This week we celebrate Genderfluid Awareness Week. This began on Twitter in 2021 with a post by @LGBTQcontent and is now celebrated annually between 17th and 24th October.

Genderfluidity is a gender identity that is not fixed and can shift or fluctuate. Genderfluid people may shift between masculine and feminine, be a combination of both, be completely genderless or fluctuate. Genderfluidity is generally considered to come under the Trans and Non-binary umbrella.

This week raises awareness of Genderfluidity and is an opportunity to showcase Gender-Fluid culture and amplify Gender-Fluid voices.

This Friday is National Coming Out Day.

First celebrated in 1988, this day originally marked the one-year anniversary of the 1987 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. It’s founders, Robert Eichberg and Jean O’Leary, believed that once people are aware that they have loved ones that are LGBTQIA+, they are far less likely to maintain oppressive views and this was a powerful tool in combating homophobia.

“Most people think they don’t know anyone gay or lesbian, and in fact, everybody does. It is imperative that we come out and let people know who we are and disabuse them of their fears and stereotypes”

– Robert Eichberg (1993)

Although this started off as an American awareness day, the meaning of National Coming Out Day is still highly relevant to LGBTQ+ communities across the world today.

The leaves are turning orange, the nights are drawing in and we begin the cozy Autumn season as we begin October! That means it’s Black History month and throughout October there’s also a number of varied Pride awareness days to keep an eye out for.

This month we have:

• Lesbian Day – 8th October
• National Coming Out Day – 12th October
• Pronouns Day – 16th October
• Gender Fluid Visibility Week – 17th-24th October
• Ace (Asexuality) Week – 20th-26th October
• Intersex Awareness Day – 26th October

If you’re new to SPN, please check out our Eventbrite page for our regular social gatherings by clicking here.

We have our upcoming Annual General Meeting on the 14th October via Zoom, where we update on the past year and vote in the coming year’s SPN committee.

If you’re interested in joining our committee you can find out find out more about the roles by clicking here. If you’re interested in standing for a role, please email us.

Happy October, all!

Through September and October a series of events will be held at St Cecilia’s Hall organised by the Heritage Collections department centered around unique artists whose work relates to LGBTQ+ narratives and themes. “Queer Voices in Music” begins with an after-hours social at the museum, followed by a series of concerts listed below:

7th Sept 19:00 Museum Late
21st Sept 18:00 Lauren Bianchi
5th Oct 18:00 Bogle Mufty
19th Oct 19:00 Finn Anderson

Click here for Eventbrite link

The 8th July marks the beginning of 2024’s Non Binary Awareness Week, a week celebrating and raising awareness of all things Non Binary.

This week culminates in the 14th July which is International Non Binary People’s Day. This day has been celebrated since 2012 when non binary blogger Katje van Loon wrote a post addressing a need for a day that celebrated those that do not fit within the gender binary and suggesting that the 14th July would serve as a good date for this, being that it falls between International Women’s Day and International Men’s Day.

We are pleased to announce that pronoun badges are now available on both our Central and Holyrood campuses! This initiative aims to foster an inclusive environment, particularly supporting LGBTQ+ and trans* inclusivity within our community.

Where to Find the Badges:

• Central Campus:
  • Main Library (Ground Floor Helpdesk)
  • Centre for Research Collections (Sixth Floor)
• Holyrood Campus:
  • Campus Reception (Old Nursery Building)
• Argyle House:
  • Currently holding a box of pronoun badges which will circulate to different site libraries starting mid-July.

Badge Options:

• She/Her
• He/Him
• They/Them

Why Pronoun Badges?

Using pronoun badges is a simple yet impactful way to promote gender inclusivity. Whether through badges, email signatures, or casual conversations, stating your pronouns helps create a more respectful and understanding community. This practice is particularly significant for the inclusion of trans* individuals, who often face challenges around misgendering and lack of recognition.

Acknowledgements

A heartfelt thank you to Nel Coleman and Lena Wånggren for their efforts in organizing this initiative. Their commitment to fostering an inclusive environment is truly commendable.

Let’s embrace this opportunity to make our campuses more welcoming and inclusive for everyone.

Feel free to pick up your badge and wear it with pride!

