Thank you for heading over to Twenty10 to learn more about proud words!
On this page you can build confidence in having conversations with LGBTIQA+ people in your life – or if you are a member of the LGBTIQA+ community, access resources and have a page to share with your friends, family and allies!
Respectful language can make a big difference
Thanks for heading to Twenty10 to learn more about the role language can play in creating safer spaces and experiences for LGBTIQA+ people.
Creating a language resource for your workplace around affirming and inclusive language use is one way you can ensure that all public speaking engagements; meeting facilitation or external stakeholder engagements can be affirming for LGBTIQA+ people. We also recommend a review of policies and procedures and internal documents, as well as your website and other external facing resources to ensure language used throughout is inclusive of all genders and does not make assumptions about people’s gender or identities.
It’s also useful to understand that language changes and is constantly evolving, with some best practice approaches being updated continuously. When you are updating documents, it is always good to check latest language updates.
LGBTIQA+ what’s in the acronym?
Now that you have read the breakdown of the acronym (we have included it again for you down below as a quick reference), we thought it would be good to share some more information about identities, bodies, experiences, and intersectionality.
The acronym as we know contains terms related to sexuality; Gay, Lesbian, Bi+ and Bisexual, Asexual and Aromatic. It contains terms related to gender; Transgender, including gender diverse and non-binary, and Agender and terms related to our bodies and physical characteristics; Intersex. It also has terms that traverse gender and sexuality; Queer and Questioning. There are other, more expansive acronyms that are sometimes used, including terms that might be used to describe Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander identities, such as Sisterboy or Brothergirl (SB+). It’s important to not conflate sex characteristics, gender and sexuality. These might be interrelated for some people, but other times, not at all. Twenty10 uses the metaphor of a light prism to explore the many factors of our identity and experience. Sometimes, identity markers can be experienced in relation to another identity marker, and other times they are distinct. For many of us, the way we experience our sexuality, our gender and our sex characteristics might be informed by or connected to, other parts of our prism of identity and experience.
LGBTIQA+ stands for; Lesbian, Gay, Bi+ and Bisexual, Transgender, including gender diverse and non-binary, Intersex, Queer and Questioning, Asexual, Aromatic and Agender + plus other identities and experiences.
There are many specific organisations, community groups, resources and programs where you can learn more, or access support. This list is not exhaustive, you can find similar groups in your State or Territory.
- Intersex Human Rights Australia – https://ihra.org.au/
- Transhub – https://www.transhub.org.au/
- Sydney Bi+ Network – https://sydneybiplusnetwork.org/
- Australian Asexuals – https://www.australianasexuals.com/
Understanding pronouns
A pronoun is used as an indicator of someone’s gender identity, which is why it’s important to ensure you are using the correct pronoun for someone. By using someone’s incorrect pronoun, you may be misgendering them, and that can be harmful. If you do accidentally misgender someone, it’s good to apologise, correct yourself and move on – and remember for next time. On the Proud Words site we gave you some tips on how to introduce yourself using your pronoun, which is an easy way to practice.
Some other ways you can embed affirmative practice by pronoun use can be:
- Do a pronoun check in at your team meetings
- Always introduce yourself using your pronoun when meeting people for the first time
- Include your pronouns in your e-signature, on name lanyards or badges and in telehealth spaces where you have your name and title on screen
- Ensure that you ask for pronouns (non-mandatory) when collecting contact information.
Supporting LGBTIQA+ people in your life
As mentioned on the Proud Words website, supporting people can be as easy as listening and knowing some good initial questions to ask. Some folks may require more support than others, and some may feel happy to share their identity while others might want things to remain confidential. It’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with any relevant services or community groups for the person depending on their age / identity /experience, so that you can point them in the right direction as required. It’s also good to do your own reading and research, so that they are not in the position where they have to educate you. As we have said with allyship and throughout this resource, you are not expected to be an expert – but to have some sound baseline knowledge is important so that you are not unintentionally causing harm.
Some accessible support services other than Twenty10 that may be useful are:
- Qlife Australia, an anonymous, free phone and web support service https://qlife.org.au/
- ACON in NSW https://www.acon.org.au/
- The Gender Centre https://gendercentre.org.au/
- BlaQ Aboriginal Corporation https://blaq.org.au/
Realities for LGBTIQA+ people
While we’ve come a long way in terms of acceptance and celebration of LGBTIQA+ identities, in some aspects there’s still a lot of work to do- this is why we need the support of as many allies as we can!
Some of the latest research tells us that LGBTIQA+ young people are still facing high levels of discrimination and bullying in school, that not every LGBTIQA+ adult feels safe to be their true selves at work and these experiences can lead to higher rates of challenges like homelessness, mental illness and poverty.
Despite these challenges that are ongoing, LGBTIQA+ communities of all ages around the world are built on collective strength and solidarity. Parties and dancing have always been a really important way for communities find each other, experience joy and have fun. LGBTIQA+ communities have a long history of organising in protest to lobby for our human rights, and to join other marginalised groups in the fight for equal human rights. Through this, our communities have achieved huge legislative wins like the decriminalisation of homosexuality, marriage equality and the right to access gender affirming care.
We have compiled some leading Australian research where you can learn about LGBTIQA+ communities on our resources page here.
Allyship is a doing word!
Being a powerful ally can make a big difference. In the marriage equality plebiscite, allies turned out to vote, which helped see the Bill pass – you can make a difference in the lives of many LGBTIQA+ people by being an active and supportive ally. Some actions you can take are; learning more about LGBTIQA+ people and culture; fundraising for an organisation or a program; joining your diversity and inclusion network at work, supporting students to set up their own collective; auditing your organisation’s policies and procedures; making sure people have safe access to facilitities that match their gender identity; assisting with celebrations on calendar days of significance for LGBTIQA+ communities and signing and sharing petitions for legislative change that supports LGBTIQA+ people.
Here are some organisations who regularly have petitions you can sign, or other actions to support LGBTIQA+ communities as well as a calendar of days of significance for LGBTIQA+ communities.
- Equality Australia – https://equalityaustralia.org.au/
- LGBTIQA+ Health Australia – https://www.pridetraining.org.au/pages/diversity-days
