider using other ways to make language more gender-inclusive, such as by using "Hey, everyone" or "How are all y'all doing?" in a group setting instead of "Hey guys!" or "Hey ladies!" or "How are you guys doing?" Browse more gender-inclusive terms.

Don't!

Don't refer to pronouns such as "they/them/their" or "ze/hir/hir" as "gender-neutral pronouns." While some people identify as gender-neutral, others see themselves as gendered in a nonbinary way. Better language is "nonbinary pronouns."

Don't describe the pronouns someone uses as "preferred pronouns." It is not a preference. The pronouns that a person uses are their pronouns and the only ones that should be used for them.

Don't say "male pronouns" and "female pronouns." Pronouns are not necessarily tied to someone's gender identity: some trans people use "he/him/his" or "she/her/her," but do not identify as male or female, respectively.

If you conform to (most) gender expectations and are not a transgender person, don't indicate that you "don't care what pronouns are used for me." Such statements reinforce the privilege of people who are gender conforming and not transgender because these people are not going to be misgendered and thus do not need to worry about the pronouns that people use for them. It also invalidates the experiences of gender nonconforming and transgender people, many of whom struggle with getting people to use their correct pronouns.

Resources on how to use, ask, and share pronouns

Gender-inclusive Terms

Adapted from UMass Stonewall Center, Boston University, and lgbtcampus.org

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Springfield College is committed to valuing and validating the gender identity and expression of members of the campus community. Gender identity refers to an individual's internal sense of gender, regardless of the sex assigned to them at birth or the sex designation on their legal documents.

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‘I Experience Being Asian American Way Differently Than My Peers’