Here we will try to list all the events happening for Pride in and around the University (please check back for updates):

May

1. Staff Pride Network BioQuarter Coffee & Cake Social
   • Date: 28th May 2024
   • Time: 12:30 BST
   • Details: Coffee and cake social event at BioQuarter organized by the Staff Pride Network.
   • Link: Staff Pride Network BioQuarter Coffee & Cake Social
2. Staff Pride Network Central Coffee & Cake
   • Date: 29th May 2024
   • Time: 13:00 BST
   • Details: Coffee and cake social event organized by the Staff Pride Network.
   • Link: Staff Pride Network Central Coffee & Cake

June

1. Poetry Workshop
   • Date: 5th June 2024
   • Time: 10am – 12pm BST
   • Location: IRR South Auditorium
   • Details: Open to all members of the UoE LGBT+ community, staff and students, from any College.
   • Link: LGBT+ Identity in the Workplace: A Poetry Workshop
2. Staff Pride Network Evening Social
   • Date: 7th June 2024
   • Time: 17:30 BST
   • Details: An evening social event organized by the Staff Pride Network.
   • Link: Staff Pride Network Evening Social
3. Little France Pride March and Information Fair
   1. Poster: Little France Pride
   2. Date: 14th June 2024
   3. Time: March at 14:00, Information Fair from 13:30 to 15:30
   4. Details:
      • Wellness Walk: Undertaken by the staff and students of Little France to celebrate the LGBTI+ community.
      • Information Fair: Held in the Chancellor’s Building.
      • Free Smoothie: Available for participants (limited availability).
      • Meeting Point: In front of Chancellor’s Building.
4. Staff Pride Network Holyrood Coffee & Cake
   • Date: 18th June 2024
   • Time: 13:00 – 14:00 BST
   • Details: Coffee and cake social event at Holyrood organized by the Staff Pride Network. This event will run every third Tuesday of the month.
   • Link: Staff Pride Network Holyrood Coffee & Cake
5. Staff Pride Network Kings Buildings Coffee & Cake
   • Date: 19th June 2024
   • Time: 13:00 BST
   • Details: Coffee and cake social event at Kings Buildings organized by the Staff Pride Network.
   • Link: Staff Pride Network Kings Buildings Coffee & Cake
6. Queer Ceilidh
   • Date: 20th June 2024
   • Details: An exciting event organized for Postgrad and PhD students to celebrate and engage with the LGBT+ community. Hosted by the Edinburgh University Students’ Association.
   • Link: The Queer Student Ceilidh
7. Edinburgh Pride March and Festival
   • Date: 22nd June 2024
   • Time: Meet from 11:00 AM
   • Meeting Point: Levels Cafe on Holyrood Road
   • Details: We’ll meet at Levels cafe on Holyrood Road from 11:00 AM, then walk down to Holyrood Parliament for midday. Wear your SPN t-shirts and join us in the march. We have a limited supply of free SPN t-shirts available on a first come basis at Levels from 11:00 AM. After the march, we will have a chillout space available in the Informatics Forum. Contact details for access will be sent out the day before if you don’t enter with us after the march.
   • Additional Info: For the complete route, visit the Edinburgh Pride Official Website.
8. Pride Service at BSTM Church
   • Date: 23rd June 2024
   • Time: 10:30 AM
   • Location: Broughton St Mary’s (BSTM) Parish Church and Comunity Hub
   • Details: A Pride Service celebrating and blessing all our wonderful diversity. The service includes a reading from Genesis, a prayer from Baltic Pride, and an inclusive form of the Lord’s Prayer.
   • Link: BSTM Church
9. BioQuarter Pride Month Showcase & Coffee & Cake Social
   • Date: 25th June 2024
   • Time: Seminar from 12:30 to 13:40 BST, followed by Coffee & Cake Social at 13:40 BST
   • Location: Usher Seminar One, The Usher Building, Edinburgh BioQuarter
   • Details: An afternoon of talks on LGBT+ history and sociology, followed by an informal social in the Usher 1898 Cafe.
   • Speakers:
     • Andrew Gardiner, Senior Lecturer, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies
     • Chase Ledin, Lecturer, Usher Institute
     • Bethany Parsons, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager, Corporate Services Group

     

