*Input Required* "LGBT History Month"
 

Hey Guys!

I have a friend who is trying to gather "grassroots support" for an "LGBT History Month" that he's planning for his local college (in England).

Any idea and opinions about how to do that, and what to include in the "Month" itself? :)

*BUMP*

C'mon, people. Help a guy out.

It depends how you want it themed. There have been a lot of influences from LGBT individuals throughout history - is this focusing on social matters, historical events, breakthroughs in recognition?

I mean, whatever you focus on there's a lot there. From prehistory and the likely evolutionary advantages to a family group of having a few gay members, to ancient history and the way TG individuals would often be involved in indigenous religions of most places. From Spartan training and bonding practices to the TS spies of the last couple of centuries. From the massive cultural impact of influences on theatre, to recognition and rights.

It's kind of a lot to cover without knowing what specifically you're wanting.

Sorry, but stuff like this just smacks of Tokenism as far as I'm concerned.

It's a bit like saying lets have a Black/LGBT/Whatever History Month so we can then safely ignore them the rest of the year.

Very well put Fran, you are a real asset to this forum. :respect:

I don't want to speak for the OP, but in general the purpose of celebrating "minorities" and their contributions is not to make the point that their contributions to society were made because they are black, or transgender, or whatever, but to point out that people make contributions regardless of such things. "History month"-type celebrations are meant to take an opportunity to step back and remind the world that despite their best efforts to do otherwise, white men cannot take credit for everything.

Yes, thank you for breathing some SANITY into my thread.

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I'd also like to thank this community for its enthusiastic response to my inquiry, made on behalf of a friend, looking to bring some light and understanding to the world. Thanks to fine folk like franalexes, Natalie_J and randolph, I have lots of well-argued, insightful ideas to feed back to him, as well as a magnanimous assurance that he is doing something positive with his time and energy. Thanks to the plethora of thoughtful, open-minded and highly-supportive responses about a subject you've confirmed is near and dear to all your hearts, he'll be knocking this societal-wide bigotry on the head in no time. Cheers one and all!

To be fair, a few transgender individuals in the past have been in positions to achieve things because of their uniqueness. Many cultures in the past, for example, have recognised us as having a special connection to gods, resulting from the idea that we possess a soul of one gender and a body of the other. It's believed to be a source of magical prowess, and often would lead to apprenticeship to the local shaman.