First Trans Awareness Week- IES La Rosaleda

Assigned sex is a label that we are given at birth based on medical factors, including our hormones, chromosomes, and genitals. Sometimes, our genetically assigned sex does not line up with our own perception or our feelings regarding our gender. Researches show that a person, who feels like that, has suffered, at least on time, bullying and social exclusion. LGTB at School Erasmus+ project contributes to decrease the number of bullying and social exclusion cases, aiming to open a dialogue in the participants schools in order to remove taboos related to gender.

According to the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights 2019 Report, based on a survey about LGBTI people in the EU, the school still is far from a safe place for LGBTI students. The 45% of the survey participants felt discriminated against at school. In the same framework, it is important to highlight that 69% of them were Trans. As reported by the Spanish NGO Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Trans and Bisexuals(FLGTB), Transphobia appears in classrooms in 58% of the cases (Report 2019: Young Trans in the Education system).This shows a need for policy measures targeting children and young people belonging to this group.

In this context, the LGTB at School project organized the first Transgender Awareness week, which took place in the highschool IES La Rosaleda from 22nd to 25th March 2020. Our goal was to raise awareness and give information to the whole school community in order to create a Trans friendly and inclusive school environment. The event started with a guided visit of a Trans Photography Exhibition. It was a small sample of 20 photos of different Trans people. We chose those people between more than 100, our criteria was academic and work performance in order to break stereotypes such as cross-dressers, drag queens and drag kings.

The second day of the event was dedicated to dismantling myths on the reality of trans people and the new Spanish Trans Law. We had the honor to count with the NGO CHRYSALLIS Andalucía. Its president, María José Márquez and Serena Gil, a young Trans, analysed the current situation, obstacles and problems that a Trans person can face and opened a debate about the new Spanish Trans Law.

Then, on the third day, we watched the movie 3 Generations, which is about a New York teen (Elle Fanning), who prepares to transition from female to male. A very interesting debate followed the movie. We closed our event playing our Diversity Trivial. An extra mark in Philosophy subject was given to the students, who were members of the winning team.

This event identified a great lack of information on transsexuality in schools and visibilized stories of Trans people who have suffered systematic stigmatization. Luckily, the majority of the students and professors embraced our initiative and they actively participated in it.

This event inaugurated a new era for our school, giving the opportunity to understand that the Trans youth need the same things as cis youth, that is: love, respect, support and enjoy the same rights and obligations as the rest of the students, neither more nor less!

Preparing Christmas Cards and Decorations

Bullying and the Ugly Duckling

The Ugly Duckling, central character of the homonymous fairy tale of the Danish autor, H.C. Andersen, was bullied for being different from the other ducks in the stable, until he simply accepted himself and realized that he had exactly the same value as all the other animals in the stable...until he realized that he was a beautiful swan!

Unfortunately, Bullying is not just a topic of fairy tales with moral lessons or a kind of humor. How many of us have been in the place of the Ugly Duckling, the other animals as bullies or just as bystanders?

But, first, let's talk about what bullying is:

Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. It includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumors, attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a group on purpose.The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Both kids who are bullied and who bully others may have serious, lasting problems.

Just a month ago UNESCO, the UN organization for education, science and culture, recognized that Bullying constitutes a concern of global relevance (based on 2019 data).

The LGTB at school being concerned about the Bullying consequences organized a workshop about it, which took place in IES La Rosaleda. The main speaker was the psychologist, Luis Rodriguez, who talked about the consequences and the causes not only from the point of view of the victim but also from the bully´s. 

Moreover in the same framework, a survey, with the participation of students from the four project partners, was conducted. Among the positive results, it is to highlight that the most participants know what Bullying consists of and recognize it as a challenge for the school community. Furthermore, 87% of the participants are not afraid to come to school and feel safe. Likewise, most of them also feel safe on the way home.