   • Link: Staff Pride Network BioQuarter Coffee & Cake Social
10. Staff Pride Network Central Coffee & Cake
    • Date: 26th June 2024
    • Time: 13:00 BST
    • Details: Coffee and cake social event organized by the Staff Pride Network.
    • Link: Staff Pride Network Central Coffee & Cake
11. Staff Pride Network Trans and Non-Binary Meetup
    • Date: 27th June 2024
    • Time: 17:30 BST
    • Details: Meetup for trans and non-binary members organized by the Staff Pride Network.
    • Link: Staff Pride Network Trans and Non-Binary Meetup

July

• Staff Pride Network Evening Social
  • Date: 5th July 2024
  • Time: 17:30 BST
  • Details: An evening social event organized by the Staff Pride Network.
  • Link: Staff Pride Network Evening Social

Is there any other information or events you’d like to include? Please get in touch StaffPrideNetwork@ed.ac.uk

The Staff Pride Network Committee would like to first express our thanks to Robyn Woof for all her work in the role of trans & non-binary liberation officer, we have always valued her contributions to addressing transphobia on campus and in devising ways to better support our trans & non-binary staff and students. We respect her decision to resign as trans & non-binary liberation officer considering the ongoing institutional transphobia at the University of Edinburgh. Her resignation represents a significant loss to the University community and should serve as a reminder of the chilling effects of transphobia with respect to freedom of expression and participation. We wish her the best for her continuing studies and activism in Edinburgh and beyond. 

News article: THE STUDENT: Trans and Non-Binary Liberation Officer Robyn Woof resigns in protest of transphobia at university

The Staff Pride Network Committee had a blog here expressing their disappointment and worry about the appointment of the new Rector and the processes that led to this, but the University has required us to remove the blog due to their perception that drawing attention to Simon Fanshawe’s publicly available views on trans people (and our opinions on their potential effects) may run counter to the university’s Dignity and Respect policy. We look forward to an equally robust discussion about whether Fanshawe’s views and actions as Rector are in line with the same Dignity and Respect policy. 

A reminder that we are available on Instagram and Twitter/X as @UoEStaffPride.

University Alumni have also started this petition calling for Simon to be removed as rector which you can sign

Edinburgh University Students Association Sabbatical Officers have also released a statement on this matter

The SPN committee does not condone harassment or the targeting of any individual person. If you independently wish to make comment on this matter, we suggest you to contact the relevant area in the University’s senior management, or organisations who have authored any open letter, and not any individuals named in this response.

CW: transphobia, anti-trans violence

Dear network members,

We wanted to reach out in solidarity with our trans & non-binary members this morning to acknowledge the harmful impacts of the actions of the Prime Minister and other parliamentarians yesterday. Rishi Sunak’s hateful, transphobic comments are despicable. Once again witnessing political point scoring in the UK Parliament at the expense of trans people, made even more despicable and callous as the fact that murdered teenager Brianna Ghey’s mother was visiting parliament at the time, will have hit many of us hard.

But we shouldn’t need the presence of a grieving mother, nor another dead trans person, to make change. Our political opposition shouldn’t only call out transphobia when it suits them, and then continue to harm the rights and freedoms of trans people in this country and abroad.

It has, however, been pleasing to see support from people, particularly cis people who might be speaking out for the first time, across the country in response to this interaction in parliament. We also take this moment to acknowledge the people that have called out this hate speech, and who make continuing efforts to stand with trans people in the daily challenges faced in this country.

We encourage those of you who are not trans/non-binary to check in with your trans & non-binary friends & colleagues today. The repeated attacks on this community will be taking its toll. Be patient, remember people process trauma in their own way. If you want to reach out to the network please get in touch. There are also other resources available in the area through LGBT Health & Wellbeing, both their helpline: https://www.lgbthealth.org.uk/services-support/lgbt-helpline-scotland/ and specific trans support: https://www.lgbthealth.org.uk/services-support/trans/

We also acknowledge that these forms of support are not the only thing we need to do as a community to continue addressing this form of hate. The SPN will continue to work for trans equality & trans liberation tirelessly, and we welcome the contribution of ideas to help in this regard.

In solidarity,

Alex & Katie

Alex Morzeria-Davis (they/them) and Katie Nicoll Baines (she/her)

Co-Chairs, Staff Pride Network for LGBT+ Colleagues & Allies

Why pronouns matter