OutReach

News

In New York State a law has been passed stating that all single occupancy toilets should now be made gender neutral. That means anyone can use that space, regardless of their gender identity. Building in these inclusive spaces into every-day life makes it easier for trans and non binary people to go out and be their authentic self – without making themselves profoundly uncomfortable waiting to get home to answer natures call for fear of being judged or attacked by entering a single gender space which aligns with their gender identity.

Nevada has become the first state to protect its same sex marriage regulation. What does that mean? At the minute same sex marriage is allowed under federal law, which means it is possible in every state. However Nevada have taken an extra step and protected this law within state. That means that if the federal law changes in the future the provision for same sex marriage in the Silver State will remain unchanged. Hopefully some of the other more progressive states will also follow suit with this action.

The Israeli health ministry, after several years of consulting with various organisations, has de-classified being transgender as a mental health disorder. This is an enormous step forward for the country. Although it comes long after the World Health Organisation made the same decision, it is certainly a case of better late than never!

Entertainment

This week Channel 4 launches its new miniseries “It’s a Sin” by Russel T …

Are you human? That’s what the website asked me as I signed in this morning and it’s got me thinking. How do I know I’m human, what does being human mean to me and in these times of strangeness how do I keep my sense of human connectedness, how do you keep yours?

The second Tuesday of every month is Intrusion, it has been for years, the longest running Goth night in the country outside of London and a great evening. Worth driving from Southampton to Oxford for, a chance to get dressed up and to see good friends. During lockdown they have been live streaming, achieving technological miracles connecting DJs in three counties together and showing us glimpses into their homes, introducing us to their cats.We have kept our community going and though the pain of not seeing each other doesn’t go away the Zoom dancefloor and Twitch stream with photos of nights gone reaffirms our part in the world, our connection to our tribe, our friends, our humanity. Last Monday the Intrusion team nominated Chrysalis, for the first lockdown Intrusion fundraiser. We came, we danced, we raised money and united in our aim to connect and to make the world that bit better. If you haven’t shone your phone torch at a Zoom screen whilst singing along to the last song of the night then I heartily recommend it. Music brings us together, music connects us all and I know that one day we will all be together …

An update on Support Groups, Summer and Lock-down easing and our new Cycling Tour De Trans event coming soon.…

At the d&i Leaders conference on Thursday I was introduced to the concept of “When in Rome; Embassy; Advocate” principles of how companies work in places where there is limited LGBT+ acceptance, or indeed where being your authentic self is a crime.

Previously I’ve been speaking with various Universities about creating self selected LGBT+ flats within their student accommodation and the discussion came up again at our most recent Chrysalis training.

But why do we need safe bases? What really is a safe space?

Are you familiar with attachment theory? That knowledge that we all need a place of safety, a place where we know we are accepted. Once we have that safe base, be that from our family; our friends (adopted family); our Chrysalis support group; or our work colleagues we can go out and explore the world. We have resilience to ride out some of the storms, deal with those places where we are not accepted and in the end we grow and develop and find our own way. We become secure in ourselves, in our identity and in our way of being.

But it’s not enough to have just a safe base. It’s not enough to create an embassy where the rules of fairness, acceptance and inclusion are followed unless we are aware that for many people stepping outside that safe base is dangerous and that we …

Chrysalis, the South’s leading charity supporting transgender people and their significant others, invites you to our second conference showcasing strategies and best practice for supporting transgender people in the workplace and beyond.

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