Out, Proud, And Living With It
Out, Proud, And Living With It
The title of the new LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) booklet targeted at young people to land in Cardiff. With the hard work of LGBT young people from the Loud & Proud project in Cardiff, and months of various workshops and work, this booklet was born.
It is made by young people, for young people and is one of the first booklets of its type. As well as being produced by young LGBT people, other organisations supported and worked with them to help create the booklet. Some of the big contributors were Cardiff Women’s Aid, Bi Cymru Wales and Stonewall Cymru. Other organisations like Public Health Wales, Cardiff Council and TheSprout were also thanked for their help and support. Also, this was made possible by the funding by Ifanc, Cardiff’s Children & Young People’s Partnership.
With the arrival of the booklet and their first birthday, Loud and Proud has changed and managed to make itself as inviting as possible to young people. Personally, I think their new logo is amazing!
The Booklet
The layout of the booklet is very good, it is an easy to follow booklet which clearly labels each individual chapter. I have to give credit to the great (and funny) avatars featured in the booklet, however I did notice that none of them smiled! Anyway, the first five chapters explain what being LGBT is like and define the terms lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. These chapters also go into specific detail on the chosen topic. For example the bisexual pages tell us about “biphobia” which is not as widely recognised as homophobia. Another example is under the Transgender pages, it explains how the term transgender is an umbrella term, which includes transsexual, transvestite and others. What I personally like about these few pages is how it lists famous people who identify as LGBT. Some of them I didn't know were LGBT, it may shock you to know!
The next three chapters are categorised into Coming Out, Bullying and Domestic Abuse. In the coming out pages, it covers the basic help and reassurance but it also asks “are you sure?” This is a good point to make as coming out is (as shown in the booklet) a huge issue and very important in reinforcing your confidence and it cannot be undone. Under the bullying pages it covers the types of bullying and cyber-bullying through facebook, texting and so on. In the domestic abuse pages it covers the types of domestic abuse and defines the term “domestic abuse”. It also shows a list of myths which explains how domestic abuse is not just a man hitting a woman, as it is stereotypically seen.
Relationships, Love & Safety Online
The next three chapters are all about relationships and love. The chapter Meeting Others is all about, well meeting others! It says how there is the local gay ‘scene’ mainly for people who are eighteen or over. For the younger people it recommends the LGBT youth provision in your area, advertising Loud and Proud Cardiff. Another very important point made is being safe when meeting people offline.
Many young LGBT people may turn to sites and meet others online, however if you plan to meet up in person be very careful as the person on the other side may not be who they say they are. The next chapter, relationships, is split up into explaining what a healthy relationship is, the issues with LGBT relationships and heartbreak. Also, the “100 ways to say ‘I love you’ without having sex” is very good and romantic. However not all 100 are listed, otherwise it would be a rather large booklet! The chapter on sex, simply says be careful! It says to make sure you are comfortable with it and to make sure that you are ready. It also says to always try and practise safe sex.
STIs & Health
The next two chapters cover STIs, safer sex and health. There are three pages on three of the most common STIs to look out for, these are chlamydia, gonorrhoea and herpes. These pages go into detail on the signs of the STIs, treatments and other information about the STIs. The next page goes on to list other STIs in two categories; STI’s prevented by condoms and STIs not prevented by condoms. The next couple of pages cover GUM clinics and the C-Card scheme. The GUM clinics are a place to go to get general check-ups for STIs and where to go if you think you have an STI. A list of GUM clinics are listed with contact info in the booklet, the areas being Cardiff, Newport, Bridgend and Llantrisant. The page on the C-Card scheme explains what it is and explains where you can get involved or get free condoms. It also says what to do when using a condom, for example to check the date.
The last two pages list other websites and e-mails for more information on being LGBT and on young people in Wales. As well as this other organisations are listed throughout the booklet.
As a fellow gay young person I have to say well done to everyone who helped make, fund and support the booklet that has been produced. It is one of the best guides/booklets I have read and I think this is because it has been made by young LGBT people themselves. This booklet is not only to help other young people, but to help get the youth of the LGBT community heard.
1 Comment – Post a comment
Naleen
Commented 71 months ago - 16th July 2010 - 02:29am
Yay im in these pics. It was a good day to be out proud :)