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Using the PIES paragraph format, write a 5-7 sentence paragraph explaining the key concepts from the presentation.

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Creative Source
Rhetorical Situation:

Writer: Pat Parker

Text/Subject: A creative poem discloses the societal and personal rejection of being queer while simultaneously describing the warmth and love one feels while being with their partner- makes it all worth it.

Audience: The audience is the general U.S population.

Context: Parker was deemed a societal outcast for both being a black woman but also for being openly queer. Parker's poem gives an intimate feeling of how it feels to be rejected by those around you because of your sexual orientation.

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I.

my lover is a woman
& when i hold her
feel her warmth
i feel good
feel safe

then—i never think of
my family’s voices
never hear my sisters say
bulldaggers, queers, funny
come see us, but don’t
bring your friends
it’s ok with us,
but don’t tell mama
it’d break her heart
never feel my father
turn in his grave
never hear my mother cry
Lord, what kind of child is this?

II.

my lover’s hair is blonde
& when it rubs across my face
it feels soft
feels like a thousand fingers
touch my skin & hold me
and i feel good

then—i never think of the little boy
who spat & called me nigger
never think of the policemen
who kicked my body & said crawl
never think of Black bodies
hanging in trees or filled
with bullet holes
never hear my sisters say
white folks hair stinks
don’t trust any of them
never feel my father
turn in his grave
never hear my mother talk
of her backache after scrubbing floors
never hear her cry
Lord, what kind of child is this?

III.

my lover's eyes are blue
& when she looks at me
i float in a warm lake
feel my muscles go weak with want
feel good
feel safe

then—i never think of the blue
eyes that have glared at me
moved three stools away from me
in a bar
never hear my sisters rage
of syphilitic Black men as
guinea pigs
rage of sterilized children
watch them just stop in an
intersection to scare the old
white bitch
never feel my father turn
in his grave
never remember my mother
teaching me the yes sirs & ma'ams
to keep me alive
never hear my mother cry
Lord, what kind of child is this?

IV.

& when we go to a gay bar
& my people shun me because i crossed
the line
& her people look to see what's
wrong with her
what defect
drove her to me

& when we walk the streets
of this city
forget and touch
or hold hands
& the people
stare, glare, frown, & taunt
at those queers

i remember
every word taught me
every word said to me
every deed done to me
& then i hate
i look at my lover
& for an instant
doubt

then—i hold her hand tighter
& i can hear my mother cry.
Lord, what kind of child is this?

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Creative Source
Rhetorical Situation:

Writer: Sally Wrainwright

Text/Subject: A historical docudrama based off of the diaries of Lister, explaining her experience in the late 1790s and early 1800s as a lesbian woman.

Audience: The audience is the general U.S population.

Context: Many people are under the assumption that gay people are new, or that being gay is just a phase. But, this show based off the actual diaries of a lesbian women from the 18th and 19th centuries. This show is just one example that has been brought to light of how life was for gay people back then, gay people have always been here, even though they may have been n the shadows due to societal outcasting.

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Set in 1832 West Yorkshire, England, Gentleman Jack is inspired by the true-story and coded journals of Anne Lister (played by Suranne Jones), and follows her attempt to revitalize her inherited home, Shibden Hall. Most notably for the time period, a part of Lister's plan is to help the fate of her own family by taking a wife.

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Set in 1832 West Yorkshire, England, Gentleman Jack is inspired by the true-story and coded journals of Anne Lister (played by Suranne Jones), and follows her attempt to revitalize her inherited home, Shibden Hall. Most notably for the time period, a part of Lister's plan is to help the fate of her own family by taking a wife.

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Creative Source
Rhetorical Situation:

Writer: Hilda Doolittle

Text/Subject: A creative, metaphorical poem describing the temptation of the opposite sex to something forbidden.

Audience: The audience is the general U.S population.

Context: Many people during the 1920s were not openly out, this poem describes the want of someone while also describing how wrong it feels due to societal standards.

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Helen herself seems almost ready for this sacrifice--at least, for the immolation of herself before this greatest love of Achilles, his dedication to "his own ship" and the figurehead, "an idol or eidolon . . . a mermaid, Thetis upon the prow."
Did her eyes slant in the old way?
was she Greek or Egyptian?
had some Phoenician sailor wrought her?

was she oak-wood or cedar?
had she been cut from an awkward block
of ship-wood at the ship-builders,

and afterwards riveted there,
or had the prow itself been shaped
to her mermaid body,

curved to her mermaid hair?
was there a dash of paint
in the beginning, in the garment-fold,

did the blue afterwards wear away?
did they re-touch her arms, her shoulders?
did anyone touch her ever?

Had she other zealot and lover,
or did he alone worship her?
did she wear a girdle of sea-weed

or a painted crown?  how often
did her high breasts meet the spray,
how often dive down?

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Helen herself seems almost ready for this sacrifice--at least, for the immolation of herself before this greatest love of Achilles, his dedication to "his own ship" and the figurehead, "an idol or eidolon . . . a mermaid, Thetis upon the prow." Did her eyes slant in the old way?

