She’s the enfant terrible of Trans academia, described in her book as “the David Bowie of Californian English professors.” Grace Lavery is at the University of Edinburgh to promote her memoir, Please Miss: a heartbreaking work of staggering penis, and like Bowie, the book constitutes in its diversity of styles and switches of voice a marmite quality you’ll either love or be bewildered by. This is not to question the book’s value; it is in parts beautiful, hilarious, and poignant, as well as sometimes oblique: a mould-breaking series of self-reflections in other words, unlike the other, ‘straighter’ memoirs that largely make up the trans biographical canon. Prepare, then, to disorientate and depart from the linear trans life-story, and so too the cagily respectable one-woman show. Grace, unlike Please Miss with its multiple metaphors, is an open book and a brilliantly responsive improviser to her audience.

At the UoE talk, shared with the laid-back suaveness of the chair Lindsay of the Lighthouse Books team, the auditorium is full and the carefully be-spaced audience laugh and applaud Grace’s free-flowing sharpness and self-deprecating humour. This includes her fabulously kinaesthetic reading of the ‘Trans-Woman-As-Alien’ homage from her book, and her rapid onset of spinning good yarns. Grace and Lindsay bond quickly over their mutual inability to summarize the book in a few short words, with Grace waving her hand, “My complete failure to describe the book in fact is not a bad descriptor of the book.” Perhaps if there is a guiding theme it is of the memoir as partly a response to the media narrative of trans people hating their bodies. The playfully constructed Please Miss is Grace’s rejoinder, with its focus on the sex and sexiness of the trans body, as a celebration of “trans joy.” Another driver is the desire to create a queer text – and therefore a convention-busting one – that switches font and tone because transition is all about such switches. The body of the text, then, as trans female body, one that captures the ethos of Oscar Wilde, never settling on one thing but expressing itself via complex and contradictory multiplicities, and doing so with Wildean elan.

As both an organizer and an increasingly seduced audience member, I sit and watch Grace Lavery in awe and with love as the talk continues. Rarely does a 60-minute talk go so quickly, a good and bad thing. Grace’s sincerity, channelled through her hyperactive mind and charismatic conversation, rewards us early with her tale of a robbery of an Edinburgh McDonalds hashbrowns gone wrong, before she gets down to analysis and shares her counter-narrative about the ‘transition’ story: “Everything that’s interesting and worthwhile and worth affirming about transitioning … takes place in the strangeness of transition, not in its capacity to harmonize or normalize or neutralize our feelings of intensity or antagonism.” The strangeness and surrealism include a darkness too, of course. An audience member asks Grace for her survival strategies in the face of online abuse that Grace is well-known for bearing. The online campaigns against her have included sex photos of her and her husband hacked from her account and sent to her boss and to her mother. “I’m sometimes scared,” Grace confides. With this fear, though, is her recognition that what happens online is a distortion of the real world, in which the hate and hostility are generally absent. She came to the UK uncertain what to expect, she says, expecting a Beatlemania of ‘gender-critical’ hatred, but all she has seen so far is a single woman handing her a piece of paper in a Manchester book-signing talk, asking her if ‘woman’ is being erased by the existence of people like Grace. Judging by the number of women in this UoE audience who are loving Grace with every passing minute, the absurdity of the notion is never clearer.

In the blink of an eye, the talk ends, and concerning Please Miss, there are some parts of the book which shall remain a mystery (the book’s recurring clown scenes, what do they mean? I think I might know, though I’m not even sure if Grace knows, or whether she wants to know). We all leave this warm and electrifying space with its unsolved plethora of mysteries and maybe a single shared sentiment left to offer the wonderful Grace Lavery: Please Miss, give us more.

By Gina Maya

Grace’s talk, organized in a collaboration between the UoE’s Staff Pride Network and Lighthouse Books, can be seen at the Lighthouse Books youtube channel: 

Originally posted: https://www.ginamaya.co.uk/theatre/grace-lavery-at-the-university-of-edinburgh.html

Edinburgh LGBT+ Medics Society invite you to our first event of LGBT+ History Month – ‘Tell Me About It’.

Meet us in Room G.01, 50 George Square at 7.30pm on this Monday 7th.

This is a great opportunity to meet members of our society and build connections with LGBT+ people and allies across the year groups. It’s a very casual and no-frills event providing a safe space for people to meet and talk about anything and everything.

