Tag Archives: Non-Binary

#TOTW (x 15) #EandDWeek – Spotlight on Equality & Diversity

Ciao!

Well another week goes by and yet another feature week draws to a close. I have recently taken responsibility for equality and diversity (E&D) in our department at work and have also joined ‘Equalise’ – the Society and College of Radiographers group that oversees matters relating to E&D. I have always had an interest in such matters, but only more recently decided to take an active role in educating myself – and hopefully others on E&D. As my regular followers amongst you will know, I frequently post on LGBTI+ matters, but in this feature week I wanted to cover other areas including disability and deaf awareness. Now I could have a feature week for each of the areas – age, race, religion, disability, LGBTI+ etc and maybe at some point in the future I will. However, the purpose of this week was to shine a light on E&D and hopefully provide some interesting links for people to read. I hope I have succeeded!

As per at the end of a feature week, below is all the content relating to the feature – that being #EandDWeek with the focus of matters relating to equality and diversity:

  • The law as it stands expects a gay man to refrain from sex for a year before being allowed to donate blood. #Equality? 👎 #EandDWeek #LGBTI+ Huge thanks to @Mike_Fabricant for raising the “madness” that gay men cannot donate blood without 12 months celibacy in the House of Commons
  • To abuse a person due to their race, colour, religion or sexuality is a #HateCrime. Simple as that 😔 #NoPlaceForHate #EandDWeek @SCoRMembers It’s #HateCrimeAwarenessWeek. Find out more about #hatecrime and how to report it: https://www.gov.uk/report-hate-crime #NoPlaceForHate
  • (2/2) Covered this pm were possible motions for the Annual Delegates Conference next April. ADC here I come! 👍@SCoRMembers #EandDWeek
  • (1/2) @SCoRMembers #equalityanddiversity mtg over – a really interesting & productive one it was too! 👍Thanks to @peterhiggs5 #EandDWeek
  • Topics covered so far at the meeting include the @SCoRMembers transgender guide, FGM, & mgmt awareness of #equalityanddiversity #EandDWeek
  • Meeting of Equalise – the @SCoRMembers group looking at matters relating to #equalityanddiversity is now in session! 👍☺️ #EandDWeek
  • On a 🚄 waiting to depart at 0600hrs London-bound for a meeting on equality & diversity with fellow @SCoRMembers #BetterBeGood! 😂  #EandDWeek
  • Tomorrow brings a new feature week, focussing on matters relating to equality & diversity. It shall be known as #EandDWeek 👍@SCoRMembers

 

Until the next feature week then, please as ever…

#ReadLearnShare

Ben 🙂

 

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Male or female? Neither one nor t’other? Both?

Ciao!

The majority of you reading this will probably be able to answer yes to being either male or female, certainly with regards to your sex at birth. Some of you may also have transitioned from male-to-female or female-to-male, with others of you having been born with both male and female genitalia. What happens however, if you are born either male or female but you don’t feel like either of these “fit” your gender? This morning on my way into work I took the time to listen to the following programme:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07btlmk

Called ‘Beyond Binary,’ it’s only 30 minutes long and if you are at all interested in gender, it’s definition and evolution, then I can thoroughly recommend it. It looks at the concept of gender and how it is traditionally defined as binary, either male or female, with nothing in between. It explores the concept of gender as a spectrum. Why should a person’s gender have to be either male or female? OK, so birth sex may be either of the two, but a person’s sex does not define their sexuality or gender.

Confused? Yeah, OK so maybe you are, but it’s not rocket science and if you take some time to listen to the programme you’ll most likely find that you learn something about gender and how it’s not the binary construct that the majority of us are educated to believe.

“We’re all learning along the way.” 

These are the words of Dr. Polly Carmichael, the Director of the Tavistock Clinic, the gender identity clinic to which people are referred. This is how it should be. Just because you might not understand how it is that there are people who associate as being both male and female or any such variations on the gender spectrum, does not make such people any less real or worthy of the respect you would afford to someone who is comfortable being either male or female.

Food for thought? I hope so 🙂

#ListenLearnShare

Ben