LGBTQ+ Resources

I'd really recommend looking up LGBTQ+ history and current events more, it really helps with understanding what issues the LGBTQ+ community face, and how you can carry out small changes in your behaviour to make a difference. It is also the responsibility of everyone to be aware of the issues facing the LBGTQ+ community, rather than expecting those who identify as LGBTQ+ to have the sole responsibility of raising awareness.

🏳️‍🌈 For a start, this list absolutely isn't exhaustive, there's a lot of things out there about the LGBTQ+ community, about the start of Pride, documentaries, celebrations and courses, so have a look and see what you can find

🏳️‍🌈 I'd also recommend seeing if your workplace or university has a LGBTQ+ staff network/society/diversity rep. I was part of the LGBTQ+ Campaigns group and Pride Society at University, and I'm part of the LGBTQ+ Staff Network at work. See if they have any workshops or training that you can take part in. For example, I took part in Transgender Awareness training today. If not, there's plenty of courses online, such as these free ones from Future Learn.

Books, two of my favourites are Pride by Tim Tate, and the Stonewall Reader. Pride is my favourite film, and the book is really good! It gives true accounts of the work of Lesbians and Gay's Support the Miners during the miners strikes, and the way they were treated and found community. The Stonewall Reader has a lot of really good accounts of before, during and after the Stonewall riots, dispelling a lot of myths about who was involved, and how they were started.

Diversify your feed! Check out LGBTQ+ people and accounts, some personal faves are Pink News, Stonewall, 500 Queer Scientists and Pride in STEM. Making the accounts you follow more diverse is a really easy way of giving a platform to the LGBTQ+ community, and its also a quick and easy way to gain a better and more educational insight into the community and what you can do.

Watch, there's a lot of TV shows, films and documentaries about the LGBTQ+ community, so go and explore! I can't recommend enough Butterfly, which really helped understanding of what young, transgender children go through. Make sure you have an online search and gain and understanding into the topics behind the shows and films.

There's numerous LGBTQ+ foundations are charities with lots of info, including Stonewall, Mermaids and the LGBT Foundation. Charities like these are really good not only for any fundraising you'd like to do, but many also offer free resources and training to raise awareness and for education.

Podcasts! There's loads of podcasts about and featuring LGBTQ+ people, have a look online and see what you fancy.