It has been 52 years since New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn gay bar, inciting a series of protests from its patrons and New York’s LGBTQ+ residents. One year after that raid, marches remembering the events and celebrating the community behind those protests began. Since then, each year during the month of June we celebrate what has become known as Pride Month.
At Talewind, we have rolled out a number of initiatives throughout Pride Month in June to expose our team to LGBTQ+ stories & struggles, to share useful resources and to educate them on terminology and ways in which we can all become better allies. Here’s what we’ve been getting up to.
Book & Film Club:
At the beginning of the month, we encouraged our team to watch ‘The Death & Life of Marsha P Johnson’, a documentary about the life of this famous trans rights ambassador and the discrimination faced by those from the trans community in 1970s America. We then caught up over Zoom to chat about what we had taken away from the film and share our thoughts on how trans people are treated in society today. Separately, as part of our book club, we’re currently reading ‘A Dutiful Boy’, a riveting memoir of a gay British Muslim’s journey to acceptance, and will be coming together later this month to discuss.
LGBTQ+ Resources Within Gaming:
Within the gaming industry, there are many resources, charities & companies that support those from the LGBTQ+ community who have a passion for and work within gaming. We shared information on these with our team in our weekly newsletter to ensure that they were aware of the platforms available to them within our gaming community:
Out Making Games: OMG was created to build an empowered community of LGBTQ+ games professionals across the UK, with the aim of supporting one another as well as those aspiring to join the industry. They host regular events and work with Limit Break to provide one of the UK games industry’s biggest mentoring programs.
Gayming Mag: is a global magazine for the LGBTQ+ video games community, with games features, news, reviews and events.
London Gaymers: was established in 2012 as a social group to help LGBT+ gamers in London to find and make new friends in a safe and welcoming environment. They hold regular meet ups every month, online tournaments and have an active gaming Discord.
Represent Me: is a not-for-profit research organisation which creates resources to help creators and workplaces improve their representation and company culture and is now one of the largest queer-focused diversity organisations in the games industry.
Workshop with ShoutOut:
We teamed up with LGBTQ+ charity ShoutOut to host ‘The ABCs of LGBTQ+’ virtual workshop for our team. ShoutOut** is a registered charity committed to improving life for LGBTQ+ people by sharing personal stories and educating school students and workplaces on LGBTQ+ issues. During our workshop, we delved deeper into LGBTQ+ terminology and groups within the community, such as trans and intersex, who have faced heightened prejudice in recent years. We also focused on allyship and acts we can take to all be more supportive and stand up for those from the community. It was a really great workshop and thanks to Tilly from ShoutOut for sparking such insightful discussions within our team.
** Talewind have made a £500 donation to ShoutOut so that they can continue to support, educate and inspire young people across the UK & Ireland.
LGBTQ+ Charities to Support:
While equal rights for LGBTQ+ people have made significant progress in the 21st century, there is still a long way to go until the world recognises the importance of sexual orientation and gender identity. Many individuals still face additional discrimination, isolation, and struggle to access the services they need to provide them safety and support in everyday life.
You can show your support for LGBTQ+ communities by donating to and volunteering your time with:
Stonewall: Founded in 1989 by a group of activists campaigning against Section 28, Stonewall’s mission is to transform communities into inclusive and safe spaces where LGBTQ+ people can thrive — with a particular focus on working with employers to implement workplace diversity and empowerment programmes.
Galop: The Gay London Police Monitoring group, Galop, was established in 1982 in response to police violence experienced by LGBTQ+ people. The charity has a long history of bringing awareness to LGB youth issues through hosting public forms and publishing research on hate crime.
MindOut: MindOut provides mental health services run by and for LGBTQ+ people. The charity offers a range of services including counselling services, peer support groups and peer mentoring projects. MindOut’s services are perhaps more important now than ever before, as COVID-19 has exacerbated mental health challenges.
Fflag: This charity offers guidance and advice for the friends and family of LGBTQ+ people, allowing the transfer of information and better education for parents and, friends and groups.
For a comprehensive list of UK LGBTQ+ charities you and your workplaces can support, head here.
We’re acutely aware that support for LGBTQ+ communities is needed all year round, not just during Pride Month, and are committed to educating our team and sharing resources so that we are as inclusive and supportive as possible.
Here are some ways you can support the LGBTQ+ community moving forward:
Amplify often unheard voices: We don’t all have the same opportunities to be heard even when we’re all allowed to speak. If you are in a position of influence, help to elevate the ideas and concerns of those around you who must be heard but aren’t.
Hold space to promote inclusivity: Holding space can be a powerful tool for starting open conversations and improving inclusion. Make it possible for everyone to share what might be wrong and work together to find a solution.
Educate yourself on new topics: Before simply asking questions of a coworker, consider doing some quick reading of your own. Don’t know what all of the letters in LGBTQIA stand for? Not familiar with LQBTQ+ terms? Take the time to educate yourself.
Refrain from making assumptions: Personal experiences bias us and can lead to making false connections. Being mindful of our biases can help us refrain from verbalising those assumptions.
Bronwen Ellis
Studio Operations Manager
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