Queer youths are out there and ready to be heard.
Last Monday, "Reteaching Gender and Sexuality," a national educational campaign that promotes the discussion of issues that queer youths face in today's society, came to the Center for the Arts.
The event, which was organized by Wellness Education Services and the School of Social Work at the University at Buffalo, intended to spread awareness of LGBTQ issues to as many people as possible.
Organizers of the event also wanted to include members of the Buffalo community, like high school teachers and social workers, who wanted to learn and participate in conversations dealing with gender and sexuality issues.
"We wanted to offer new conversation around the issues of gender sexuality," said Jon Hurst, a first-year master's student in the higher education administration program. "So often we assume that everyone is male or female, gay or straight, and what we have come to know through advancements in science and research around this issue is that gender and sexuality is not so black and white."
Over 175 people, ranging from faculty and administrators to students and community groups, were in attendance. Community outreach organizations, such as the Gay and Lesbian Youth Services of Western N.Y. and the Pride Center of Western N.Y. had tables with information about their services and volunteer opportunities for people who were interested.
The highlight of the event was the screening of Put This on the Map, a 34-minute documentary made by a group of queer youths from Seattle's east side in 2010. The film was made with the aim of spreading awareness about pressures and stigmatizations that queer youths face in their daily lives from family, school and other peers.
The purpose of this film was to look differently at ideas and standards that society has deemed "normal" when it comes to a person's gender, sexuality or both. It's about liberating everyone; gay, straight, bi, queer, transsexual and pansexual from the current limiting view around gender and sexuality. The goal is to promote the allowance of everyone to live an authentic life where they can be and express all of who they are, according to Hurst.
The film can also be used for educational and training purposes for teachers and social workers that want to be an ally for LGBTQ youths. Since schools are more reluctant to talk about queer and transgender issues for fear of saying the wrong thing or because taking a stand on this issue could be seen as a liability, most of the issues and questions asked by queer youth have been ignored.
"Our group is about 20 people in Seattle, young media-makers working together alternatively," said Sid Jordan, one of the filmmakers in the group. "We are not a non-profit, we are not a program, but more like people who just love each other, are working together on these campaigns and growing as we go."
The film also clarified much of terminology that surrounds the discussion of LGBTQ issues. Words like genderqueer, a term that refers to individuals who possess identities that fall outside of the widely accepted sexual binary, and transphobia, the fear or hatred of transgender people or gender non-conforming behavior, were explained to the audience.
"We want to inspire and encourage you all to use your voices and your stories to change the views of others and just to include others in what's going on and to start a movement about queer teachings and queer youth," said Charisse Bersamina, one of the group's members who introduced the film. "We recognized the importance that young people really need to be educators and advocates for themselves. And in order to do that we need to start somewhere, and hopefully we do that here."
Students, staff, faculty, and administrators at UB have made tremendous strides in creating a comfortable atmosphere for LGBTQ students. Workshops are offered by Wellness Education Services on topics such as being an effective LGBTQ ally and LGBTQ Health and Wellness. There are also counseling and support services offered for students who simply need to talk, according to Samantha Janosick, a first year graduate student in the School of Social Work and graduate assistant for Wellness Education Services.
For more information on how to get involved with LGBTQ issues, email well-lgbtq@vpsa.buffalo.edu for more information or visit facebook.com/allyUB.
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