standing tall for what I believe in
February is LGBT month for the NHS.
I only found out about this through a memo my mom received through the Intranet, it has received virtually no press whatsoever.
There are 2 "events"
and I use that term loosely cos I haven't got a clue what these things are going to entail, workshops? seminars? could anyone in this trust care less??
2 events; 1 for the T (transgendered) and the other for the LGB.
And considering I fall into 2 of the 4 camps and am the Unison LGBT rep for the Trust I ought to be involved in this.
If I wasn't on my Theatre Practice Placement Course AND if I had a bloody clue at what it was all about.
That is what the Trust had in mind not what it would be like to be LGBT.
I'm not sure where the workforce stands regarding this.
Both sides of the coin (those who are LGBT and the rest) have their own opinions of the issue but no one makes their voices heard at all.
I know for many what people get up to in the privacy of their own lives is their business. I accept that, but people still 'talk' and a lot of the gossip (lashon hara levels here guys) I've heard regarding someone's sexuality has been... uncomfortable to listen to.
Should I stand up for these people?
Yes.
But like I said the majority of the theatre crews think privacy is the best option. I agree.
I know surgeons who are gay as well as nurses. Some surgeons are homophobic in a macho sense (mostly ortho consultants who would be car mechanics if they weren't employed in medicine) and you do have to learn to ride comments with a smile.
After all if ARD (who I love but is misogynistic to the power of 10) comes out with gay or trans jokes I do laugh. Because to me they are funny, and I can laugh at myself because I know the man in question telling the joke and if I declared that I was "offended" (when I'm not) I would spoil the working environment we have.
That is NOT saying I let him off the hook, I DO comment by saying "You shouldn't say this sir, the human resources will have your ass" or "I'll report you to the Union rep for that comment, it's me by the way".
He laughs and we continue cutting on some poor sob.
People have to remember that Theatres is a lot like high school. With 95% of patients unconscious people (senior surgeons) will voice their unfettered opinions to no one im particular.
Transphobia?
That's a different story. In fact ARD from the previous paragraph is pretty tolerant and accepting of trans people.
But I know other nurses and medical staff who are not. Changing facilities come into play mostly - "I'm not sharing a changing room with IT" - together with the idea that the majority of M2F are not 'real' women and who only transition to get to gawk at women in their skivvies.
This breaks down to a simple misunderstanding of the differences between sexuality and gender. Which a surprisingly high amount of people in North Bristol NHS Trust have.
Overall.
What is it like to be LGBT in NOrth Bristol.
Restricting.
On both sides.
Given the fact that Bristol is not London/Toronto/New York it does suffer from a lack of cosmopolitan cultures. 90% of the theatre workforce is white. 80% is British.
These are percentages Nick Griffen could only dream of.
[for those not in the know Nick Griffen is the leader of the Ukk BNP - The White Party one step down from the fascists]
This makes ANY minority small in comparison to other urban environments.
And for LGBT, people who may be white and not foreign it does make straight white people uneasy. At least in the theatre corps.
On a related topic the BBC is planning to "ask the gay population" (how?) as to their opinion on the state of play of LGBT portrayal in BBC programming.
I am of the opinion that for LGB the representation is limited and stereotypical and for the T aspect non-existent and many times offensive (think of C4's '8 Yrs Old Sex Change' program last year that i complained to OffCom about).
I don't know how this state of affairs is rectified in UK Media, I'm not a screenwriter. But I do think it has to change (especially the Transgenic perspective) for any increase in tolerance to appear in Ukk society.
If I do get a chance to speak on such issues next month I'll let you all know how I do.
I only found out about this through a memo my mom received through the Intranet, it has received virtually no press whatsoever.
There are 2 "events"
and I use that term loosely cos I haven't got a clue what these things are going to entail, workshops? seminars? could anyone in this trust care less??
2 events; 1 for the T (transgendered) and the other for the LGB.
And considering I fall into 2 of the 4 camps and am the Unison LGBT rep for the Trust I ought to be involved in this.
If I wasn't on my Theatre Practice Placement Course AND if I had a bloody clue at what it was all about.
That is what the Trust had in mind not what it would be like to be LGBT.
I'm not sure where the workforce stands regarding this.
Both sides of the coin (those who are LGBT and the rest) have their own opinions of the issue but no one makes their voices heard at all.
I know for many what people get up to in the privacy of their own lives is their business. I accept that, but people still 'talk' and a lot of the gossip (lashon hara levels here guys) I've heard regarding someone's sexuality has been... uncomfortable to listen to.
Should I stand up for these people?
Yes.
But like I said the majority of the theatre crews think privacy is the best option. I agree.
I know surgeons who are gay as well as nurses. Some surgeons are homophobic in a macho sense (mostly ortho consultants who would be car mechanics if they weren't employed in medicine) and you do have to learn to ride comments with a smile.
After all if ARD (who I love but is misogynistic to the power of 10) comes out with gay or trans jokes I do laugh. Because to me they are funny, and I can laugh at myself because I know the man in question telling the joke and if I declared that I was "offended" (when I'm not) I would spoil the working environment we have.
That is NOT saying I let him off the hook, I DO comment by saying "You shouldn't say this sir, the human resources will have your ass" or "I'll report you to the Union rep for that comment, it's me by the way".
He laughs and we continue cutting on some poor sob.
People have to remember that Theatres is a lot like high school. With 95% of patients unconscious people (senior surgeons) will voice their unfettered opinions to no one im particular.
Transphobia?
That's a different story. In fact ARD from the previous paragraph is pretty tolerant and accepting of trans people.
But I know other nurses and medical staff who are not. Changing facilities come into play mostly - "I'm not sharing a changing room with IT" - together with the idea that the majority of M2F are not 'real' women and who only transition to get to gawk at women in their skivvies.
This breaks down to a simple misunderstanding of the differences between sexuality and gender. Which a surprisingly high amount of people in North Bristol NHS Trust have.
Overall.
What is it like to be LGBT in NOrth Bristol.
Restricting.
On both sides.
Given the fact that Bristol is not London/Toronto/New York it does suffer from a lack of cosmopolitan cultures. 90% of the theatre workforce is white. 80% is British.
These are percentages Nick Griffen could only dream of.
[for those not in the know Nick Griffen is the leader of the Ukk BNP - The White Party one step down from the fascists]
This makes ANY minority small in comparison to other urban environments.
And for LGBT, people who may be white and not foreign it does make straight white people uneasy. At least in the theatre corps.
On a related topic the BBC is planning to "ask the gay population" (how?) as to their opinion on the state of play of LGBT portrayal in BBC programming.
I am of the opinion that for LGB the representation is limited and stereotypical and for the T aspect non-existent and many times offensive (think of C4's '8 Yrs Old Sex Change' program last year that i complained to OffCom about).
I don't know how this state of affairs is rectified in UK Media, I'm not a screenwriter. But I do think it has to change (especially the Transgenic perspective) for any increase in tolerance to appear in Ukk society.
If I do get a chance to speak on such issues next month I'll let you all know how I do.