According to the survey, social media is the keystone for the quick advance of this complex social phenomenon. Αnonymity online has become a tool to spread misinformation and to harass and hurt other people. In the same vein, hiding behind anonymity, the majority of Bullying episodes occur in the school washrooms. This type of Bullying includes writing offensive comments on the walls or someone's phone number and in worse situations recording a video while someone is using the toilet. 

What does school do in order to prevent and address Bullying? The majority of the students mentioned lack of trust in the school staff. Is that ´´Warning mode ON´´ for the school staff? Yes of course!

The victims can not and they should not handle alone the problem. The bullies also need help! The solution is:

-More awareness campaigns not only for the students but also for the school staff and the parents,

-Keep the lines of communication open and encourage the students to report Bullying,

-Advance social and emotional learning, that involves teaching skills of self-awareness, self-management, social-awareness, responsible decision making, and relationships management. 

We may take under consideration that the bully, probably, is a person who suffers, maybe someone who did not get the social or family acceptance, that she/he needed. There is a lot of different reasons to be a bully. In most of the cases, the bully is treated as a criminal, cause the punishment is the easy solution: you just expel the bully and you are done. As a matter of fact, the bully keeps  the same or worse attitude in her/his new school. Teachers should counsel and rehabilitate such students through social and emotional learning methods.

Last but not least, (as it is the most curious for me): More than the average of the participants says that they have never been a victim of bullying. Likewise the !96%! of the participants says that they have never been bullies. I do not know if we should consider those tightly connected results as just positive data or should we look deeper...for issues of acceptance and recognition? We know more or less the definition of Bullying, but are we able to accept that we have been bullied or bullies?

Let's work on it together and make our school ´´Bullying Free Zone´´.

And for all of us that felt at least one time in our life as the Ugly Duckling did, just bear in mind the last sentences of the fairytale:

- He had been persecuted and despised for his ugliness, and now he heard them say he was the most beautiful of all the birds. Even the elder tree bent down its boughs into the water before him, and the sun shone warm and bright. Then he rustled his feathers, curved his slender neck, and cried joyfully, from the depths of his heart, “I never dreamed of such happiness as this while I was the despised ugly duckling”.-

LEARNING ABOUT MINORITIES

 Lately, we have been carrying out activities that have to do with minorities, being our main objectives , among others, to raise awareness about diversity, encourage tolerance, develop empathy and prevent bullying.

That's the reason why we performed this game: a race in which different roles (catholic woman, upper class homosexual teenager, lesbian black woman etc) are assigned to students who will have to take one, two steps forwards or no steps depending on the different scenarios suggested by the teacher ( getting a job in a bank,  having a flat, having a medical insurance etc..). Who will the first one to reach the finishing line?
 

Interesting to discuss about feelings, expectations and opinions and reflect about what it is like to be part of a minoriy group or community and what that means.

 

 

STOP BULLYING

  Talking about minorities means also to talk about bullying. Although no student is totally safe from suffering this kind of abuse, we have to admit that lgtb students are more likely to suffer it. In fact, this is one of the reasons why this project began.

Many people feel threatened by anything considered different, maybe because it gets us out of our confort zone and makes aus review our most basic ideas. 

However, bullying is not that easy and if we want to fight against it, we have to start understanding how it works.

The psicologist Luis Rodríguez talked to our students about it. Not only from the victim's point of view, but also from the bully, and from the eyewitnesses.

First thing we have to do is to assist the victim; but this is not enough as the bully will continue acting and, sooner or later, will find someone new to abuse. It is necessary to work with this person too, to understand the reasons behind his or her actions, the consequences for the victim and for the bully and also for those who witness and keep silence.

This lecture was quite interesting as it was enriched with details of the psicologist's own experience. But the best was yet to come. Student had time to exchange their point of view and then we learnt something quite important. In their opinion, teachers ourselves, can contribute with our comments to lower our students' steem. Of course, it is not bullying at all; but, somehow, descredit some students or at least they feel they can not count on us if needed.

