Hi – I’m Jess, the non-Queer half of the presenting duo for Queer Talk (or the 'ally' presenter to save us all some breath). If you don’t know what the latter means, stay tuned…
I wanted to be a part of this project to expand my (very limited) knowledge of the LGBT community – such as learning that there are several other acronyms for the community. I thought I was ‘woke’ as the kids say (or ‘awake’ for the Brooklyn Nine-Nine fans), but I soon discovered I’d been pretty much half asleep.
Coming from a middle-class, predominantly white village called Hornton, where the population of the local school was 80 (and declining), perhaps it could be argued that upbringing had something to do with my lack of knowledge.
It wasn’t really until my later education that I saw some diversity. Most likely because the pool of people increased from 80 to 1321 once I attended The Warriner School. But even then only 4.5% of students’ first language wasn’t English; compared to the 16.5% national average.
Only in my final year of Sixth Form did the Warriner properly begin to challenge issues such as homophobic bullying and gender identity through Project Q; a play performed by Warriner students in schools around the country.
Then I came to university.
1000 students became over 6,500 – a very welcome wave of culture. Admittedly it was a little overwhelming at first, but I got to meet people I never would have done stuck in a village that can only claim a failed railway built after World War One as its primary tourist attraction.
However, far from being my new best friend, my ignorance was beginning to show (btw that was a Paramore reference non-emos). But how can you gain knowledge without asking extremely probing and/or personal questions? Although I’m sure some people wouldn’t mind, and may even appreciate, someone respectfully asking questions about their identity. Yet as I wasn’t ‘blessed by the goddess of socialising’ as put by Penny in Miranda (no more obscure references after this, I promise), I would probably end up embarrassing myself, if not everyone else in the room.
Therefore when this opportunity came up, I knew I didn’t want to pass it up. Learning about the LGBT community in a judge-free environment? Sign me up!
Whether you’re learning along with me, know all the ins and outs of the community, or are somewhere in between, no question is too stupid or awkward to ask. Most people I’d spoken to assured me that they’d much rather be asked an amiable question than be the elephant in the room.
After all, it’s “better to understand a little than to misunderstand a lot”.
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