Blog by Amy Coyne (She / Her)
Communications Manager, Sustainable Merton
While Pride Month celebrates LGBTQIA+ rights and inclusivity, at its core, it exists because this community still experiences violence and abuse on a daily basis. It is also an opportunity for us to shine a spotlight on the lack of justice for LGBTQIA+ people within the "climate sphere" and take action for a safer, more inclusive future where we are all free to be ourselves.
āPride is not a party, Pride is a protest.ā
- Jelle Zijlstra, Queers4Climate Activist and Greenpeace Community Mobiliser
š CLIMATE CHANGE IS AN INTERSECTIONAL ISSUE.
As a marginalised group, LGBTQIA+ people are disproportionately affected by climate change. Why? Poverty and unemployment are more commonly found within the queer community, as finding employment can be extremely challenging. With unemployment often comes homelessness which leaves people at risk from air and water pollution, extreme weather and natural disasters. In the UK, Crisis reported 24% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQIA+ and are less likely to be housed than their straight peers.
š CELEBRATING DIVERSITY IN NATURE & COMMUNITIES
Our planet survives and thrives because of its diversity. It's an essential part of what makes nature beautiful and why we want to protect it. Just like vibrant and flamboyant displays of colour, queerness is found in countless animal and plant species, same-sex penguins adopting and rearing chicks being just one example, and both gender and sex binaries are fluid among a large array of fauna and flora. It's the complexity of nature that wows us when we're watching a David Attenborough documentary, right?
Equally, it is the diversity and uniqueness among people which make communities so much richer. If we care for the planet and want it to flourish we must care for its people and enable them to flourish, too. Taking on climate change is a big fight and we will always be stronger together š
āIn diversity there is beauty and there is strength.ā
Maya Angelou
āšæ ACTIVE ALLYSHIP THIS PRIDE MONTH AND BEYOND
As an environmental charity, Sustainable Merton truly believes in the power of community action and is proud of the diversity among its volunteers, supporters and staff, people who care about the planet and its people. We want to keep learning and create an open environment where everyone feels safe and can be themselves.
Eden Project Communities, which runs the Month of Community, has written a great blog in which it shares its top advice to help you be an ally to any group that has faced marginalisation. Here are the key points:
š Show your support by creating an open environment.
šš½ Listen and simply be there for someone if they want to talk to you.
šŖ Understand language and terminology. Apologise if you get something wrong and say thank you if someone corrects you.
ā Donāt make assumptions.
š Educate yourself on the history and efforts of marginalised groups.
āļø Write to your MP about the issues affecting people in your community and sign petitions to make your voice heard.
āš» Respectfully call out unacceptable behaviour to change perceptions and let people know their negative opinions wonāt be welcome in your community.
š«¶šæ Be an active but humble ally. Reminding people that thereās discrimination out there wonāt make them feel good. If youāre a business or want to use LGBTQIA+ or other icons for your community event, make sure youāre actively being an ally and showing your support in a meaningful way.
ACT NOW š£ CALL ON THE UK GOVERNMENT TO TAKE PRIDE IN ITS LGBTQIA+ CITIZENS
Hate crimes against LGBTQIA+ communities have risen drastically in the past few years in the UK.Ā With the next General Election approaching, this is a pivotal moment for our country so this Pride Month, Stonewall is calling on all of us to make our voices heard and tell the next UK Government to take pride in its LGBTQIA+ citizens.
š LISTEN AND LEARN
You don't have to be perfect when it comes to being an ally. It's about progress, not perfection. Learning will help you to better understand allyship and how to take action which will make a big difference in your organisation, group and/or community.
Here are some helpful resources...
š READ
š³ļøāš How to be an LGBTQ+ ally in your community ~ Eden Project Communities
š³ļøāā§ļø Climate Change & The LGBTQ+ Community ~ Climate Literacy Project
š³ļøāš Why we are focusing on climate this Pride ~ TedXLondon
š³ļøāā§ļø A natural state of being: LGBTQ+ behaviours in the animal kingdom ~ Greenpeace
š³ļøāā§ļø Pattie Gonia Wants To Save The Earth ā And Make Queer People Feel Safer On It ~ Huffington Post
š³ļøāš Build a workplace that works for LGBTQ+ people ~ Stonewall
ā¤ļø FOLLOW
š³ļøāš Stonewall UK
š³ļøāā§ļø Pride
š³ļøāš Pattie Gonia (they/she/he) ~ Drag queen, Environmentalist and Community Organiser
š³ļøāā§ļø Queer Brown Vegan - Isaias Hernandez (he/they) ~ Environmental Educator crafting stories of sustainability, research, and evidence-based hope.
š§ LISTEN
What is an intersectional environmentalist? ~ Climate Curious podcast
Why Mother Nature is a drag queen ~ Climate Curious podcast
Why climate's got a diversity problem ~ Climate Curious podcast
ā¤ļøš§”ššššā¤ļøš§”šššš
YOUR LOCAL LGBTQ+ GROUP
Merton Plus is the new support group for the LGBTQIA+ community in the London Borough of Merton. The aim of the group is to provide support, advice, signposting, and face-to-face help via events, for the community of all ages.
Find out more at merton.lgbt
ā¤ļøš§”ššššā¤ļøš§”šššš
We'd LOVE you to join our community, too! š
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