In this sense, students proposed to carry out workshops where they and the teachers work toguether.

 

So, if we finally want to work it out, it's absolutely essential to work together.

WHAT HAS ART MEANT TO YOU? A REVIEW OF THE FILM PHILADELPHIA

 

    Art is not an intellectual but dispensable production, a kind of ornament without which we can live. On the contrary is one of the most important elements of our culture. It expresses our concerns, the way we feel about the world we are living, our ambitions, wishes or hopes. Moreover, art also changes the way we feel. It opens new perspectives, because art shows the same reality we know from a different point of view and, therefore, help us to understand better the reality that surrounds us.

    But art also helps to become aware of the problems that exist in our society. It happend with the film Philadelphia, an Amareican film produced in 1993, directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Tom Hamks and Denzel Washington. It was one of the fiirst films that spoke openly about AIDS, homophobia and discrimination at work.

    VIH was isolated for the first time in 1983, by that time it meant a mortal illness and people panicked. Those who were infected sufferd employment discrimination. Particularly LGTB people, suffered a double discrimination, because of the infection and becuase of being LGTB, as a part of the society considered that it was their sexuual behaviour that was the cuase of the infection. Many awareness campaigns were need to change the situation and make people understand that VIH could be stopped is we all took preventive meassures, to make people see, that we were all safe by doing that, that we were not at risk by working with an infected person. In few words, that the discrimination people suffered was unbeareble and totally absurd. 

In this context, the film Philadelphia came to help. It showed openly that kind of discrimination and introduced  this debate in our society. 

More than 30 years after our students wanted to know what did this film mean to our generation.

CREATING ART

     

    Finally we decided to create our own piece of art!!!!

     Thankfully we have extraordinary students. Spencial reference should be made to Miguel Muñoz Alabarce student in IES La Rosaleda and in the conservatory of music in Málaga. He and the producer Luis Amador Goberna have created the song Free Spirits that talks about freedom and pride and breaking down stereotypes in a very optimistic way.

    We were so completely happy with the result that we decided to record it and Bahia Records was in charge of it. Students and teachers had a great time. 

    Not only the song fits perfectely with the project, but it is really good itself. Here you can check it and see if tou don't end the video singing the chorus.

    THANKS MIGUEL AND THANKS TO ALL THE STUDENTS AND TEACHERS FOR YOUR COMMITMENT!!!!

MINI-RESEARCH by Romanian Students

MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR

from all of us here at “Aurel Lazăr” School!

Merry Christmas…and a Happy New Year! These are words that we will likely hear many times during the holiday season.

·         Historians and linguists can’t pinpoint for sure exactly why we tend to use Merry Christmas. The greeting dates back to at least 1534 in London, when it was written in a letter sent to Henry VIII’s chief minister Thomas Cromwell from bishop John Fisher.

·         Scholars also note the phrase was used in the 16th century English carol “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”.

·         Merry Christmas certainly picked up steam in 1843 with the publication of Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. That same year the phrase also appeared on the first commercially-sold Christmas card.

·         Despite its prevalence in the United States and its historical underpinnings, Merry Christmas never gained universal support. For example, Clement C. Moore’s ‘The Night Before Christmas’ ends with the words, “A Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night”.

·         Each year, Queen Elizabeth also wishes British citizens a Happy Christmas in her annual broadcast.

·         Happy Christmas tends to be the preferred phrase for a significant minority of Great Britain. It could be the Queen’s influence. A rumour has circulated that Queen Elizabeth prefers happy to merry, because the word merry, to her, carries with it a sense of boisterousness and even intoxication. A linguistic comparison of happy and merry lends support to this theory.

·         Early church leaders in Great Britain may have encouraged Christian followers to be happy rather than engage in merrymaking! In this sense, Happy Christmas is a bit more conservative and reserved than Merry Christmas, which conveys a more emotional, unrestrained celebration.