We’d love to see you there,
Many thanks
Zac

Zac Finch (he/him)
Secretary
Edinburgh University LGBT Medics

This year’s theme in Scotland is Blurring Borders: A World in Motion.

Please consider using our Philadelphia flag logo version in your email signature this month.

Some event details will be updated throughout the month. Please check the SPN member SharePoint for the most up-to-date calendar of events.
Information and updates can also be found here at the SPN News Blog.

Other HE staff networks’ LGBT+HM Events around the UK

Webinar – Supporting transgender students in Higher Education 23/24 Feb

Good afternoon everyone,

I have just completed my doctoral research with the Open University. My research looks at the experiences of transgender students in Higher Education in the UK. I am running 6 webinars. All will be the same, just a variety of times over two days to allow for choice, and they are free to attend. My presentation will give an overall view of my research as well as identifying how you can support transgender students.

 

Wednesday 23^rd February @ 09:30 GMT

Wednesday 23^rd February @ 12:00 GMT

Wednesday 23^rd February @ 14:00 GMT

 

Thursday 24^th February @ 10:00 GMT

Thursday 24^th February @ 13:00 GMT

Thursday 24^th February @ 15:00 GMT

 

(To put the event into your Teams/Outlook calendar click on the .ics file attached to the confirmation email)

 

Kind regards,

Lynne

 

Lynne Regan

Co-Chair LGBTQ+ Staff NetworkUniversity of Kent

Pronouns: She/Her

LGBTQ&A

LGBTQ+ representatives from Lancaster University and University of Cumbria are collaborating to host an open discussion to answer your questions in honour of LGBT history month on 25th February. For more information and to access your free ticket please visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/lgbtqa-registration-241128320297

 

Please feel free to share with your wider community and networks, the event is open to all and will take place over Zoom 😊

 

We hope to see you there

Best wishes

Lee

LGBTHM/EDI Festival events

The Universities of Amsterdam & Birmingham are hosting the virtual EDI Festival 2022 from 3^rd February to 3^rd March as part of our strategic partnership on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion. This year’s webinar series has the theme of “Somewhere to Belong” – exploring progress on EDI in higher education, LGBT+ refugees, disability & global mobility, legislating conversion therapy, and financial inclusion. Students and staff from both universities put together five international panels with contributors from the University of New South Wales and the University of Hong Kong among the U21 network and over a dozen organisations in Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, and the UK.

LGBTIQ+ Students with a Refugee Status

Date: Thursday 10 February 2022

Time 19:00 – 20:00 GMT

 

Enabling Global Mobility for Disabled Students

Date: Thursday 17 February 2022

Time 15:00 – 16:00 GMT

 

Legislating Conversion Therapy

Date: Thursday 24 February 2022

Time 13:00 – 14:00 GMT

 

Financial Inclusion for Social Mobility

Date: Thursday 3 March 2022

Time 09:00 – 10:00 GMT

 

 

Thanks and best wishes

Pete

 

Peter Collins

Pronouns: He/Him/His

Student Equality & Diversity Officer

Student Services

Brunel University London event 

All are welcome to join us for The Buddhist Centre and the Ballet Class: LGBTQ Inclusion in Education, a virtual talk on inclusive education research by Dr Anna Carlile, Head of the School of Professional Studies, Science and Technology, Goldsmiths University. The event is Thursday, 17 February at 3pm and is free to all interested students, staff, alumni and friends. For further details and registration for the event, please book through the Eventbrite page.

 

All the best,

Jessica

 

Jessica Kath

Prospect Development & Special Projects Officer and LGBTQ+ Staff Network Coordinator (she/her)

Brunel University London

LGBTQ+ History Month at Oxford Brookes University

The LGBTQ+ Staff Forum at Oxford Brookes University has been busy organising events for LGBTQ+ History Month and we are delighted to confirm that we will be welcoming Sara Ahmed, feminist writer and independent scholar, as the speaker for our flagship event, Complaint as a queer method, on 16 February at 6.00pm. I thought this event may be of particular interest to this network. It is free and open to everyone, so feel free to share more widely.

 

Best wishes,

 

Jayne Stuart
(She/her – see www.mypronouns.org to learn more)

Graphic Designer, Learning Resources

Chair, LGBTQ+ Staff Forum

Oxford Brookes University

We would like to share this wonderful diversity tip regarding an inclusive language setting in Outlook.

The setting in Outlook means you can enable checks for inclusive language when spell check runs for your emails.