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"Hiding Your Identity Takes Its Toll" by Amie Taylor

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"Hiding Your Identity Takes Its Toll" by Amie Taylor

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Informational Source
Rhetorical Situation:

Writer: Amie Taylor for Diversity Role Models

Text/Subject: An informational article enclosing the personal damage that not living your truth or coming out, has to one's self. This article is a personal yet relatable experience of how it feels to hide yourself from society.

Audience: The audience of this article is the general U.S population and any one who may be closeted.

Context: The damage that not being out can cause due to fear of societal rejection.

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I was fortunate never to encounter homophobic, biphobic or transphobic (HBT) bullying at school, I didn't come out until my mid-20s. I did however grow up hearing HBT language on a daily basis, whether it was using the word gay to describe something that was 'a bit rubbish', or as an insult. So I never even considered that I might be gay. Gay was a bad thing, a negative thing. There was no way I was gay.

Growing up under Section 28 meant that there were no 'out' teachers at school, and organisations like Diversity Role Models (DRM) didn't seem to exist. Sex education was strictly heterosexual and only about reproduction. So, without positive LGBT Role Models, healthy discussion around sexuality or the tackling of HBT language in schools, I had no point of reference for myself as a young gay woman.

Is there something horribly wrong with me?

Hiding your identity will eventually take its toll, whether it's being done consciously or unconsciously. For me the last few years of my teens were an incredibly difficult and anxious time. As my female friends started talking about boys, dating and embarking upon long term relationships, I found I had no interest in the opposite sex at all, and started to feel like there was something horribly wrong with me. Over time this certainly impacted my own mental health and self-esteem. I tried to pretend to be like the other girls, but that didn't really feel good, I became far more interested in writing and making theatre than I was in boys, so I threw myself in to that instead.

Finally, in my mid-20s I started working with a brilliant theatre company that just so happened to be packed to the rafters with queer women, of all ages, all very different, and suddenly things started to fall in to place for me. I finally had the role models I needed. It took time, but I slowly began the process of 'coming-out'; for the first time ever I finally understood who I was and missing parts of my identity fell into place. I finally had a sense of what my life might and could be like. After years of hiding without even realising, I was free to be me. Coming out felt like a huge thing at the time, but eventually I did it, to a few friends at a time who were and are there for me, even now.

I immediately feel guilty

Of course coming out isn't a one off event. On a day to day basis I have to make the decision of whether or not to out myself, whether to hide or whether to reveal; to the builders coming to fit the new bathroom as I explain the house belongs to my partner (who is a she not he), to the doctor who has presumed my partner is male and is asking me what birth control I'm on, to the child in the drama class I teach that's just asked if I have a husband. If I lie, or lie by omission - if I skirt around mentioning my partner or my sexuality, I usually find I immediately feel guilty - both in reaction to the person I'm lying to, and for erasing my partner. If I tell the truth, it still often follows with a heart wrenching moment of watching them very closely, trying to read if they are okay with it.

Living a lie day to day is both exhausting and stressful

It isn't a wonder that the LGBT community has a higher percentage of people that will suffer from a mental health issue, than those that don't belong to the community. Whether it's linked to direct HBT bullying at school which can have a traumatic and lasting impact in to later life, or the more subtle effects caused from HBT language, hiding your identity or being fearful to holding your partner's hand in public. Some people spend years in a workplace without coming out as they fear it may affect their work life - living a lie day to day is both exhausting and stressful.

By running HBT bullying and language workshops in schools, Diversity Role Models are a significant part of the wave of change which will hopefully see both young people and adults living in a world where it feels safer to be out and open about your sexuality or gender identity. By tackling HBT language in schools they begin to address the ingrained negativity towards the LGBT+ community (whether it's intended as harmful or not.) By sending role models in to schools they give young LGBT+ students that reference point for themselves that I never had, and I know from my work as a DRM facilitator, young LGBT+ people will often write words of thanks in their feedback for this. It's amazing how a five minute story from a role model literally has to power to save lives; when young LGBT+ people see themselves represented, when their sexuality or gender identity is no longer seen as a taboo topic in school, when they meet an inspiring and encouraging role model, they are offered an insight in to a positive future for themselves, which is a hugely important thing to reflect on and celebrate this Mental Health Awareness week.

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I was fortunate never to encounter homophobic, biphobic or transphobic (HBT) bullying at school, I didn't come out until my mid-20s. I did however grow up hearing HBT language on a daily basis, whether it was using the word gay to describe something that was 'a bit rubbish', or as an insult.

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"Hidden Voices" NYC Department of Education

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"Hidden Voices" NYC Department of Education

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Informational Source
Rhetorical Situation:

Writer: Various citizens of NYC

Text/Subject: Citizens of New York City share their experience of being a "hidden" voice amongst the masses.

Audience: The audience is the general U.S population.

Context: Many LGBTQ+ people all over, especially in densely populated NYC, feel that their voice goes unheard or overlooked.

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Return to the WeTeachNYC homepage to search for the resource by entering keywords or the resource name into the search bar. Visit the Instructional Leadership Framework page for ILF resources and ILF Webinars. Search the Library for Science Scope and Sequence resources, Social Studies Scope and Sequence resources, and more!