Hey all!

I've been putting together a few lists with pronouns, identities, sexualities and planning to run an activity about privledge. All for the youth club that I work at. I work with 12 - 17 year olds so I have different methods of approach depending on their age.

This is what I have so far ( these will look weird on mobile ):



The privledge activity is going to be an opportunity for youth to talk about their struggles and share, if they're comfortable. I'm hoping that if I can get them to be vulnerable and to be honest that it will inspire other youth to do the same and will help them all have a better understanding of each other.

I want them to realize that where I work is a safe place for this and they can truly be themselves. I want them to walk away feeling closer to each other and to have a better understanding of others. I want to help them get in touch with their empathy.

The intention for the sexualities, identities and pronouns docs is to help youth better understand themselves and others.

I know, being queer myself, that having these resources at their age would have been incredible. It would have saved me years of internal struggle, confusion, denial and hurt. Unfortunately I did not have this but the least I can do is provide them now.

I know they're still going to use derogatory language, some do it out of habit, and a lot have never had an adult pull them to the side and just talk to them about any of this. Often it comes down to lack of resources, tools and poor influence from the adults in their lives. But they've been incredibly responsive when I've spoken to them about the use of slurs, etc.

I've had youth that I've pulled to the side to talk to about their use of slurs, start calling out other youth for their behavior. As well as youth who use these words immediately apologize and replace these words with other words. When I've spoken to them I can see the "oh" moment on their face once they realize how harmful what they're saying can be. There's been progress and it's been cool to witness!

I wanted to share this here to see if anyone might have any advice, suggestions or criticism for what I'm doing. I would especially love to hear from folks within the communities that I'll be speaking about.

@SirLionelNigelConrad: That's what I'm doing. Maybe I didn't word it correctly? I want them to reconsider their actions and be responsible. I would like to help them become more empathetic and see how their behavior, words and actions can be harmful to others. ^^

@SirLionelNigelConrad: Woah. No. I am not telling them to be good and kind to specific people and ignoring others. The whole idea of this, and it's a rough idea at the moment, is to bring awareness to the struggles that some folks face in order to help them better understand others and get in touch with their empathy.

A lot of these youth have internalized sexism, racism, homophobia, etc and don't even know it. They've also never had an adult talk to them about any of this.

I brought up the issues that the queer community faced years ago when police would raid clubs and mass arrest them because it was relevant to the conversation I was having with the older kids who were using faggot, etc. I was telling them about the issues the queer community faced then and that even today they still face issues. I wasn't trying to come off as anti-police to them. I was telling them that it was dangerous and illegal to be queer not so long ago. Just like it was illegal for folks of color to exist in the same space as white folks not so long ago.

I feel like you think I'm going to go full drill sergeant with this youth and drill some crazy feminist agenda into their heads. I'm not going to be intense with them. I'm just going to give them an opportunity to ask any questions, without judgment, and provide a learning opportunity. Of course not all of them are going to pick up on it or be interested and I won't connect or get through to some but that's fine.

Sorry if that last bit comes off as rude. I'm just trying to assure you that I'm not trying to teach the kids anything harmful or put specific folks on a pedestal...

I think learning about pronouns, sexuality and identities is relevant because a lot of youth struggle with themselves and never have the resources to navigate what they're feeling. If they have a trusted adult that they can confide in, learn from and help them then it makes a massive positive difference in their life.

Edit: I just wanted to add this. A lot of them don't realize why using retard, faggot, the n-word or any other slurs/derogatory language is wrong. They use it as a replacement for calling someone weird, stupid or otherwise expressing themselves. Another intention for me talking to them is to bring awareness to the words that they're using and why they're hurtful.

I'm just trying to make them, at the very least, understand the words that they're using and often that's enough for them to drop them entirely. The attitude from youth that I've spoken to has shifted into a positive direction and the youth club I work at has become more inclusive and welcoming. I don't see anything negative in that.

I like this thread.

@SirLionelNigelConrad: Of course, I understand your concerns and appreciate your advice. I will take it to heart and use it. Thank you!

I had a youth recently bring up that a third gender existing was ridiculous. We ended up talking about how third genders existed centuries ago within indigenous communities, etc and still do today. He thought that was super interesting and ended up looking up more info when he went home. He also decided that a third gender wasn't as far fetched as he initially thought.

@Fozzy: Hey Fozzy, that's awesome!

Last Summer my friend brought his LGBTQ+ organization work to the camp I work at.

We ran a workshop for staff to learn about pronouns, sexuality and identities. He also spoke about racism. It brought us all together and made the environment a lot safer and inclusive.

When youth were being racist, etc he brought them to the side and talked to them about it. Most of the youth that he spoke to came back with a new perspective and made efforts to change for the better. I would often overhear youth as young as 9 telling others they cant be mean to people just because they're gay, that it's okay and encouraging others to be kind.

We had a workshop for the entire camp at the end of the summer where we have out flag buttons ( ally, lesbian, bi, gay, pan, asexual, etc ). They were put out with an explanation on what they meant. And he rented out books with LGBTQ+ themes to the youth and staff. He also lead a few projects from making two bathrooms gender neutral ( they're closed rooms with a toilet and sink ), painting a few benches rainbow, etc.

All of this had a positive impact on the camp. We even had a youth come out as trans and all the girls came togerher to lend their clothes and did her makeup.

That's exactly why I would love to do the privledge activity. I did it myself at camp a couple years ago and it really opened my eyes to a lot. I've worked specifically with minority groups, who are at risk, from group and foster homes. But also youth from home who have relatively good lives. I remember once this kid, a total sweetheart, said "I never would have thought about any of this." He had a total moment where he realized how thankful he was for his life and wanted to hear out others and provide his support.

@Tuijp: Oh wow! Thank you so much for sharing. I'll send an email tomorrow morning since I'm heading to work soon then photographing an event after.

@Juneberry: Thank you for your kind words and suggestions!

I will defs look into that so that things read better and move stuff around to see how it looks. Maybe I can bold and highlight/change the color of some words to make them pop more.