Here is how to enable it:

In a new email, go to ‘Review’, then select ‘Spelling & Grammar’ (you might have to misspell a word in the body of your email to get the pop-up)

Select ‘Options…’ in the pop-up window

Select ‘Proofing’ from the left side menu, then enable ‘Mark grammar errors as you type’, then select ‘Settings…’ beside Writing Style

Under Inclusive Language (scroll almost to the bottom of the list), enable ‘Gender-Specific Language’, then select ‘OK’

Spellcheck will now run for inclusive language, see examples below…

Examples of the change:

Dear Network Members, 

You may have become aware of a letter by a collective of academics operating under the name ‘Sex Matters’ written to the Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission demanding a “Reindorf Review” for the higher education sector. While we are once again loath to draw attention to these beliefs, we also recognise that silence does not make our position clear to those in our community most affected by these beliefs and the ways in which these beliefs are expressed. This statement is to reinforce our solidarity to those affected and that we will continue to work in ways which support our trans and non-binary colleagues and students. 

This letter paints a very biased view of the current situation regarding academic freedom in UK Higher Education institutions and depicts those academics who share ‘gender critical’ beliefs as victims of ‘trans rights activists’. There is no reflection on why students and staff might feel motivated to protest those academics actively promoting their ‘gender critical’ beliefs and a failure to acknowledge the harms experienced by the trans and non-binary members of these communities as a consequence of discriminatory expressions of these beliefs. For clarity, the Staff Pride Network committee would like to make it known that we do not endorse this viewpoint of the situation. It is clear to us how harmful ‘gender critical’ beliefs are to the trans and non-binary members of our community, and that reductive, biologically essentialist attitudes towards sex are also damaging to everyone. No-one thrives if they are forced to adopt an identity based on binary sex characteristics, while trans and non-binary members of our community are especially and significantly harmed by this.  

The letter claims that the Stonewall Diversity Champions Scheme promotes misleading information about the Equality Act which is simply false. It also criticises Athena SWAN for encouraging HEIs to monitor gender and not sex. We support the monitoring of gender and of gender diversity in our institutions because it is far more realistic to learn about how our staff live their lives and how they move through the world as their lived gender identities rather than forcing staff to select a binary sex characteristic that may be wholly inaccurate and may force trans and non-binary members of staff to disclose sensitive private information about their gender history.  

We make no disagreement with the notion that a distinction can be made between sex and gender. Biological sex is a complex combination of anatomy, hormones and chromosomes that can result in a variety of sex characteristics in the human population. Gender is also a complex combination of the ways in which we experience and present our identities in a multi-gendered world. We reject the characterisation in the letter that there are UK Universities that impose a ‘radical gender orthodoxy’. This appears to be an attempt to stigmatise those who do not conform to an antiquated belief system that promotes a binary understanding of sex. We also recognise that sex is a protected characteristic. The guidance around the Equality Act as to how sex is determined is broad, it does not provide a precise definition of sex and it does not specify that sex is rooted in ‘biological sex’. 

We are concerned to note the names of 28 current and former University of Edinburgh staff as signatories of this letter, many of whom have a significant platform (through lectures, publications and other opportunities) to share ‘gender critical’ beliefs. While we recognise the freedom of those individuals to hold and express these beliefs, they should recognise that exercising freedom does have implications for other people, and that just as they are free to hold and express their beliefs, others are free to counter-argue or take other lawful action (such as protesting) in response. In particular, however, it is right to recognise that no one is free to express their beliefs, or their disagreement with others’ beliefs, in ways that are abusive or discriminatory. Members of our network have been deeply disturbed by this letter, as well as members of the student community. We extend our solidarity to those affected and will continue to work in ways which support our trans and non-binary colleagues and students.  

We hope that one day all staff and students are able to go about their lives feeling safe, respected and without harassment. 

The Staff Pride Network Committee

Please note this workaround no longer works we are currently trying to find a solution.

Adding Pronouns to all University Systems

The quickest and easiest way is to add to ‘Preferred Name’ on either MyEd (for students) or People & Money for PhD students and staff:

People & Money

https://elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/fscmUI/faces/FuseWelcome

Personal Information > Personel Details 

Zoom

The university zoom accounts profiles support pronouns however don’t use it with the ‘Preferred Name’ change above unless you want it twice.

https://ed-ac-uk.zoom.us/profile

Click edit on the right of your name:

RESOURCES ON PERSONAL PRONOUNS

by Tracy Noden (she/her)

Tracy is an LGBTQ+ Advocate at the School of Law, SPN Events Team volunteer and staunch ally to LGBTQ+ people. She regularly attends SPN events and training and we are very grateful for her significant contribution to the Staff Pride Network.

