LGBTQ+ History Month takes place in February each year to help educate people on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, as well as the history of the gay and civil rights movements.
In support of this celebration, we gave staff and students at all sites the opportunity to create a pronoun badge. This initiative was welcomed by many and over 650 staff and students made a badge to wear.
Staff who engaged with the activity have reported that many important conversations have been had, including a chat at the badge maker leading to a student having her chosen name updated on her ID badge. When she showed her classmates, there was a resounding cheer.
On Friday 18 February, Kirklees College LRC and the Kirklees College Students’ Union LGBTQ+ Society were pleased to welcome author C.G. Moore for a workshop.
Acclaimed author Chris has been nominated for the 2022 Carnegie Medal. In his workshop, he discussed the history, diversity and achievements of LGBTQ+ people. His session also explored issues around confidence building and identity in a safe, welcoming space.
Chris gave the students a presentation on LGBTQ+ History and spoke about his own experiences of coming out to the people around him, his family and friends. Chris also read some extracts from his verse novel Gut Feelings, which is available to borrow from the LRC.
Students also provided Chris with the opportunity to carry out consumer research on his new novel The Ends of The Earth, a young adult dystopian novel exploring the power dynamics of sexuality and gender. The creative workshop conducted with our KC students teased out and developed some of our students’ views and Moore has even used their ideas to inform his story.
Rachel Ellis, Student Community Development Officer said:
“It is of vital importance that we not only celebrate the achievements of our LGBTQ+ community but that we learn about the history as this helps to combat prejudice and build a more inclusive, understanding and thriving community here at Kirklees College.”
Emily Thornton, Kirklees College LRC Advisor commented:
“The session with author C.G. Moore received lots of positive feedback from students who said that it provided them with a wonderful opportunity to share their experiences.
The students also acknowledged and appreciated that the workshop had been organised as part of LGBTQ+ History Month.
Chris was very impressed with how confident the students were regarding their own identities and how they were happy to be so open in the safe space we had provided for them.”
Many attendees were really keen to give their positive feedback on the event. Some of their thoughts included:
“I really enjoyed myself and I think more people should look into LGBTQ+ history in their spare time as it is a fascinating topic and is so important to teach to others. Chris is a phenomenal storyteller! I was engaged and zoned in the entire time!”
“My favourite part of the session was hearing some of the more personal and silly stories from Chris and just having a good laugh. The discussion we had about what makes us feel confident and uplifted was a wonderful way to wrap up the session.”
If you would like to find out about Kirklees College’s LGBTQ+ group that meets weekly, details can be found on the college website.