·         No one knows for sure why Merry Christmas became the more popular greeting in the United States.

·         Some Christians believe it is a more fitting greeting, given the unrestrained and emotional response followers should have to a celebration of the birth of their Savior, Jesus Christ.
 
 
 
 
 

Local Project Activity (2019) by the Romanian Team

Taking into account that the students do not know many things about the topic of LGTB, we organized a project activity.

 

The guests were:

•          the biology teacher
•          the doctor and the nurse of the school nursery.

The students got familiarized with some of the basic element related to the project.

The initialism

LGBT is intended to emphasize a diversity of sexuality and gender identity-based cultures. The initialism LGBT is intended to emphasize a diversity of sexuality and gender identity-based cultures. It may be used to refer to anyone who is non-heterosexual or non-cisgender, instead of exclusively to people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.

To recognize this inclusion, a popular variant adds the letter Q for those who identify as queer or are questioning their sexual identity; “LGBTQ” has been recorded since 1996. Those who add intersex people to LGBT groups or organizing use an extended initialism LGBTI. The two acronyms are sometimes combined to form the terms LGBTIQ or LGBT+ to encompass spectrums of sexuality and gender.

Many variants exist including variations that change the order of the letters; LGBT or GLBT are the most common terms. Although identical in meaning, LGBT may have a more feminist connotation than GLBT as it places the “L” (for “lesbian”) first. LGBT may also include additional Qs for “queer” or “questioning” (sometimes abbreviated with a question mark and sometimes used to mean anybody not literally L, G, B or T) producing the variants LGBTQ and LGBTQQ.

The term trans has been adopted by some groups as a more inclusive alternative to “transgender”, where trans has been used to describe trans men and trans women; the term transsexual commonly falls under the umbrella term transgender, but some transsexual people object to this.

The rainbow flag (also known as the gay pride flag or LGBT pride flag) is used as a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) pride and LGBTQ social movements. Other older uses of rainbow flags include a symbol of peace. The colours reflect the diversity of the LGBTQ community, as the flag is often used as a symbol of gay pride during LGBTQ rights marches.

Originally devised by artist Gilbert Baker, the design has undergone several revisions since its debut in 1978, first to remove colours then restore them based on availability of fabrics. The traditional and still most common variant consists of six stripes: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. The flag is typically flown horizontally, with the red stripe on top, as it would be in a natural rainbow. The flag originally comprised eight stripes; Baker assigned specific meaning to each of the colours:

Hot pink		Sex
Red		Life
Orange		Healing
Yellow		Sunlight
Green		Nature
Turquoise		Magic/Art
Indigo		Serenity
Violet		Spirit

LGBTQ individuals and allies currently use rainbow flags and many rainbow-themed items and colour schemes as an outward symbol of their identity or support. The rainbow flag is also commonly used as a general symbol of social equality and individuality.

                 Current version

 

The meeting was followed by a workshop. The task was the creation of a glossary of terms.