This opened with two excellent speakers (Dr Kamilla Kamaruddin and Mia Weston).  There are so many challenges and negative stats, but both are hopeful for the upcoming, more inclusive, woke generation.  The sky is the limit for ally support, but at the very least speak up when trans people need support.  It’s vital to protect trans kids in schools.  The only two situations in which to ask for a trans person’s surgical status are medical and dating situations, and even then sensitivity is required.

Terminology exercise:

Trans is the term for everyone under that umbrella; there was much argument about using transsexual/transgender in the 90s, but the trans community has accepted trans as correct.

Not all trans people experience gender dysphoria, and those who experience it don’t necessarily experience it in the same way.

Cis is used because it’s the Latin prefix opposite to trans.  Referring to someone as non-trans rather than cis is also ok.

Understanding Identities:

Be more conscious of all the possible aspects of a person’s identity, and don’t assume ANYTHING based on any one of their aspects.

Provide a bin in men’s loo cubicles for the sake of trans males or nonbinary people who menstruate.

Consider any questions you might ask a trans person very carefully; why do you want to know, and is this the right situation in which to ask?

Trans experiences:

Trans bladder is a medical term that refers to bladder/urinary tract issues being more common among the trans community, possibly stemming from issues of trans people not feeling comfortable using a gendered public toilet.

Creating an Inclusive Environment:

There are so many benefits of enabling trans/nonbinary people to express themselves naturally.  There are so many potentially harmful effects for trans/nonbinary people who can’t express themselves freely.

The Equality Act 2010 requires workplaces to be inclusive.

Allies should disclose their pronouns at meetings and in signatures to encourage others to do so and help normalise this.

If you make a mistake, apologise, correct yourself and move on.  Listen first, ask if in doubt and always respect the individual’s choice.

Correct colleagues if needed (even if the trans person isn’t there), and show trans colleagues that their identity is being taken seriously.

Communicate to all staff that all gender expressions are welcome and valid.

Don’t comment on whether you feel a trans person could be more “convincing” or that they are “convincing”.  This is totally inappropriate!

Provide non-gendered toilets.

Recognise that non-gendered facilities allow everyone to access a safe space.

Communicate to staff that anyone can choose which facilities align with their gender identity and they can use them without fear of harassment or intimidation.  Understand the use and limits (eg not every trans person wants this) of gender-neutral facilities.

An accessible toilet is NOT a substitute for a non-gendered toilet.

Stonewall’s toilets are all non-gender, and every stall is fully private (each cubicle’s walls go all the way from the floor to the ceiling) and some have sinks/mirrors.

It’s great to have men’s, women’s and non-gendered toilets.

Create and highlight HR policies and employee support protocols.  These policies add to the support all staff might need rather than taking away existing protections.

Make opportunities and support available to trans people, and encourage trans colleagues to consider themselves for new opportunities.

Think about how your actions at work contribute to making sure that trans colleagues are represented and included.  Small things can make a big difference.

Being an Ally:

Be visible, and help create an inclusive workplace.

Don’t even passively accept transphobia and other bigotry.

Be visible, actively lead, be a role model (eg using correct pronouns even if others don’t).

Recommended Media (in bold and underlined if especially recommended):

Netflix:  Disclosure, Sense8, Pose, Tales of the City, Drag Race UK, Dragnificent

Other TV:  Veneno, Transparent, Euphoria

Films:  Paris is Burning, No Ordinary Man:  The Billy Tipton Story, Keyboard Fantasies, By Hook or by Crook, A Fantastic Woman, Something Must Break

Comedy/Performers:  Mae Martin, FOCitup, Travis Alabanza

Podcasts:  One from the Vault, Bad Gay, What the Trans?!, Translash, Marsha’s Plate

Activists:  Fox and Owl Fisher, Juno Dawson, Munroe Bergdorf, Kuchenga, Liv Little / GalDem, Lady Phyll, Kenny Ethan Jones

Books:  The Transgender Issue by Shon Faye, Transgender History by Susan Stryker, Lote by Shola von Reinhold and Redefining Realness by Janet Mock

by David Radford

I attended the second part of the empowerment training course run by Stonewall on the 25^th February. I was quite pleasantly surprised to see such a wide variety of attendees – everything from the academic sector to government departments and the banking sector.

