The University of Edinburgh’s Staff Pride Network promoted a number of activities and events throughout LGBT+ History month February 2023. This is a collection of four open licensed recordings from some of those excellent events.

1 . Katy Montgomerie: On combating online hate and the gender-critical movement

This open licensed recording features YouTube star, feminist and trans-rights activist Katy Montgomerie reflecting on her experience of online hate and analysing some of its patterns, as well as discuss ways of coping with its impact. Hosted by the University of Edinburgh’s Staff Pride Network, the event was supported by the University and College Union (UCU) Edinburgh and REPHRAIN – National Research Centre on Privacy, Harm Reduction and Adversarial Influence Online.

Event Description

It is a joy and a privilege to collaborate with our friends in Edinburgh University’s Staff Pride Network to bring our community a live stream of this very special event with Katy Montgomerie!
This event will feature YouTube star, feminist and trans-rights activist Katy Montgomerie will reflect on her experience of online hate and analyse some of its patterns, as well as discuss ways of coping with its impact.

Anti-trans hate is on the rise. The reasons are complex, with international bodies such as ILGA-Europe (2022) and the Council of Europe (2022) noting how trans lives and the legitimacy of trans identity have been turned into a culture-war issue and an indefinite form of ‘debate’ since the beginning of Gender-Recognition-Act reform from 2016. Yet while the complicity of certain guilty parties such as the UK news media and Conservative government are relatively easy to track and record in relation to generating this emerging moral panic, one particularly difficult area of anti-trans hate to analyse is the Internet. This includes its occurrence on the very social media sites that many trans people depend upon for networks of support, making the hate especially distressing for trans communities.

Katy Montgomerie has emerged as one of the most significant trans media figures in the UK, her 80.4k followers on Twitter and 15.3k YouTube-channel subscribers indicating the breadth of her popularity. She is a regular contributor on trans-inclusive online news and current-affairs channels such as Novara Media, the Owen Jones YouTube channel, and LBC with Natasha Devon. There, Katy’s gift for both debunking anti-trans narratives and for explaining trans-centred policy issues in clear and succinct terms has made her a vital communicator for combating transphobia and misinformation in the public domain. Equally, Katy’s experience of navigating social media has allowed her to develop important insights into dealing with the anti-trans abuse and anti-trans networks that organize against trans people online.

It can be argued that through this combination of experience and communication skills, few people are better placed to talk about dealing with transphobic hate online than Katy Montgomerie, and we are lucky to have her as our guest at the University of Edinburgh.

Click here to view ‘Katy Montgomerie: On combating online hate and the gender-critical movement’ directly on Media Hopper Create

 

2. Research Seminar: Dr Hugo Lázaro Ruiz

Family diversity representations in foreign language coursebooks for beginners: the case of Spanish.

Event Description

Following a systematic, proactive and descriptive analysis model as proposed by Ezeiza (2009), this study examines the representation of homoparental families in 35 Spanish as a Foreign Language textbooks for beginners. Results showed a lack of representation of homoparental families in comparison with normative family models. It is crucial to pursue an inclusive and equitable quality education in order to avoid unwelcome learning environments for LGBTQ+ students. Our society is diverse and this must be reflected in teaching and learning materials.

About the speaker

Dr Hugo Lázaro Ruiz (he/him) is a Teaching Assistant in Spanish at the University of Edinburgh where he teaches Spanish Language courses. Hugo also works as an Adjunct Teacher at Nebrija University (Madrid, Spain) where he teaches Pragmatics and Intercultural Competence. His teaching experience includes instructing undergraduate and graduate students from different countries and cultural backgrounds. Hugo has worked at Nebrija University Center for Hispanic Studies, University Alfonso X El Sabio, IES Abroad Foundation, and in several language schools in Madrid (Spain). His most recent research revolves around the inclusion of LGBTQ+ identities in Spanish as a Foreign Language teaching. This is a core aspect to provide students with a learning experience as inclusive as possible.

Click here to view ‘Research Seminar: Dr Hugo Lázaro Ruiz’ directly on Media Hopper Create

 

3. IDAHOBIT: Becoming and Being Gay Parents

On International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, join us to learn about the experience of becoming and being gay parents.

Event Description

The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia was created in 2004 to draw the attention to the violence and discrimination experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex people and all other people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities or expressions, and sex characteristics.
This year’s theme, “Our Bodies, Our Lives, Our Rights” reminds us that many of us across the world live LGBTQI-phobias in their very flesh every day. Our bodies are our lives. And we have a right to live free and in dignity! So this IDAHOBIT, join us to learn about the experience of becoming and being gay parents.
Nicola and Heather are talking about their experience of becoming and being gay parents, and some of the challenges, microaggressions, and discrimination they’ve sometimes faced, as well as some of the unexpectedly awesome parts of being part of a less traditional rainbow family.
Nicola Osborne is Programme Manager for Creative Informatics and (from June) Manager for the Institute of Design Informatics.
Her partner, Heather McCluskey is Practice and Partnerships Lead for the Centre for Homelessness Impact.

Click here to view ‘IDAHOBIT: Becoming and Being Gay Parents’ directly on Media Hopper Create

 

4. LGBT+ History Month: Bi+ Histories

A panel exploring nuances, comparisons and differences among Bi+ members’ personal experiences.

Personal stories are at the core of LGBT+ History Month, giving us a vital opportunity to learn from one another’s experiences and points of view. Join us to explore personal Bi+ histories with their nuances, comparisons and differences.

With our panel, we seek to represent Bi+ identities that are often in the minority in Bi+ spaces, ie: those who do not identify as white cis millennial women. Panelists are University of Edinburgh staff members.

Panelists

Sue Fletcher-Watson (she/her): My name is Sue. I’m a cis woman and I’m bisexual. I’ve been married for 15 years to a cis man and we have two kids – everyone assumes we’re a heterosexual couple.

Dave Berry (he/him): I’m Dave, a cis bi man. I’m 61 years old, married to a woman, and have one adult son.

Winnie Lam (she/they): I am Winnie, a bi cisgender woman of colour (British born Chinese), in a relationship with a cisgender bi woman.

Click here to view ‘LGBT+ History Month: Bi+ Histories’ directly on Media Hopper Create

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Header Image: Designed by a student at The Swan School as part of  https://lgbtplushistorymonth.co.uk/  annual national LGBT+ History Month badge competition.