GLOSSARY

•         Bisexual: A man or woman who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally attracted to people of either sex.
•          Coming Out: A term used to describe the process through which a person realises that they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender and may begin to disclose this aspect of their identity to others.
•          Gay: A man or woman who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally attracted to people of the same sex. Many gay men prefer to be called ‘gay’ rather than homosexual. Many women who are gay prefer to be identified as ‘lesbian’.
•          Gender: A term that is often used to refer to ways that people act, interact or feel about themselves, which are associated with boys/ men and girls/women. The term ‘gender’ is distinct from ‘sex’.
•          Gender Dysphoria: Refers to strong persistent feelings of identification with the opposite gender and discomfort with one’s own assigned sex that results in significant distress.
•          Gender Expression: This refers to the way a person expresses gender to others through behaviour, clothing, hairstyles, mannerisms, voice, physical characteristics, social interactions, etc. 
•         Gender Fluid: This refers to a gender identity which varies over time. A gender fluid person may at any time identify as male, female, gender neutral, or any other non-binary identity, or some combination of identities. Some individuals refer to themselves as gender fluid, gender queer, or gender nonbinary.
•        Gender Identity: A person’s internal feeling of being male or female, regardless of the sex listed on their birth certificate (assigned birth sex). Some individuals may have a sense that they are some other gender, or a combination of genders.
•          Gender Non-binary: An umbrella term for gender identities that fall outside the gender binary of male or female. This includes individuals whose gender identity is neither exclusively male nor female, a combination of male and female or between genders.  Similar to the usage of transgender, people under the non-binary umbrella may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms.
•        Gender Recognition Certificate: This is provided for in the Gender Recognition Act (2015) and issued by the state to an individual who requests to have his/her preferred gender recognised.
•          Gender Transition: This term describes the experience by which a person goes from living in the gender assigned at birth to living and identifying in their preferred gender. For most young people this transition does not involve medical intervention but does involve a process of ‘social transition’ whereby the young person begins to live and identify as the gender consistent with their preferred gender identity. Transition might include social, physical or legal changes such as coming out to family, friends, co-workers and others; changing one’s appearance; changing one’s name, personal pronoun and sex designation on legal documents (e.g. birth certificate, driving licence or passport); and medical intervention (e.g. through hormones or surgery).
•        Heterosexual: A person who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally attracted to people of the opposite sex, colloquially known as ‘straight’.
•          Homophobic Bullying: Refers to bullying of any form that has the added dimension of being based on actual or perceived sexual orientation.
•          Homosexual: The formal or clinical term that was coined in the field of psychology to describe a person who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally attracted to people of the same sex.
•          Intersex: An umbrella term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that does not fit the typical definition of the female or male sex. Although intersex individuals do not always identify as transgender, or do not consider themselves to be covered by the transgender umbrella, many of the issues experienced by transgender people are common to intersex people and for this reason the guidance in this resource can be applicable to students who are intersex.
•          LGBT: An acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender.
•         LGBTI: An acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex.
•          Lesbian: A woman who is romantically, sexually and/or emotionally attracted to women.
•          Preferred Gender: Refers to an individual’s deeply held internal gender identity, as distinct from the sex assigned at birth.
•          Sex: Refers to the biological status accorded at birth as male or female. The designation of a person at birth as male or female is based on their anatomy (genitalia and/or reproductive organs) or biology (chromosomes and/or hormones).
•          Sexual Orientation:  Refers to an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to men, women or both sexes. Three sexual orientations are commonly recognised – heterosexual (straight), homosexual (gay or lesbian) and bisexual. Some people do not experience attraction to either men or women and define themselves as asexual.
•          Transgender: An inclusive term describing people whose gender identity, or gender expression, is different from the sex listed on their birth certificate (i.e. their assigned birth sex). People under the transgender umbrella may describe themselves using one or more of a wide variety of terms – including transgender. It is always best to be led by the individual’s preferred adjective. The word ‘trans’ is commonly used by transgender people and it is acceptable to use this shortened term when referring to a person who identifies as transgender. Some transgender people who live in their preferred gender simply see themselves as a man or a woman, rather than a trans man or a trans woman. Some transgender people may be under the care of doctors in undergoing hormone treatment to change their bodies, some undergo surgery as well.  But not all transgender people can or will take those steps, and a transgender identity is not dependent upon medical procedures.
•          Transphobic Bullying: Refers to bullying of any form that has the added dimesion of being based on actual or perceived gender identity.
•          Transsexual:  This is an older term that has its origins in the medical and psychological communities. It is still preferred by some people who have permanently changed, or seek to change, their bodies through medical interventions.
•          Trans man: A person who was identified as female at birth but who lives as a man or identifies as male.
•         Trans woman: A person who was identified as male at birth but who lives as a woman or identifies as female.