It was notable that they reported within the workplace the LGBT community is not evenly treated, with 83% of lesbian and gay respondents of a survey stating that they felt their workplace was inclusive of them, while this number dropped to 52% for bi and only 48% of trans respondents. One thing which I was aware of but maybe not as actively aware of as I could be was discrimination and bias from within the LGBT+ community towards smaller or less visible groups.

The main aim of the workshop was to help identify the potential shortcomings and problems which arise from making network spaces for LGBT+ members of staff, which can create issues with cliques and exclusion, difficulties breaking into the group and issues of tokenism, and really highlighted the importance of diverse representation in the leadership and decision-making of groups as well as being open to criticism, willing to make changes and above all welcoming to newcomers.

For me, at least the main take-home message of this was to be aware of who I am interacting with and not to make assumptions when planning activities, as well as trying to engage others in decision making. That pub trip or countryside walk might be good for the morale of those attending, but it can cause other issues including financial, religious, family or accessibility problems, which can exclude a whole host of other people from attending.

Now, more than ever, we need to talk. So the Staff pride Network has set up Rainbow Office Hours. A chance to make a connection with another LGBTQ+ staff member, or PG student, at the University.

Each month*, the last Friday of the month at 12-1pm, a few of our members will be standing by – check our website for details of who is available. Pick out someone you’d like to talk to, and drop them a line in Teams to check they’re not with someone else (i.e. a digital knock on the door!). After that, you two are free to chat about anything and everything. You might have specific things you want to talk about, or it might just be the pleasure of spending some time with someone like you.

We’re not a counselling or support service, but we do believe in the power of community – so why not take a moment to make that connection and feel just a wee bit better.

• Sue Fletcher-Watson (she/her): My name is Sue. I’m a cis woman and I’m bisexual. I’ve been married for 15 years to a cis man and we have two kids – everyone assumes we’re a heterosexual couple. I am happy to chat about the experience of being bi (or pansexual) generally and specifically about bi-visibility and bi-phobia.
• Karen Pinto-Csaszar (she/her): I’m Karen and I’m a Student Support Officer at Edinburgh College of Art. I am a cisgender straight woman who is part of the ‘BAME’ community (Latin-American) and am interested in chatting with staff and students of any orientation about (among many things) the contribution allies might make in supporting and learning from the LGBT+ community, including and perhaps especially potential allies who may feel interested but hesitant to get involved. I’m also interested in chatting about matters of the BAME community at large, including being a BAME expat!
• Robert (Robbie) Court (he/him): I’m a PostDoc in the School of Informatics specialising in insect neurobiology. Label wise I am Gay, Autistic, Humanist, Dyslexic, Prosopagnosic and have ADHD. I’ve been with my ‘husband’ (not got round to the now available paperwork – one day) for over 25years, he came with a son who is nearly 30 now. Danielle Marlow (she/her): I’m Danielle and I’ve worked at the University for nearly 10 years. I’m a cisgender straight woman married to a cis straight man, and we have 2 children. I’m happy to chat about anything: thoughts you might have; questions you’d like me to try and answer; as well as contributions you can make to our community as an Ally.
• Katherine Malin-August (she/her): I’m Katherine and I’m the Finance Manager for the School of Biological Sciences. I joined this university during lockdown. I’m a cis queer woman, with a non-binary partner. I’m a Trustee and Treasurer for an LGBT+ Youth Charity back in Manchester where I’m from. I’m happy to talk about the experience of being cis and supporting a trans* partner, and trying to use my cis privilege to take on some of the work on behalf of the trans* people in our lives. I could also talk about the Governance aspect of running an LGBT+ youth charity, if that interests you.
• Winnie Lam (she/they): I am Winnie, a bi cisgender woman of colour (British born Chinese), in a relationship with a cisgender bi woman. Happy to talk about biphobia, bi-erasure, racism inside and outside of the LGBT+ community, and any other issues you feel my experience can help with.

If you would like to volunteer for Rainbow Office Hours, please complete this Microsoft Form: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=sAafLmkWiUWHiRCgaTTcYZ1S77tmEnpInfF1a_fSWi9UOVZIUkszVTFWU0E2WTVON1EyOFcxMk84WSQlQCN0PWcu

• our first Rainbow Office Hours of 2021 will be on January 29th 2021.